Diploma in Early Childhood Care and Education

Phase-2: EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Educational psychology is that branch of psychology in which the findings of

psychology are applied in the field of education. It is the scientific study of human

behavior in educational setting.

According to Charles. E. Skinner, ‚Educational psychology deals with the behaviour of

human beings in educational situations‛.

Thus educational psychology is a behavioural science with two main references

human behaviour and education.

In the words of E.A. Peel, ‚Educational Psychology is the science of Education‛.

Education by all means is an attempt to mould and shape the behaviour of the pupil. It

aims to produce desirable changes in him for the all-round development of his

personality.

Educational Psychology primarily deals with understanding the processes of teaching

and learning that take place within formal environments and developing ways of

improving those methods. It covers important topics like learning theories; teaching

methods; motivation; cognitive, emotional, and moral development; and parent-child

relationships etc.

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NATURE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

It has a scientific nature is and has been accepted as a Science of Education. We can

summarize the nature of Educational Psychology in the following ways:

1. Educational Psychology is a science. Like any other science, educational psychology

has also developed objective methods of collection of data. It also aims at

understanding, predicting and controlling human behaviour.

2. Educational Psychology is a natural science. An educational psychologist conducts

his investigations, gathers his data and reaches his conclusions in exactly the same

manner as a physicist or a biologist does.

3. Educational psychology is a social science. Like the sociologist, anthropologist,

economist or political scientist, the educational psychologist studies human beings and

their sociability.

4. Educational psychology is a positive science. Normative science like Logic or Ethics

deals with facts as they should be. Positive science deals with facts as they are or as they

operate. Educational psychology studies the child’s behavior as it is. So it is a positive

science.

5. Educational psychology is an applied science. It is the application of psychological

principles in the field of education. By applying the principles and techniques of

psychology, it tries to study the behavior and experiences of the pupils.

new and researches. As research findings keep accumulating, educational psychologists

get better insight into the child’s nature and behavior.

W.A. Kelly (1941) listed the nature of Educational Psychology as follows:

 To give a knowledge of the nature of the child

 To give understanding of the nature, aims and purposes of education

 To give understanding of the scientific methods and procedures which have

been used in arriving at the facts and principles of educational psychology

 To present the principles and techniques of learning and teaching

 To give training in methods of measuring abilities and achievement in school

subjects

 To give a knowledge of the growth and development of children

 To assist in the better adjustment of children and to help them to prevent

maladjustment

 To study the educational significance and control of emotions and

 To give an understanding of the principles and techniques of correct training.

Thus, educational psychology is an applied, positive, social, specific and practical

science. While general science deals with behavior of the individuals in various spheres,

educational psychology studies the behavior of the individual in the educational sphere

only.

SCOPE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

There are certain factors that show the scope of educational psychology:

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1. The Learner. Learner is the main subject matter of educational psychology.

Therefore, the need of knowing the learner and the techniques of knowing him well is

important, like the innate abilities and capacities of the individuals, individual

differences and their measurements, the overt, covert, conscious as well as unconscious

behavior of the learner, the characteristics of his growth and development and each

stage beginning from childhood to adulthood.

2. The Learning Experiences. Educational Psychology helps in deciding the learning

experiences at each stage of the growth and development of the learner, so that these

experiences can be acquired easily.

3. Learning process: After knowing the learner and deciding what learning experiences

are to be provided, Educational Psychology moves on to the laws, principles and

theories of learning. It also includes learning processes like remembering and

forgetting, perceiving, concept formation, thinking and reasoning, problem solving,

transfer of learning, ways and means of effective learning etc.

4. Learning Situation or Environment. Environmental factors and learning situations

between the learner and the teacher are vital for the smooth functioning of the teaching-

learning process. They can include classroom climate and group dynamics, techniques

and aids that facilitate learning and evaluation, techniques and practices, guidance and

counseling etc.

5. The Teacher: The teacher is a vital force in the teaching and learning process.

Educational psychology deals with the role of the teacher. It focuses on the need

of ‘knowing thyself’ for a teacher to play his role properly in the process of education

and also throws light on the essential personality traits, interests, aptitudes, the

characteristics of effective teaching.

Other few factors also can be mentioned, like:

behavior, and education deals with the modification of behavior; hence, educational

psychology encompasses the whole field of education.

7. It studies the stages of Growth and Development of the child, focusing on the

characteristics of each age.

8. Another salient feature of the scope of educational psychology is to know the

contribution of heredity and environment towards the growth of the individual and

how to use that knowledge for the child’s upbringing and overall development.

9. Educational psychology deals with the Nature and Development of the

Personality of an individual. Education has been defined as the all-round development

of the personality of an individual and personality development also means a well-

adjusted personality.

10. It studies Individual Difference: Every individual is different from the other. It is

one of the fundamental facts of human nature that has been brought to light by

educational psychology. This one fact has revolutionalised the concept and process of

education.

11. It studies the nature Intelligence and its Measurement. This is very important for a

teacher.

