PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATION OF EDU.
• Psychology?
• Learning Theories?
Chapter Three: Psychological Foundation of Education
• The Psychological Foundation of Education is based on
the theory of learning.
• Theory of learning is the result of long years of study.
• Tried to answer the question how we learn?
• The major Learning theories include:
Mental Discipline
Connectionism
Behaviorism,
Cognitive information processing
Constructivism and
Social learning.
Gestalt (+)
1. Mental Discipline
Mental Discipline: also known as faculty psychology.
The mind is made up of series of faculties, each of
which is related to a particular functions or ability
Learning was thought to be exercising of the
various faculties regarded as muscles, which
needed exercise to grow.
Memory was one of the faculties.
Mental Discipline And Curriculum:
Curriculum content was often chosen on the basis
of how well it would discipline and exercise the
mind,.
2. Connectionism
Learning is the result of associations forming between
stimuli and responses.
By trial and error, animals identify connections between a
stimulus and a satisfying consequence.
• Connectionism and curriculum:
• The curriculum dictated by connectionism has a great
deal with drill and repetition in it.
3. Behaviorism
It is dealt with and explained in terms of
observable reactions.
Learning is explained as a conditioned
response./learning occurs as a result of
stimulus and response association
Much concern is for reinforcement, association &
habit formation.
Learning occurs when a particular response is desired
& a stimulus is found to produce it.
Behaviorism and the Curriculum
Experiences selected in the curriculum are such as
to produce conditioned response& drill
remains a prominent method of teaching
Pavlov Classical Conditioning
This is learning from the behavioristic viewpoint.
According to this viewpoint learning is ‘formation of
conditioned reflexes’ or “acquisition of involuntary
anticipatory adjustment” or “a habit formation”
Classical conditioning (also known as Pavlovian or
respondent conditioning) is learning through
association
Classical conditioning emphasizes the importance
of learning from the environment, and supports
nurture over nature.
B.F. Skinner, (Operant Conditioning)
Operant conditioning, also known as instrumental
conditioning, is a method of learning normally where
the consequences of a response determine the
probability of it being repeated.
Through operant conditioning behavior which is
reinforced (rewarded) will likely be repeated, and
behavior which is punished will occur less frequently
Operant Conditioning
According to Skinner, behavior that is followed by
pleasant consequences is likely to be repeated, and
behavior followed by unpleasant consequences is
less likely to be repeated.
Skinner introduced a new term into the Law of
Effect - Reinforcement. behavior which is reinforced
tends to be repeated (i.e., strengthened);
behavior which is not reinforced tends to die out-or
be extinguished (i.e., weakened).
[Link] learning theory
Cognitivists place their focus on the
students and how they gain and organize
their knowledge
• Students do not merely receive information
but actively create a pattern of what it
means to them.
• In stead of being passively influenced by
environmental evens, people actively choose,
practice, pay attention ,ignore and make many
other divisions as they pursue goals.
• Cognitive theorists believe that learning is the
result of our attempts to make senses of the
world by using all the mental tools at our
disposal.
Cognitive Curriculum
• Pattern formation (systematic
organization of information), reflection,
use of acronyms, rehearsing learned
material etc are some of learning
strategies
• The teacher’s role is one of facilitating
the students own discovery-known as inquiry
training
5. Constructivism
Constructivism View of Learning
• It says that people construct their own
understanding and knowledge of the world, through
experiencing things and reflecting on those
experiences.
• believes that there is no objective reality that a
teacher transfers to a learner from external
world; rather the real world is a product of the
mind that constructs that world.
• The mind of the knower constructs his/her
reality based on his/her experiences.
• Learning is an active process of meaning
making based on experience
Constructivism…
Knowledge construction is a function of the
prior knowledge, mental structures and
beliefs that an individual applies to interpret
objects and events.
Constructivism and Curriculum design
• focuses on the creation of learning
environments that enable and support
individual knowledge construction.
Constructivism…
Here concepts are not explicitly taught.
Contexts from which students make their own
learning are provided.
• Learning is collaborative with meaning negotiated
from multiple perspectives.
• Knowledge is also individual construct.
• Learning should occur or be situated in realistic
settings.
6. Social learning Theory
Attention is given to personality factors and
interactions among people
It states that certain learning takes place through the
ability of individuals to observe the behavior of other
persons, serving as models.
This allows them to make choices among these
behaviors, which they adapt to themselves (modeling)
and do in the same or better way.
Social learning Theory…
is a theory of learning process and social behavior
which proposes that new behaviors can be acquired by
observing and imitating others
It states that learning is a cognitive process that takes
place in a social context and can occur purely through
observation or direct instruction,
7. Gestalt Theory of psychology
founded by Max Wertheimer,
The greatest contribution of this theory is in the
area of perception.
Learning is the organization of parts in to
meaningful whole.
Gestalt theory and Curriculum
Development of a curriculum that Offer the
learner an opportunity to discover process and
relationship.
Gestalt theory emphasizes that the whole of anything
is greater than its parts
Summary
Education also means change in the behaviour of
an individual.
So, education and psychology are as inseparable
from one another as two sides of a coin.
Without understanding the psychology of a child
the teacher cannot educate him in the true sense
of the word.
•THE END OF THE
CHAPTER