Module 2.2 Educational Psychology, Summaries of Educational Psychology

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Professional Development Strand

Unit 2: Human Development

Module 2.2 Educational Psychology

Lecturer Support Material

ii Module 2.2 Educational Psychology

Acknowledgements

Materials written and compiled by Lynne Hill.

In consultation with

Professional Development Strand lecturers, Balob Teachers College. Sam Mariko. Madang Primary Teachers College

Incorporating suggestions from Professional Development staff of

Madang Primary Teachers College Holy Trinity Primary Teachers College St Benedicts Primary Teachers College Kabaleo Primary Teachers College PNGEI Gaulim Primary Teachers College Dauli Primary Teachers College.

Layout and diagrams supported by Nick Lauer.

PASTEP

Primary and Secondary Teacher Education Project Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) GRM International

Papua New Guinea-Australia Development Cooperation Program

iv Module 2.2 Educational Psychology

• Module 2.2 Educational Psychology....................................................................... Table of contents - Rationale Introduction................................................................................................ - Rationale.................................................................................................................... - Objectives ................................................................................................................. - Topics........................................................................................................................ - How to use this material ............................................................................................
  • Assessment .................................................................................................................
  • A Note about the readings..........................................................................................
  • References...................................................................................................................
• Educational Psychology ............................................................................................
  • What is Educational Psychology? .............................................................................
  • What is learning?.........................................................................................................
  • How do people learn? .................................................................................................
• Behaviourism ................................................................................................................
  • Classical Conditioning................................................................................................
    • Classical conditioning in the classroom....................................................................
    • Operant conditioning ...............................................................................................
  • Types of reinforcement
    • Schedules of reinforcement ....................................................................................
    • Reinforcement in the classroom .............................................................................
  • Cognitive Development
  • Piaget's theory..........................................................................................................
  • Piaget's view of intelligence
    • Adaptation................................................................................................................
  • Stages of cognitive development
    • Sensorimotor stage.................................................................................................
    • Preoperational stage ...............................................................................................
    • Concrete operations stage......................................................................................
    • Formal operations stage .........................................................................................
    • Piaget across cultures ............................................................................................
    • Studies in Papua New Guinea.................................................................................
  • Criticisms of Piaget..................................................................................................
  • Piaget in the classroom - how does it apply?........................................................
• Other Theories of Learning.....................................................................................
  • Constructivism
  • Sociocultural Theory.................................................................................................
  • Gender Theory..........................................................................................................
  • Psychological influences on learning......................................................................
  • Motivation..................................................................................................................
• Learning Theories in Practice................................................................................
  • Summary
  • Key Terms and Glossary

Module 2.2 Educational Psychology

Rationale Introduction

This guide provides additional ideas for teaching and assessing Module 2.2. Educational Psychology.

Please take note of the following:

• It is important to read through the module first, to decide what materials you will use, and what tasks and activities you will set for the students. It is also important to see how this module fits within the complete unit.
• It will be necessary to develop a course overview and determine topics to be presented which will take account of the time allocation given to this module.
• The material is written as a resource for the teaching of this module.
• Do not expect students to work through the total module alone. There may be too much material and they will need assistance in determining the tasks required.
• The activities: Many of the activities have a number of questions to discuss and tasks to do. They are included to provide some ideas and stimulus, not necessarily to complete every part of each activity.
• The activities provide a focus for learning, and some may be suitable for developing into assessment tasks, but the activities are not written to be used as the assessment program. Ideas for assessment tasks are provided in the unit guide support material.
• Suggested time allocations are provided to give some idea of how this module fits in with the others in this unit. Lecturers have the flexibility to select material and use it in a way that will fit within the lecture program.
• The Lecturer Support Material is based on the Student Support material, with additional notes in text boxes containing ideas for further exploration of topics.
• Additional readings, where included as an appendix, are included as additional information for lecturers. These may be photocopied for students where appropriate.

Rationale

This module is one of two in a two-credit point unit. The recommended time allocation for this module is approximately twelve hours of lectures. The actual break-up of topics and time allocation is flexible, and to be decided upon by the individual lecturer.

The preceding module in this unit is:

Module 2.1 Child Development.

The study of Educational Psychology provides a theoretical basis upon which to build understandings of learners and learning. Understanding stages of learning development, the different types and categories of learning, and what can be expected during different stages of development will assist teachers to plan appropriate programs for the classroom.

It is important that students make the link between the theories of learning and their application and relevance in the classroom.