12. It Provides Guidance and Counseling: Education is nothing but providing guidance

to the growing child.

To conclude, Educational Psychology is much narrower in scope than general

psychology. While general psychology deals with the behavior of the individual in a

general way, educational psychology is concerned with the behavior of the learner in an

educational setting.

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Theories of Learning

During the early stages of development, children learn as they play. They learn about

the size, shape, smell, taste, and tactile quality of their

world. Imaginary play is constant as children relate their hopes and

experiences to new sensations.

As their minds translate external experiences with personal meaning, children become

masters of their environment (Bodrova and Leong, 1996, p.125). The child’s

environment may be defined as a continuum between the imaginary and the sensory.

Many theorists have influenced our understanding of early childhood and the way

humans learn and develop. They viewed children as empty vessels that are to be filled

and shaped, and the society would look at children as individuals, with their own

strengths and drive to learn. Five of these theorists are Friedrich Froebel, John Dewey,

Maria Montessori, Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson.

Friedrich Froebel was best known for his kindergarten system.

He believed that humans are creative beings and that play helps

facilitate creative expression. Froebel believed that "The

kindergarten was to be an environment in which children could

reach their full creative potential under the protective and interactive guidance of an

adult." Froebel based his system around play materials, which he called "gifts" and

activities and called it "occupations." He believed that when play is engaged in a

meaningful way, then it can be a powerful source of education. The teacher's role is to

assist in the child's own discovery. Froebel claimed that effective learning occurs

through a child's regular interaction with the world.

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John Dewey was the founder of the philosophical movement

called pragmatism and a key theorist of the progressive

movement in education.

Like Froebel, Dewey also believed that a child's daily experience is critical to his

learning and that curriculum should relate to children's lives. Dewey suggested that a

child's mind grows through social participation, which is the primary purpose of

school. He felt that children do not need activities to learn because they have their own

internal tendencies towards action. He also argued that education is not only about

preparing for the future but focus on the importance of living in the present.

Maria Montessori believed in the importance of the senses to

cultivate the spirit of independence in the child. She agreed with

Dewey that children have a natural aim to learn. In her book, "The

Secret of Childhood," she wrote, "When a new being comes into

existence, it contains within itself mysterious guiding principles, which will be the

source of its work, character, and adaptation to its surroundings." But in some cases, her

ideas are different from those of other theorists. Froebel's kindergarten method engaged

children in group learning and provided materials for imaginative use versus practical

use. Dewey believed that fostering the imagination and social relationships should

precede the expansion of the intellect. Montessori argued that only by developing the

intellect imagination and social relationships can develop. She stressed upon freedom

within a structured environment.

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 Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development focuses on

the stages of growth and on a child's ability to acquire

knowledge gradually.

He focused on intellectual development and also believed

that children develop because of their personal interactions.

He believed that children use "schemas" to acquire information. The stages of

development, that Piaget emphasised include sensorimotor (birth through 18 to 24

months), preoperational (18 to 24 months through age 7), concrete operational (7 to 12),

and formal operational (adolescence through adulthood). The sensorimotor stage is a

time of experimentation and physical interaction with one's environment. During the

preoperational stage, children develop language skills, memory and imagination.

Logical reasoning and awareness of external events are the main pointers during the

concrete operational stage. In the formal operational stage, children engage themselves

with abstract concepts like justice.

Erik Erikson argued that an individual develops on three levels at the same time:

biological, social and psychological. The childhood stages of development focus on

identity formation and include trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and

doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry (competence) versus inferiority and identity

versus confusion. He believed that all people pass through these stages as they grow

into adults and learn about the world and as they form their personalities.

Behaviorist Learning Theories

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Behaviorist theory has long been an important part in classroom management. This

disciplinary method centers on the subject's response to stimulus such as

rewards and punishments. Educators sometimes refer to this practice as "the

carrot and stick" approach.

Many criticize this as too mechanistic as an approach, but yet behaviorism remains a

common technique at the elementary level.

Behaviourism is a philosophy of learning that only focuses on observable behaviors

and does not consider mental activities. Behavior theorists define learning as nothing

more than the acquisition of new behavior.

Experiments by behaviorists identify conditioning as a universal learning process.

There are two different types of conditioning:

 Classic conditioning occurs when a natural reflex

responds to a stimulus. The most popular example is Pavlov's

observation that dogs salivate when they eat or even see food.

Both, animals and people are biologically "wired" so that a

certain stimulus will produce a specific response.

 Behavioral or operant conditioning occurs when a response to a stimulus is

reinforced.

Basically, operant conditioning is a simple feedback

system: If a reward or reinforcement follows the response

to a stimulus, then the response becomes more probable in

the future. For example, leading behaviorist B.F. Skinner

used reinforcement techniques to teach pigeons to dance and bowl a ball in a mini-alley.

