Educational_Psychology.pdf

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 beha...

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. 1 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. 2 6. Educational psychology is a developing or growing science. It is concerned with 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. 3 SCOPE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY There are certain factors that show the scope of educational psychology: 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. 4 Other few factors also can be mentioned, like: 6. It studies Human Behavior in educational situations. Psychology is the study of 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. 5 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 6 to assist in the child's own discovery. Froebel claimed that effective learning occurs through a child's regular interaction with the world. 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. 7  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 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 8 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. 9 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: 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 10 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 (B.F.Skinner) 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. 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 11 was strongly rejected by linguists and psycholinguists. Skinner (1971) deals with the issue of free will and social control. THORNDIKE’S THEORY OF CONNECTIONISM: E.L.Thorndike (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. 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 12 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. 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: 13 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. 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 14 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." 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. 15 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. 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. 16 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. 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. 17 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. 18 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: After getting an insightful learning, the learner tries to implement that in a different 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”. 19 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 of Continuity: 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: 20 The teacher should present the subject matter as a whole for insight learning. 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: 21 Learning is a purposeful and goal oriented task. The learners should be well prepared to take up the purpose to reach the goal. INTELLIGENCE: 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 22 Word fluency 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 23 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: 24 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. 25 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. 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, 26 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 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. 27 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. 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 28 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. 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 29 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 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 30 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. 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. 31 (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. (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. 32 (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. 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 so.Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is the motivation to act for external rewards. For 33 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. 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. 34 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: 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 35 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 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. 36 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 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 37 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. 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 38 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. Children should be given opportunities to evaluate their own accomplishments rather than imposing on them the reward for doing so. 39  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. 40