The number of assessment tasks will be determined by the credit point loading given to the unit. See the unit guide for suggestions.

A Note about the readings

Due to the theoretical nature of this subject, there are quite a number of readings included in this module. Students should be supported wherever possible to gain meaning from the required readings. Lecturers should use a variety of strategies such as graphic organisers, interactive reading strategies and focused group discussion to assist the students with their understanding. See the unit guide for further ideas.

Students should be encouraged to keep a glossary of terms, as there are quite a number of terms specific to the study of developmental growth and psychology.

References

Whilst all the readings required are contained in these resource materials, additional references used in the writing of this module are included.

Banks, S.R. and Thompson, C, L. (1995) Educational Psychology for Teachers in Training. West Publishing Company. NY.

Barry, K and King, I. ( 1999) Beginning Teaching and Beyond.( 3rd^ ed) Social Science Press, Australia.

Berk, L.E. (2000) Child Development ( Fifth Edition ) Allen and Bacon. Boston. USA

Biggs, J. B. (ed) (1991). Teaching for Learning: The View from Cognitive Psychology. ACER: Australia.

Bleus, A. V. (1989). Psychology for Teachers in the South Pacific. Goroka Teachers College: PNG.

Briggs, F. and Potter, G. (1999). The Early Years of School; Teaching and Learning (3rd^ Ed). Longman: Australia.

Lambert, B. and Clyde, M.(2000). Re Thinking Early Childhood Theory and Practice. Social Science Press: Australia.

Mariko, S. ( 2001) Human Development. Professional Development Strand. Madang Teachers College.

Educational Psychology

Adapted from Barry, K & King, L. (1998) 'Beginning Teaching and Beyond'. Social Science Press.

What is Educational Psychology?

In order to define educational psychology we need to define education and psychology.

• Education is defined as the profession that develops, applies and researches methods of teaching and learning in schools
• Psychology is defined as the profession that studies human behaviour.

Therefore, educational psychology deals with a range of human behaviour involved in the educational process including human development, learning, memory, motivation and the evaluation of learning. (Banks, S & Thompson, C, 1995, p.6)

The central role of the teacher is the facilitation of learning. Effective teaching is about helping students to learn, so they become self directed, life long learners. In order to do this, teachers need a sound understanding of how students develop and learn. Educational psychology helps teachers develop that understanding.

There are many theories about learning. Most are soundly based on research, but each explains different sorts of learning. There is no one theory that everyone agrees upon because the human mind is so complex that scientists and psychologists are still finding out about how it works. Still, we do know enough about learning to develop some firm theories about how students learn.

What is learning?

G

Encourage students to reflect on what they understand learning to be. Develop a definition as a class, prior to reading the definitions below.

Learning usually involves a change in behaviour (knowledge, skill, attitude) which lasts for some time and is the result of experience.

Shuell (in Barry & King, 1998 p.18) defines learning in the following way:

F 2.2 Activity 2

Complete the following activity to determine your preferred learning style. Suppose you have just received a brand new, latest model stereo, with CD and tape facilities. You have a choice of ways to learn about it. Rank the following learning alternatives by giving your first choice a rank of one, down to your last choice, which would receive a rank of nine.

_1. Reading a book about stereos

2. Watching a videotape which shows the stereo’s functions and_ _operations
3. Listening to an audiotape which tells about the stereo’s functions_ _and operations.
4. Reading the owners manual containing detailed pictures and_ _diagrams of how to use it
5. Viewing a live demonstration
6. Participating in the live demonstration
7. Working one-on-one with another person who is familiar with the_ _stereo
8. Working in a group of four people with a person who is familiar_ _with the stereo.
9. Teaching what you have learned to another person_

After ranking the nine ways to learn about your new CD / tape player, study your top five selections to see if you can recognise a pattern regarding your individual learning style. You may prefer to rely on auditory, visual, tactile or kinaesthetic modes. You may find that you like a combination of all four modalities in which you involve ears, eyes, hands and participatory activities in your learning.

F 2.2 Activity 3

_1. From your diagnosis of your own personal learning style, write a short note to your lecturer describing how your class should be organised to accommodate your learning style. In other words, how much of the class should be ' tell me', ' show me' and /or 'let me do it?"

2. Look at the diagram below. Decide where your learning style fits on this model. Why is the diagram cone shaped?_

Figure 1. Experiential Learning Cone from Banks & Thompson, 'Educational Psychology for Teachers in Training'. West Publishing, NY.

i Assist students with interpreting the diagram above. Encourage them to

place themselves somewhere in the cone in terms of their learning.