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Pavlovian Conditioning

Pavlov (1902) started from the idea that there are some things that a dog does not need

to learn. For example, dogs don’t learn to salivate whenever they see food. This reflex is

‘hard wired’ into the dog. In the terms of behaviourists, it is an unconditioned response

(i.e. a stimulus-response connection that requires no learning).

Unconditioned Stimulus (Food) > Unconditioned Response (Salivate)

Pavlov showed the existence of the unconditioned response by presenting a dog with a

bowl of food and the measuring its salivary secretions.

In this experiment, salivation was the unconditioned

response, which is a response that occurs naturally. Food

was the unconditioned stimulus, the stimulus that naturally

evoked salivation. The tone was the conditioned stimulus, the stimulus that the dogs

learned to associate with food. The conditioned response to the tone was salivation. The

conditioned response is usually the same as, or similar to, the unconditioned response.

Education Implication of Classical Conditioning:

Emphasis on behaviour:

Students should be active respondents to learning and in the learning process. They

should be given an opportunity to actually behave or demonstrate learning. Students

should be assessed by observing their changing behavior pattern.

Drill and practice:

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The repetition of stimulus response habits can strengthen the habits of drilling and

practicing. For example, some believe that the best way to improve reading is to make

students read more and more. To break a bad habit, a learner must replace one S-R

connection with another one (Exhaustion Method, Threshold Method, Incompatibility

Method) and Assessing learning involves looking for behaviour changes.

Breaking habits:

In order to break habits, the teacher needs to lead a learner to make a new response to

the same old stimulus.

Operant Conditioning ([Link])

The theory of B.F. Skinner is based upon the idea that learning is a function of change in

overt behavior. Changes in behavior are the result of an individual's response to events

(stimuli) that occur in the environment. A response produces a consequence such as

hitting a ball, or solving a math problem. When a particular Stimulus-Response (S-R)

pattern is reinforced (rewarded), the individual is conditioned to respond. The

distinctive characteristic of operant conditioning relative to previous form of

behaviorism like connectionism, emit responses instead of only eliciting response due to

an external stimulus.

Reinforcement is the main element of Skinner's S-R theory. A reinforcer strengthens the

desired response. It could be verbal praise, a good grade or a feeling of increased

accomplishment or satisfaction. A great deal of attention was given to schedules of

reinforcement (e.g. interval versus ratio) and their effects on establishing and

maintaining behavior.

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Skinner's theory also attempted to provide behavioral explanations for a broad range of

cognitive phenomena. For example, Skinner explained drive (motivation) in terms of

deprivation and reinforcement schedules. Skinner (1957) tried to account for verbal

learning and language within the operant conditioning paradigm, although this effort

was strongly rejected by linguists and psycholinguists. Skinner (1971) deals with the

issue of free will and social control.

THORNDIKE’S THEORY OF CONNECTIONISM:

[Link] (1874-1949) was the chief exponent of the theory of connectionism or trial

and error. He was an American Psychologist who conducted the Stimulus - Response(S-

R) theory experiment with the help of animals. Thorndike was the first to study the

subject of learning systematically using standardized procedure and apparatus.

According to Thorndike, all learning is the formation of bonds or connections between

Stimulus- Response.

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The Puzzle Box Experiment

Thorndike's Experiment on cat in the puzzle is widely known in the field of the

psychology of learning. The experimental set up was very simple. A hungry cat was

kept in a puzzle box and a dish of food was kept outside the box. The cat in the box, had

to pull a string to come out of the box. It made several random movements of jumping,

dashing and running to get out of the box. At last, it succeeded in pulling the string. The

door of the puzzle box opened, the cat came out and ate the food. He promtly put the

cat to next trial. The cat again gave a lot of frantic behavior but it soon succeeded in

pulling the string. This was repeated for several times and Thorndike noticed that, as

the repetition increased the error also reduced i.e., Thorndike's cat showed slow,

gradual and continous improvement in performance over successive trials. He

concluded that learning of cat in the puzzle box can be explained in term of formation

of direct connectionism between stimulus and response.

Features of Trial and Error Learning

1. Learning by trial and error is a gradual process.

2. The learner must be motivated to learn.

3. The learner makes random and variable response.

4. Some responses lead to an annoying response.

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5. Some responses lead to satisfying responses.

6. With the increasing number of trials, the annoying responses will tend to be removed

and the satisfying responses will be strengthened and repeated.

7. The time taken to repeat the satisfying response decreases with successive trials.

With the experiment that was conducted, it can be summed up as elements in the

learning process:

1. Drive : In the experiment, drive was hunger and was intensified with the sight of

food. (motivation)

2. Goal : To get the food by getting out of the box.

3. Block: The cat was confined in the box with a closed door.

4. Random Movement: The cat, persistently, tried to get out of the box.

5. Chance of Success: As a result of constant striving and random movements, the cat,

by chance, succeeded in opening the door.

6. Selection (of proper movement) : Gradually the cat recognised the correct

manipulation of latch.

7. Fixation: At last, the cat learned the proper way of opening the door by eliminating

all the incorrect responses and fixing the only right responses.

