Educational Psychology Introduction PDF

**1.0 Introduction** Education is directed at shaping human behaviour and must necessarily emanate from a good understanding of human behaviour. The module is in two sections: **section A** deals with the psychological foundations of Education and **section B** treats issues in Guidance and Counsel...

**1.0 Introduction** Education is directed at shaping human behaviour and must necessarily emanate from a good understanding of human behaviour. The module is in two sections: **section A** deals with the psychological foundations of Education and **section B** treats issues in Guidance and Counselling. This section of the module provides contribution made in respect of psychological foundations of education. **3.1.1 Historical Foundations of Educational Psychology** Long before educational psychology became a formal discipline, scholars were concerned about what people think and do as they teach and learn. The Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle discussed topics still studied by educational psychologists: - - the role of the teacher, - the relationship between the teacher and the student, - the methods of teaching, - the nature and order of learning, - the role of effect on learning. In the 15th century, the Spanish humanist, Jean Louis Vive emphasized the value of practice, the need to tap students interest, adapt instruction to individual differences and the advantage of using self-comparisons rather than competitive social comparison in evaluating student's work. In the 16th century, the Czech theologian and educator Joham Amos Cornelius introduced visual aid and proclaimed that [understanding, not memorizing, was the goal of teaching]. Writings of European philosophers and reformers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) Johann Hejnyjch Pestalozzj (1746-1827), Johan Fredrich Herbart (1776-1841) and Fredrich Wilhelm August Froebel (1782-1852) stressed the value of activity, prior experience and interest. All these ideas are consistent with current work in educational psychology. a. In the United States of America, psychology was linked to education and teachers right from its inception. In 1890 the American philosopher William James founded psychology in America and then followed it up with a lecture series for teachers titled "Talks to teachers about psychology". These lectures were given in summer schools for teachers around the country and later published in 1899 in a book and in a magazine called Atlantic Monthly magazine. For effective learning, he supported the ideas of using:-\ \ **Projects and activities,\ Laboratory experiments,\ Writing,\ Drawing (and the)\ Use of concrete materials in teaching**. William James's student, G. Stanley Hall founded the American Psychological Association and was its first President. Hall also founded the Child Study Movement in the USA. He also wrote exclusively about children and adolescent. Halls student, John Dewey founded the laboratory school at the University of Chicago. He is considered the father of Progressive Educators Movement. Edward Lee Thorndike, another of William James students wrote the first educational psychology text in 1903 and founded the Journal of Educational Psychology in 1910. Alfred Bait worked on assessment of intelligence text. It has been revised 4 times as of 2002 since 1986. Jean Piaget has worked on the development of thinking, while Bloom worked on the goals of instruction. In 1960, a number of educational psychologists developed approaches to teaching that foreshadowed some of the contemporary applications and arguments. They include Jerome Brunner who emphasized the importance of structure. Ausubel disagreed and said people learn by discovery and inquiry. Currently, Views of learning have become viewed along theories as its integration being the norm. It has been replaced by individual, gestalt and psychoanalysis in succession. **3.2 Developmental Psychology** [Psychology is often defined as the scientific study of human behaviour and mental processes]. Developmental psychology is (that branch of psychology that deals with how individuals change with time while remaining the same in some respects. Social and behavioural scientists who study human development focus on four major issues. They seek to: 1. Describe the changes 2. Explain the changes 3. Predict the changes 4. Control the changes A. the processes of development, B. the context of development and C. the timing of development. A. The major **[domains]** of development are outlined below: 1. Physical development domain - which entails changes that occur in a person's body 2. Cognitive development domain -- which deals with mental changes that occur including sensation, memory, thought etc. 3. Psychosocial development domain -- deals with changes that concern a person's personality, emotions and relationship with others. B. The **[processes]** of development include: 1. Growth --- increase in size 2. Maturation --- development of organs and limbs to when they become functional 3. Learning --- permanent modification of behaviour C. The **[context]** of development involves three levels of the environment where the person is developing. They are: 1. Microsystem --- network of social relationships where the person is involved each day 2. Mesosystem --- consist of the interrelationship among the various settings in which development is immersed 3. Sociosystem --- consist of the all-embracing cultural patterns of society that find expression in a family, educational, economic, political and religious institutions. D. The **[timing]** of developmental events occurs when students grow up. They may go through any one of the following time gradings which will affect and effect changes uniquely to them. They may go through: 1. Normative age-graded influences --- influences based strongly on the biological age' 2. Normative history graded influences --- though one belongs to the same age, cohorts of the same group but have unique exposures and experiences 3. Non-normative life events points at which people change direction in their lives e.g. people may suffer severe injury in an accident, become religious converts etc.