Learning is a continuous process that goes on all day long, often in an unorganised and uncontrolled manner. Learning about learning should help teachers find ways to organise and direct learning into productive channels without stifling creativity.

The question of how people learn divides learning theorists into one of three major groups: behavioural (classic and operant conditioning), cognitive and eclectic (combinations of behavioural and cognitive theories).

Classical conditioning in the classroom

Children's classroom behaviours can sometimes be explained by classical conditioning. The student who has a particular love of a subject, for example, may have developed this simply because that subject was always time-tabled right after lunch time. Perhaps the student had a kind teacher, and the subject taught became associated with the feelings of pleasure the teacher gave.

Much undesirable behaviour can also be a result of classical conditioning. The child who dislikes mathematics may be simply showing behaviour conditioned by an unpleasant teacher who shamed or frightened the child. Fear of attending school can result from a simple response generalisation, such as being punished for being late.

Operant conditioning

Not many teachers are likely to deliberately use classical conditioning in the classroom, however most teachers use some form of operant conditioning.

Like classical conditioning, operant conditioning is an extremely powerful shaper of behaviour and much has been learnt about this from studies of animals.

Professor Skinner, the main proponent of operant conditioning techniques, used to demonstrate this method of learning by releasing two pigeons onto a table in front of him and place a ping-pong ball between them. As his lecture progressed, he would systematically reward behaviours that he wanted with grains of birdseed. By the end of the lesson, the two pigeons would be playing ping-pong, batting the ball back and forth with their beaks.

Operant conditioning is based upon a reward, which is called a reinforcement. Operant conditioning teaches a set of behaviours through rewarding after the behaviour has been performed.

Every time teachers say “ good work” and put a tick in a child's workbook, they are using operant conditioning techniques.

The steps involved in operant conditioning are shown in the diagram below.

F 2.2 Activity 4

1.Research and find another example for both classical and operant conditioning.

2. Can you think of occasions when you have learned or performed a task because of rewards? Discuss with your group.

Types of reinforcement

iStudents should seek to observe examples of reinforcement in the classroom,

and practice reinforcement schedules and skills with each other in micro-teaching and peer teaching situations

From Bleus, A. (1989). 'Psychology for Teachers in the South Pacific.' Goroka Teachers College.

There are two main types of reinforcement used to shape behaviour; positive and negative reinforcement.

Whereas positive reinforcement refers to a desirable or pleasant event, negative reinforcement refers to an undesirable or unpleasant event. The behaviour is strengthened if it leads to the withdrawal of the unpleasant event. For example, if the rat in the Skinner box is subjected to a mild, but unpleasant electric shock coming through the floor, the rat may run around in a frenzy and may eventually press the lever in the box. If instead of food dropping down, the lever leads to the electric current being turned off. Next time this situation occurs, the rat will be likely to press the lever more quickly.

Negative reinforcement is not the same as punishment. Punishment is when the consequences of a behaviour are unpleasant. For example, if the electric current was turned on when the rat pressed the lever, the rat would be punished for lever pressing.

Reinforcement makes a behaviour more likely to occur, so it must be pleasant. Getting fed (positive reinforcement) is pleasant. Turning off the electric current (negative reinforcement) is very pleasant. Punishment, on the other hand, makes a behaviour less likely to occur, so it must be unpleasant. Giving yourself an electric shock when you press down on a lever is not pleasant, and you would not be in a hurry to do it again if you can help it.

Even if both negative reinforcement and punishment are nasty experiences, when they occur in relation to the behaviour is the key.

• Punishment is started by undesirable behaviour
• Negative reinforcement is stopped by desirable behaviour

Negative reinforcement is for building behaviour; punishment is for getting rid of it.

Schedules of reinforcement

Reinforcement may also be defined according to the timing with which it is used.

• Continuous reinforcement is when the reinforcer is applied every time the behaviour appears.
• Intermittent reinforcement is applied at various intervals, such as every second or fifth time the behaviour appears.

Continuous reinforcement is effective for establishing a behaviour. For example, if you were teaching your dog to sit, to begin with you would give a reward (some food) every time the dog sits down when you give the command. Once the behaviour has been established, that is, the dog is sitting on command, intermittent reinforcement would be used to maintain the behaviour. It is better to reinforce the dog only every now and then for doing so. This way the behaviour will stay much stronger and will be less likely to die out.