Through this experiment, Thorndike explained that learning is nothing but making the

correct responses and moving out the incorrect responses through trial and error.

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Thorndike's Laws of Learning

i) Law of Readiness : The law states "When any conduction unit is ready to conduct, it is

satisfying but when a conduction unit is not ready to conduct, it is annoying. ‚

ii) Law of Effect: The law states "When a modifiable connection between a stimulus and

response is made and is accompanied or

followed by a satisfying state of affairs the

strength of connection is increased. When a

connection between stimulus and response is

made and accompanied or followed by an

annoying state of affairs, it strength

decreases.‛

iii) Law of Exercise: The law states "Any response to a situation will, other things being

equal, be more strongly connected with the situation in proportion to the number of

times it has been connected with that situation and to the average vigour and duration

of the connection."

The law has two sub parts: a) Law of Use and b) Law of Disuse

a) Law of Use states that "When a modifiable connection is made between a situation

and response, that connection strength is increased if it is practised."

b) Law of Disuse states that "When a modifiable connection is not made between a

situation and response, during a length of time, that connection's strength is decreased."
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This means that any act that is not practised for sometime gradually decays.

Educational Implication

1. Thorndike's theory emphasizes the importance of motivation in learning. So learning

should be made purposeful and goal oriented.

2. It stresses the importance of mental readiness, meaningful practice and incentive in

learning process.

3. The law of readiness implies that the teacher should prepare the minds of the

students to be ready to accept the knowledge, skills and aptitudes before teaching the

topic.

4. More and more opportunities should be given to the learners to use and repeat the

knowledge they get in the classroom for effectiveness and longer retention.

5. To maintain learned connection for longer period, review of the learned material is

essential.

6. The law of effect gives importance to motivation and reinforcement in learning.

7. In order to benefit from the mechanism of association in the learning process, the past

experience of the learner should be linked with the present situation that is being

taught.

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THE INSIGHT LEARNING THEORY:

The theory of learning by insight was contributed by the Gestalt psychologists. Gestalt

is a term derived from the German word, ‘gestalten’, which exactly does not have an

English meaning. But the nearest meaning is ‘configuration’ or ‘organised whole’.

Wolfgang Kohler, Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, etc. were the prominent Gestalt

psychologists who believed that, ‘The whole is more important than its parts.’

Gestalts consider learning as the development of insight, which is primarily concerned

with the nature of perception. Perception is a process by which an organism organizes

and interprets sensations to produce a meaningful experience of the world.

The learner always perceives the situation as a whole, and then after seeing and

evaluating, takes the decisions accordingly. Gestalt psychology used the term ‘insight’

to describe the perception of the whole situation by the learner and responding

intelligently to the relationships.

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KOHLER’S EXPERIMENTS:

In one experiment Kohler put a chimpanzee named ‘ Sulthan’ in a cage, while a banana

was hung from the ceiling inside the cage. A box was also kept inside. The chimpanzee

tried jumping to get hold of the banana, but did not succeed. Then he got an idea, and

placed the box below the hanging banana.

In another experiment, Kohler placed two or three boxes inside the cage to make the

situation a little more complicated.

The experiment was made more complicated by keeping a banana far outside the cage,

and two sticks, one larger than the other were kept inside the box. When the

chimpanzee failed to reach the banana with one stick, it applied the idea of putting one

stick into the other and reached it easily.

These experiments showed the intelligence and cognitive abilities that are used for

higher learning and problem solving situations.

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STEPS IN INSIGHT LEARNING:

Identifying the problem:

The learner recognizes the intervening problems towards reaching the goal.

Understanding the problem:

The learner understands the problem, analyses it and then perceives the relation

between the problem and the goal.

Incubation of ideas:

After analyzing the entire situation, the learner concludes through pause, concentrated

attention, hesitation, etc.

Trail of mode of response:

The learner makes efforts through trial and error mechanisms.

Sustained attention:

The learner maintains an attention to the goal and motivation.

Insight development:

At certain moments, there is a sudden perception of relationship in the total situation

and the organism directly performs the desired acts.

Steady repetition of adaptive behavior:

situation.

Comprehension of ability:

The learner can now look into the relevant parts of the situation and overlooks the

irrelevant ones.

GESTALT LAWS OF LEARNING:

Law of similarity:

The Law of similarity states, ‚when there are different sets

of subjects on view, then they are perceived as groups

rather than individual objects‛.

The Law of Proximity:

The Law states that, ‚when objects are close

together, they are perceived as a group‛.

For example, What we perceive this is as four

different groups, instead of ten I’s.

Law of closure:

According to Law of closure, we prefer complete forms to incomplete ones.

The Law states that, ‚we link individual elements of a

configuration so that they form continuous pattern that

makes sense to us.‛

EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF GESTALT THEORY:

From whole to parts:

The teacher should present the subject matter as a whole for insight learning.

