Professional Documents
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PSYCHOLOGY
Concerned with the question of how people learn, and curriculum specialists ask how psychology can contribute to the design and delivery of curriculum.
It provides a basis for understanding the teaching and learning process. Both processes are essential to curriculum workers because the curriculum has worth only when students learn and gain knowledge.
the unifying element of the learning process; it forms the basis for the methods, materials, and activities of learning, and provides many curriculum decisions.
learning? What impact does the school culture have on students learning? What is the optimal level of student participation in learning the curriculums various contents?
Behaviorist or Association
Cognitive InformationProcessing
tends to focus on conditioning, modifying, or shaping behavior through reinforcement and rewards.
Twentieth Century
The behaviorists, represent traditional psychology rooted in philosophical ideas of Aristotle Descartes Locke Rousseau They emphasize conditioning behavior and altering the environment to elicit selected responses from the learner.
He focused on testing the relationship between a stimulus (something arousing interest) and a response (reaction) .
LEARNING as habit formation, as connecting more and more habits into a complex structure.
KNOWLEDGE comprised groupings of simple components of a skill. TEACHING as arranging the classroom to enhance desirable connections and associations.
As one acquired more complicated units of association, one attained a more sophisticated understanding.
of Effect responses accompanied by satisfaction strengthen the connection; responses accompanied by discomfort weaken the connection.
1.
behavior was influenced by conditions of learning. 2. learners attitudes and abilities could improve over time through proper stimuli. 3. instructional experiences could be designed and controlled. 4. it was important to select stimuli and learning experiences that were integrated, consistent and mutually reinforcing.
another to improve the mind; rather learning was a matter of relating new learning to previous learning.
No hierarchy of subject matter.
had application and thus could be transferred to other situations. Rote learning and memorization were unnecessary. was based on generalizations and the teaching of important principles to explain concrete phenomena.
of experiences can be transferred more readily than learning acquired by rote. The more abstract the principles and generalizations the greater the possibility of transfer. Science and mathematics as the major disciplines for teaching structure.
followed by reinforcement.
positive reinforcement simply the presentation of a reinforcing stimulus. negative reinforcement is the removal or withdrawal of a stimulus.
through a series of successive sequence of responses that increasingly approximate the desired outcome. Through combination of reinforcing and sequencing desired responses, new behavior is shaped; this is what some people today refer to as behavior modification.
Bandura ---cognitive factors are unnecessary in explaining learning; through modeling, students can learn to perform at sophisticated levels.
Hierarchical
Learning. Robert Gagn --comprises a sequence of instructional materials and methods from simple to complex.
increase and that each student will find learning and enjoyable.
When new topics or activities are introduced,
have negative feelings should be identified and modified, to produce positive results.
Behaviorists
believe that the curriculum should be organized so that students can master the subject matter.
A. interested in generating theories that give insight into the nature of learning, specifically how individuals generate structures of knowledge and how they create or learn reasoning and problem-solving strategies.
amount of knowledge people possess but also in its type and its influence on further cognitive actions. C. interested in the minds architecture.
Kohlberg Focus on Thinking and Learning Emotional Intelligence Problem Solving and Creative Thinking
1870-1952
emphasized looking and listening, which she viewed as sensory input channels of learning and as the first phase of intellectual development.
to and looks at, the better for mental development. emphasized a rich variety of visual and auditory inputs. recognized that certain cognitive and social abilities develop before others: children sit before they walk, grab objects before they manipulate them, and babble before they talk.
skills
1896-1980
described
Piagets
The
stages are hierarchical, the mental operations increasingly sophisticated and integrated.
experiences.
The educators role involves, the shaping of
actual experience by environing conditions and knowing what surroundings are conducive to having experiences that lead to growth.
Piagets Influence
Three methods of organizing learning experiences: 1. Continuity skills and concepts should be repeated within the curriculum 2. Sequence the curriculum should progressively develop understanding 3. Integration the curriculums element should be unified; subjects should not be isolated or taught as a single course.
and teaching new experiences so they are compatible with existing experiences, moving from concrete experiences to concepts and principles, and classifying and understanding new relationships.
what
a person has already learned becomes an instrument of understanding and dealing effectively with the situations that follow. previous learning is the basis of subsequent learning, learning should be continuous, and subject matter is built on a foundation (from grade to grade).
the
development of childrens moral standards and concluded that our thinking about moral issues reflects not only our society but also our stages of growth and age.
is happening inside a persons head. the brain is complex, as is the process of thinking.
Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardner we must nurture all types of
intelligence and all types of excellence that contribute to the worth of the individual and society. we must consider the versatility of children and youth, their multiple abilities and ways of thinking and learning. Eight types of intelligence: 1. verbal/linguistic 2. logical/ mathematical, 3. visual/ spatial 4. bodily/ kinesthetic, 5. musical/ rhythmic, 6. interpersonal, 7. intrapersonal, and 8. naturalistic
Emotional Intelligence
ignoring humans emotional side is shortsighted. It is important to remember that students feelings color their view of a topic, including their willingness to consider evidence. Emotions strongly influence how we treat information and even construct meaning.
in which they can develop creativity, but they must be held responsible for confirming or disproving the value or correctness of their assumptions. Problem- solving procedures do not lead to creative discovery but establish discoveries validity.
curriculum specialists, learning theorists, and teachers, are cognitive oriented because
1. the cognitive approach constitutes a logical method of organizing and interpreting learning. 2. the approach is rooted in the tradition of subject matter. 3. educators have trained in cognitive approaches and understand them.
Learning in school involves cognitive processes, and because schools emphasize learnings cognitive domain, it follows that most educators equate learning with cognitive developmental theory. The teacher who has a structured style of teaching would prefer the problem-solving method, based on reflective thinking and scientific thinking.
school should be a place where students are not afraid to ask questions, be wrong, take cognitive risks, and play with ideas.
Schools should be places where students can
fulfill their potential, and not always be right in order to be rewarded by the teacher.
emphasizes the total person. Individual self-awareness of an I. The study of immediate experiences as ones
reality is called phenomenology and is influenced by, an existentialist philosophy. Phenomenologist point out that the way we look at ourselves is basic for understanding our behavior. Our self-concept determines what we do, even to what extent we learn.
and configuration.
what people perceive determines
the meaning they give to the field; likewise their solutions to other problems depend on their recognition of the relationship between individual stimuli and the whole.
When confronted with learning situation, the learner analyzes the problem, discriminates between essential and nonessential data, and perceives relationships. In terms of teaching, learning is conceived as a process of selection by the student. Curriculum specialists must understand that learners will perceive something in relation to the whole; what they perceive and how they perceive it is related to their previous experiences.
this scheme is to view the student as a whole person. The student is to be positive, purposeful, active, and involved in life experiences. The goal of education is to produce a healthy, happy learner who accomplish, grow, and self-actualize. Learners should strive for, and teachers should stress, student self-actualization and sense of fulfillment.
perceives. This concept of reality should make the teacher aware of that children will differ in their level and kind of response to a particular experience. He views therapy as a learning method to be used by the curriculum worker and teacher. He believes that positive human relationships enable people to grow; therefore, interpersonal relationships among learners are as important as cognitive scores.
that of a facilitator who has close professional relationships with students and guides their growth and development. The teacher helps students explore new ideas about their lives, their school work, their relationships, and their interaction with society. The curriculum is concerned with process, not products; personal needs, not subject matter. There must be freedom to learn, not restrictions or preplanned activities.
to understanding the learner. It suggest maximum self-fulfillment, selfactualization, and self-realization. Seek to understand what goes on inside us our desires, feelings, and ways of perceiving and understanding. Self-esteem and self-concept must be recognized as essential factors in learning. Learners must feel confident about performing the skill or task required.
trust and honesty so that student knows when the teachers ideas of a subject are wise and deserve respect. Value the uniqueness of human personality.
Conclusion
Learning can be examined in terms of three major theories: behaviorism, cognitive development, and phenomenology. We believe that change is occurring within the three major camps in psychology. Behaviorism is being transformed into several teaching-learning models such as individualized learning, direct instruction, and mastery learning. Cognitive development as an explanation of cognitive growth and development. Phenomenology or humanistic can be considered the most recent learning theory. Its emphasis is on attitudes and feelings, self-actualization, motivation, and freedom to learn.
All
three theories have something to contribute to explain various aspects of behavior and learning in classrooms and schools. Readers should come to their own conclusions about what aspects of each theory they can use for their own teaching and curriculum development.