Generalised reinforcers are those that have been paired with primary reinforcers so often that they have become reinforcing in a number of situations and for a number of different behaviours. These include praise, prestige, money and power. They are learned rather than inbuilt and for most adults they are amongst the most powerful motivators of behaviour.

Reinforcement in the classroom

Whenever operant conditioning is used systematically it is called behaviour modification.

There are a number of techniques that teachers can use systematically to change children’s behaviour in the classroom.

The teacher should try to determine what is a meaningful reinforcer for each child.

Of all the possible reinforcers, the one most useful of all for school children is the social reinforcer of attention. Children seek attention, especially from important adults in their lives. For most children, the teacher is very important.

Every time the child performs a desirable behaviour and is rewarded by a “ Well done” from the teacher, that behaviour is likely to increase.

Every time the child is behaving inappropriately and the teacher pays attention to the inappropriate behaviour, that behaviour is likely to increase.

Teachers need to be selective about the attention they give to children. It may be far better to ignore bad behaviour and only pay attention to the good behaviour where possible.

change and expand as the child actively makes sense of the world. These structures become increasingly sophisticated with age.

Piaget's theory is a process theory. This means it should help us understand the thinking of children everywhere, no matter what environment or culture they grow up in. It is staged theory, based on qualitative changes in the nature of children's thinking as they grow older. Piaget argues that children’s' thinking changes not just in amount but also in the nature or quality as they mature. Because the theory allows for the different experiences provided by different cultures, the theory also permits for differences in the content of children's thinking, even when children are at the same stage of cognitive (thinking) development.

Below is an example to clarify the difference between cultural context, universal processes and behaviour, and how these affect children's' thinking.

Children in all cultures develop the ability during early childhood to internalise their thoughts and to imagine and fantasise in a way that is not quite as logical as adult thinking. This thinking, however, is very real for them. Early childhood is a time of fantasy and fairytales. An Australian child may talk to a teddy bear, and believes it talks back. The thinking is not really logical, but it shows the signs of being pre-logical.

According to Piaget's theory and the research literature, this stage occurs in all cultures. In Papua New Guinea, Moses, aged four is going through a similar stage as the Australian child. Although he doesn't have a teddy bear, he believes in the spirits of the forest and the sea. If he goes too far into the forest, he will run screaming, pretending fright in case the spirits get him. If he sees his father chop down a sago palm for food, he will worry that the tree is hurting.

Both these children show pre-logical thinking processes which have developed and which will continue to develop in similar ways. What they believe in is different, but the process is the same.

Piaget's view of intelligence

Piaget believes that the origins of intelligence are largely biological. All children everywhere progress through the same stages in the same sequence, according to Piaget, because the tendency to do so is programmed in the genes.

Piaget's view is that intelligence is a changing quality, reflected more in the processes people use to adapt to their environment.

Adaptation

Adaptation refers to the modifications people make to their behaviour as they respond to the demands of their environment. There are two components to adaptation. These are assimilation and accommodation.

Assimilation

Assimilation refers to the ways in which the individual incorporates new objects into an existing pattern of behaviour.

For example, the infant is born with an existing sucking reflex. This reflex is well developed even before birth. Almost immediately after birth, the infant will automatically suck on its mother's nipple.

New objects can however, be assimilated into this reflex sucking behaviour. The infant can suck on a dummy, or its thumb as easily as the mother's nipple.

Accommodation

Accommodation occurs when an existing behaviour is modified to fit new demands of the environment.

After a few months of sucking, the child will change the shape of its lips and the action of its mouth, and develop the ability to bite.

According to Piaget, all learning results from assimilation and accommodation. Either new environmental stimuli are assimilated to existing behaviours, or existing behaviours are modified to produce new behaviours.

The built in tendency is moderated through interaction with the environment, so that people in different environments are using similar processes in different ways.

F 2.2 Activity 6

Can you think of something that you have learnt which involved assimilation and accommodation?

Stages of cognitive development

iThe introduction of the following theories on cognitive development should be

supported with practical observations to link what is being seen to what is being taught. The child study should support the gathering of practical data which can, in turn be informed by theories introduced.

Piaget described four basic stages of cognitive development, which represent the basic ways that children construct their understanding of the world. Each period involves a reorganisation in the child's thinking. The ages of children in each stage are approximations of when such changes in cognitive structures occur.

Specifically, the child progresses through the thinking stages of:

1. Sensorimotor thinking
2. Preoperational thinking
3. Concrete operational thinking
4. Formal operational thinking