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Integrated Approach:

While planning a curriculum, the gestalt principles should be considered. Instead of

treating the subject matter as a collection of isolated facts, it should be taken as an

integrated whole.

Importance of motivation:

The teacher should imbibe in the students, curiosity, interest and motivation.

Emphasis on understanding:

Learning is an intelligent task. The students should be given opportunities to use their

mental abilities instead of relying only on the stimulus-response associations.

Problem solving approach:

Learners learn through insight. Thus, they should be encouraged to do meaningful

learning, learning by understanding and reasoning.

Checking of previous experience:

Insight depends upon the previous experiences of the learner. The teacher should look

into previous experiences of the learners and correlate them with the new situations.

Goal orientation:

Learning is a purposeful and goal oriented task. The learners should be well prepared

to take up the purpose to reach the goal.

Charles Spearman - General Intelligence:

British psychologist Charles Spearman (1863-1945) described a concept, that he referred

to as general intelligence or the g factor. After using a technique, known as factor

analysis, to examine a number of mental aptitude tests, Spearman concluded that scores

on these tests were remarkably similar. People who performed well on one cognitive

test tended to perform well on other tests, while those who scored badly on one test

tended to score badly on others. He concluded that intelligence is a general cognitive

ability that could be measured and numerically expressed.

Louis L. Thurstone - Primary Mental Abilities:

Psychologist Louis L. Thurstone (1887-1955) offered a differing theory of intelligence.

Instead of viewing intelligence as a single, general ability, Thurstone's theory focused

on seven different "primary mental abilities."

The abilities that he describe were:

Verbal comprehension

Reasoning

Perceptual speed

Numerical ability

Word fluency

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Associative memory

Spatial visualization

Howard Gardner - Multiple Intelligences:

One of the more recent ideas to emerge is Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple

Intelligences. Instead of focusing on the analysis of test scores, Gardner proposed that

numerical expressions of human intelligence are not a full and accurate depiction of

people's abilities. His theory describes eight distinct intelligences that are based on skills

and abilities that are valued within different cultures. The eight intelligences Gardner

described are:

Visual-spatial Intelligence

Verbal-linguistic Intelligence

Bodily-kinesthetic Intelligence

Logical-mathematical Intelligence

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Interpersonal Intelligence

Musical Intelligence

Intra personal Intelligence

Naturalistic Intelligence

Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory can be used for curriculum development,

planning instruction, selection of course activities, and related assessment

strategies. Instruction which is designed to help students develop their strengths

can also help to build up their confidence to develop areas in which they are not as

strong.

Students’ multiple learning preferences can also be addressed when the instruction

includes a range of meaningful and appropriate methods, activities, and

assessments.

Robert Sternberg - Triarchic Theory of Intelligence:

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Psychologist Robert Sternberg defined intelligence as "mental activity directed toward

purposive adaptation to, selection and shaping of, real-world environments relevant to

one’s life." While he agreed with Gardner that intelligence is much broader than a

single, general ability, he instead suggested some of Gardner's intelligences are better

viewed as individual talents.

Sternberg proposed what he refers to as 'successful intelligence,' which is comprised of

three different factors:

Analytical intelligence: This component refers to problem-solving abilities.

Creative intelligence: This aspect of intelligence involves the ability to deal with new

situations using past experiences and current skills.

Practical intelligence: This element refers to the ability to adapt to a changing

environment.

INTEREST

Researchers have identified two types of interest, situational interest (spontaneous,

transitory, and environmentally activated), whereas personal interest, also referred to as

individual interest, is less spontaneous, of enduring personal value, and activated

internally.

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Situational interest often precedes and facilitates the development of personal interest.

Situational interest appears to be especially important in catching students' attention,

whereas personal interest may be more important in holding it (Durik & Harackewicz,

2007; Mitchell, 1993). Personal interest appears to be especially important for sustaining

engagement and long-term learning (Hidi & Renninger, 2006).

Mitchell (1993) suggested that personal interest develops in due course of time because

some topic or event catches an individual's interest in a situational manner that is

supported by learning events that help the person to hold that interest. Sustained

interest increases engagement and motivation to learn, as well as facilitates strategy use

and deeper processing. Thus, the development of sustained personal interest is an

important component of learning. He originally proposed a simple three-stage model in

which situational interest leads to personal interest, which leads to higher learning.

Hidi and Renninger (2006) proposed a more sophisticated model in which they stated

that interest develops through four continuous stages, which are, triggered situational

interest, maintained situational interest, emerging personal interest, and well-

developed individual interest.

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Triggered situational interest refers to a change in interest that is related directly to a

temporary change in the stimuli, environment, or to-be-learned information. These

changes may be brought by a great variety of factors, like highly relevant information,

surprising or unexpected information, information that is incongruous with the task, a

change in environment, or the enthusiasm of a teacher or mentor.

Maintained situational interest refers to a state of focused attention and greater personal

investment with the to-be-learned information. These changes usually are supported

externally by a stimulating text, task, or teacher. It is also sustained through meaningful

tasks and personal involvement.

