Entering Behaviour in Education

Entering Behaviour

• Refers to the student's level before instruction begins
• Encompasses what the student has previously learned, intellectual ability, motivational state, and social and cultural determinants of learning ability
• Describes the present status of the student's knowledge and skill in relation to a future status the teacher wants to attain

Instructional Procedures

• Refers to the medium or media through which a particular search image is transmitted from the instructor to the learner
• Decisions made in respect of instructional procedures include:
  • What specific instructional methods can be used to impart a given search image?
  • Which method of instruction can lead to learning efficiency?
  • What physical arrangement or instructional materials should be made to promote effective teaching and learning?

Performance Assessment

• Consists of tests and observations used to determine how well the student has achieved the instructional objectives
• Assessment devices can be teacher-made or standardised tests, objective or essay type tests
• Results of the test provide the index for determining the extent to which the set objectives have been achieved

Intervening Variables

• Describe abstract processes that are not directly observable but link the independent and dependent variables
• Example: language learning processes used by the subjects are the intervening variables if the independent variable is the use of a particular teaching technique and the dependent variable is mastery of the objectives

Moderator Variables

• Affect the relationship between the independent and dependent variables by modifying the effect of the intervening variable(s)
• Measured and taken into consideration
• Typical moderator variables in language acquisition research include the sex, age, culture, or language proficiency of the subjects

Control Variables

• Variables that are not measured in a particular study must be held constant, neutralized/balanced, or eliminated to avoid biasing effects on other variables
• Variables that have been controlled in this way are called control variables

Common Methods in Educational Psychology Research

• Introspection: involves self-observation by the learner, simple, direct, and cheap, but lacks reliability and can only be used for adult normal human beings
• Observation:
  • Naturalistic observation: involves observing subjects in their normal, everyday setting
  • Participant observation: involves actively engaging in the activities of the research participants
  • Structured observation: a controlled observation that is likely to be carried out in a psychology laboratory
• Experimental Research:
  • Involves two groups of a selected population: the experimental group and the control group
  • The control group provides a baseline against which to compare the experimental group
  • One group is subjected to a different condition
• Survey Methods:
  • Used to gather the opinions of a large group of people about a particular topic or issue