Emerging individual interest refers to a state in which interest does not need to be

sustained externally and one in which the interest becomes an enduring disposition.

These changes are supported by increased curiosity, greater domain knowledge, and a

perceived sense of pleasure and usefulness in the activity.

Well-developed individual interest refers to an enduring change in disposition for the

information or activity. These changes are characterized by positive effect, greater

intrinsic motivation, extensive knowledge about the domain, a high level of procedural

expertise, and an ability to monitor and self-regulate one's future development in the

domain.

The four-phase model of interest development provides a brief and precise explanation

of how interest develops, is sustained, and how it impacts learning.

It is evident enough that situational and personal interests are related to learning in

three important ways. One way is that interest increases motivation, engagement, and

persistence. Situational interest has a positive effect on extrinsic motivation, whereas

personal interest has a positive long-term effect on intrinsic motivation. External factors

like teachers and interesting textbooks provide external motivation to learn more about
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any subject matter. Once situational interest develops into well-developed individual

interest, external factors play a smaller role in motivation, whereas intrinsic motivation

and enjoyment play larger roles.

Students who are interested in a topic or activity are more likely to engage and persist,

which in turn leads to the acquisition of new skills and knowledge. Motivation helps

individuals to develop the confidence to undertake a new learning activity or to venture

into an unfamiliar intellectual domain such as mathematics and science. Engagement

enables learners to develop conceptual knowledge. Both motivation and engagement

facilitate persistence within a domain that is necessary to develop true expertise.

Persistence produces greater competence, which increases confidence and self-efficacy,

and makes it easier and more enjoyable to learn.

Students who are interested in a topic report using more strategies are more likely to

monitor their performance and shift strategies when necessary and are better able to

self-regulate their learning. Increased strategy use, metacognitive monitoring, and self-

regulation improve the efficiency of skill and knowledge acquisition as well as the

amount of information learned.

A third way that interest affects learning is through deeper information processing.

Schiefele (1999) found that high-interest learners were more likely to construct deeper

mental representations of a text. This correlation is due to the fact that high-interest

learners are more likely to possess topic-specific knowledge and learning strategies.

Regardless of knowledge and strategies, students with high levels of interest are more

likely to engage in an activity, persist, report positive effect, and focus more of their

effort on constructing a deeper understanding of the skill or domain that they are

studying.

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WAYS TO INCREASE INTEREST

Use engaging real-life problems. Students are engaged by interesting topics, but also

by challenging and interesting activities. Several studies suggest that real-life problems

are of interest to students and that even boring activities can be made more interesting

if students challenge themselves. Hidi and Renninger (2006) recommended activities

that require multiple students, including cooperative learning groups, team projects,

one-on-one tutors, and interactive problem solving with or without teachers.

Use well organized texts and learning materials. Well organized texts are those that

are coherent and informationally complete. These two variables are strongly related to

interest and learning in text (Schraw, 1997). As texts become less user friendly or as

students become less knowledgeable about text content, it is recommended that

teachers make a greater effort to provide useful background knowledge about the text,

given that knowledge and coherence appear to make separate contributions.

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Select texts and learning materials that are vivid. Texts are vivid because they contain

rich imagery, suspense, provocative information that surprises the reader, and engaging

themes. Research suggests that text vividness has a positive impact on interest and

learning provided the vivid information is germane to the learning task. Texts that

include irrelevant or highly seductive information may actually interfere with learning

by diverting readers' attention from important text segments (Harp & Mayer, 1998;

Lehman et al., 2007).

Use texts that students know about. Prior knowledge is related positively to interest

and deeper learning. Teachers should follow one of two strategies to promote interest.

One is to use texts whose content is familiar, though not highly familiar, to the majority

of students. Familiarity with text helps students generate thematic inferences within the

text as well as between the text and prior knowledge. A second strategy is to provide

pre-reading background information to help students better comprehend what they are

asked to learn. This can be done directly by the teacher or via small group discussions

among students.

Encourage students to be active learners. Students who actively make meaning learn

more information at a deeper level. A number of researchers have suggested that

interest increases active learning as well as the reverse (Mitchell, 1993; Hidi &

Renninger, 2006). One way that students become more active is by using specific

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learning strategies such as predicting and summarizing. Another way is by using

general study strategies in which students identify what they already know, want to

know, and have learned.

Highlighting the relevance of information or goals for learning may increase the

perceived value of information. Previous research suggests that individuals are more

motivated to process information they value. Although valuing may be due in part to

personal interest, it also appears to be affected by the culture of the school as well as

teacher values. Teachers who highlight the relevance and value of information and

skills for students may also increase interest.

ATTENTION AND INTEREST

Attention and interest are inter-connected and mutually dependent. They are like two

sides of a coin. Mc Dougall has said, "Interest is latent attention and attention is interest

in action." It is the interest which determines one's attention. Interest is always hidden

in the act of attention.

There is a close relation between attention and interest. Each of our interests may be

regarded as a powerful stimulus to draw our attention to a particular thing, person or

an activity. The motive which governs our attention is still interest which can only be

satisfied, if we attend to this object. At times there might be some indirect relation

between attention and interest, but it cannot be denied entirely. For example, a child's

interest in constructing models may lead to the learning of mathematical problems.

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ATTENTION AND INTEREST IN EDUCATION

Attention and interest are inter-related, and that is why, students need to be attentive,

by making the teaching-learning process interesting. If the pupils can be made

interested in the lessons, then the problem of being inattentive will not arise.

This will also help making education effective, as well as efficient. With a view to

making the teaching-learning process interesting, so that students will be attentive, the

following suggestion may be considered.

(1) The child has certain natural or innate urges, drives and instincts. He will be

interested in those matters in which his instincts or natural urges are satisfied. Hence,

while teaching, the child's psychological needs and interests are given emphasis.

(2) The child's interest change at various stages of his development. The teacher should

know about these changes and provide learning experiences according to their needs

and interests. For example, in infancy, there is interest in imaginative plays and

activities, in childhood there is interest in group activities and in

adolescence, in love and adventure.

The teacher should provide suitable subject matter and activities

according to these special interests, so that pupils can learn and gain

properly.

(3) The methods of teaching should be adopted according to the

physical conditions and natural interests of students. For example, at

the Nursery and Kindergarten stages, the teacher should organize

imaginative plays and utilize toys for teaching. In the primary stage

stories may be told and group activities be organized for teaching various lessons.

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(4) The subject matter to be taught to children should not be too difficult nor too simple.

It should be within the range of understanding of the students concerned. When the

students find the lesson too difficult or too simple, their level of interest goes down and

the problem of inattentiveness increases.

(5)To make the students get interested in education, the goals and objectives should be

made clear to them. The well-defined aims and objectives will motivate them and create

new interests. This will help them to learn further.

(6) In order to make the student's get interested in the lessons, the teacher should impart

new knowledge on the basis of old knowledge and experience. When the learner sees a

connection between the old and the new knowledge, he is attentive to his lessons.

(7) The teacher should have love and affection not only towards his subject, but also for

his students. He/ she should work with interest, enthusiasm and sincerity, so that the

students pay attention to the lessons.

(8) The teacher should make his lesson interesting and appealing,

introducing novelty and variety of approaches. This will enable the

pupils to pay due attention to his teaching.

(9) There should be adequate use of audio-visual aids in the

teaching-learning process. New media and materials like radio,

television, films, slides, pictures etc. can help the teacher to make his

lessons attractive and interesting and useful for promoting learning efficiency.

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MOTIVATION

Motivation is an internal process that makes a person move towards a goal. Motivation,

like intelligence, can’t be directly observed but can only be understood by keeping a

watch on a person’s behavior.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Motivation can be intrinsic, extrinsic, or both. Intrinsic motivation is the motivation to

act for the sake of the activity alone. For example, a person may have intrinsic

motivation to become an actor if they because they dream of being [Link]

motivation, on the other hand, is the motivation to act for external rewards. For

example, the same person may have extrinsic motivation to act for the hope of being

famous and making money.

Motivating Learning in Young Children

Young children learn from everything they do. They are very curious and want to

explore and discover. If their explorations bring pleasure or success, they will want to

learn more. During the early years, children form attitudes about learning that lasts a

lifetime. Children who receive the right kind of support and encouragement during

these years will be creative, adventurous learners throughout their lives. Children who

do not receive this sort of support and interaction are likely to have a much different

attitude about learning, later in life.

Characteristics of Motivation in Young Children

Children do many things simply because they want to do them. Selecting a toy to play

with is the result of "intrinsic motivation." The child makes her own choice and achieves

satisfaction from both the act of choosing and from the opportunity to play with the toy.

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The activity generates motivation and is self-sustaining, for as long as the child wants to

continue the activity.

Children, at times also engage in some activities because adults tell them to do so or to

please another party. These activities are "extrinsically motivated." When a child is

extrinsically motivated, the reward comes from outside the child, it has to be provided

by someone else, and has to be continuously given to the child, to remain motivated

enough to continue the activity. It is very difficult for a child to sustain extrinsically

motivated because of this dependence on some outside force.

Children learn better through intrinsically motivated activities and they are more

involved in their own learning and development. A child is more likely to learn and

retain information when he/ she is intrinsically motivated and believes that he/ she is

pleasing himself/ herself. Parents can build on this sense of confidence by guiding their

child's play and activities while still giving the child a range of options. This

unstructured play is an essential element of the child's motivation, learning, and

development.

A number of behavioral characteristics are indicators of high motivation. Below are

listed some of the important factors and ways to help a child develop these

characteristics:

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Persistence is the ability to stay with a task for a reasonably long period of time. While

very young children cannot concentrate on one activity for an hour, there are still

measurable differences in the length of time that young children will engage in an

activity. A highly motivated child will stay involved for a long period of time, whereas

an unmotivated child will give up very easily when not instantly successful. Children

learn persistence when they are successful at a challenging task. The art in building

persistence is in offering a task that is just challenging enough, but not overwhelming.

Choice of challenge is another characteristic of motivation. Children who experience

success in meeting one challenge will become motivated and be prepared for another.

These kind of motivated learners will choose an activity that is slightly difficult for

them, but provides an appropriate challenge. When they successfully complete such a

task, children gain a high level of satisfaction. Unmotivated children (those who have

not experienced early success) will pick something that is very easy and want an instant

success. With such easy success, children feel only a very low level of satisfaction,

because they know that the task that they completed actually had very little challenge.

The challenge for parents is to help their child find an appropriate challenge but allow

the choice to be the child’s.

Dependency on adults is another indicator of motivation. Children with strong intrinsic

motivation do not need an adult constantly watching and helping them in their

activities, whereas children who have a lower level of motivation or are extrinsically

motivated need constant attention from adults and cannot function independently.

Since independence is an important aspect of quality learning, this dependence on

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adults will greatly limit children's ability to succeed in school.

Parents can increase the child's spirit of building up an independent motivation by

providing toys and activities that play to the child's natural creativity and curiosity.

These things encourage children to invent their own worlds rather than depending on

an adult.

Emotion is the last indicator of motivational level. Children who are clearly motivated

will have a positive display of emotion and are satisfied with their work and show more

enjoyment in any activity. Children without the right kind motivation will appear

quiet, and bored. They will not find any pleasure in their activities and will often

complain. A parent is the best judge of his/ her child's moods and giving a new fun

activity may change the behavior pattern of the child.

Developing Motivation

Newborn infants are born with a tremendous amount of intrinsic motivation and aims

towards having some visible effect on the environment. When infants can actually see

the results of their actions as a reward, they are motivated to continue those actions.

These attempts towards control are limited within the young child, and include crying,

vocalizations, facial expressions and small body movements. Toys that change or make

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sound, as the child moves them are therefore strong motivators.

As infants grow and continue to mature (9-24 months), more voluntary, purposeful

movements happen. This gives them more control of their environment and allows

children to feel that they are successful. Success leads to higher self-esteem and feelings

of self-worth, which leads to a stronger motivation. As children continue to develop

during this time, they are better able to make decisions and plan what to do to gain

control of things around them. They begin to set their own goals for activities and the

resulting success is not based upon the adults, but entirely upon the child's ability to

achieve the goals that he has set out for himself.

When a child reaches two years, they develop the ability to produce a sequence of

events in order to achieve a goal. They also have an appreciation for standards and

begin to evaluate their efforts. By three years of age, children become interested in

doing things well, as opposed to just doing them. They have an idea of various levels of

competency in performance and judge their success by their own internal standards.

Therefore they have much less need for adult feedback about the quality of their efforts.

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Preschoolers (age 3-5 years) begin to get more involved with the verbal problem solving

skills. They direct their own learning through speech and

use vocal communication to direct their own behavior to solve problems. Young

children are often heard talking amongst themselves through a series of actions that

lead to the solution of a problem. As children get older, this "talking out loud" becomes

an internal monologue and this ability to problem solve is the basis for motivation at

this stage. Gaining self confidence that one can solve a problem, motivates the learner

to accept other new and challenging situations, which in turn lead to greater learning.

Enhancing Motivation

The goal for the parents of young children should be to support the development of

motivation so that there is a proper foundation for optimal educational growth. They

should be very cautious about the use of many extrinsic rewards because it can severely

interfere with the child's motivational development. A child should do a task because

only if she is interested, not because she thinks it will bring praise from the parents and

others.

It becomes difficult when adults or others within the child's environment enforce

external standards and replace the internal reward system with the supply all of the

outside rewards like candy, money, excessive praise. Children then begin to feel

successful only if someone else rewards them for their tasks done. They lose their

intrinsic motivation and may only feel success when someone else judges them as

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successful. In such situations, children may not develop feelings of self-worth, and will

judge their own value by someone else's standards.

There are several strategies parents can use to help children remain more fully

intrinsically motivated.

 Provide an environment through age appropriate toys, activities, etc. that allows

children to freely explore.

 Respond to children's needs in a consistent, predictable manner, but allow them

to be as independent as possible. Provide many opportunities for children and adults to

explore together and interact directly. It is important for both children and adults to be

working together on an activity which helps to observe, model, and encourage the

child.

 If a child is given a slightly difficult activity, she gets more motivated and gives

her a strong feeling of success in the achievement.

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 Children should be given opportunities to evaluate their own accomplishments

rather than imposing on them the reward for doing so.

 Too many rewards are not required as it tends to undermine the children's ability

to value themselves. Praise and rewards should be based upon children's effort and

persistence.

The habits and attitudes towards learning that are formed in the early years set the

mood for all future learning.

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