EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY NOTES
PRELIM LECTURES
1: Educational Psychology as a Field of Study
A - Purpose and Function of Educational Psychology Educational Psychology is the study of
how humans learn and retain knowledge, primarily in educational settings like classrooms. This
includes emotional, social, and cognitive learning processes.
What are the functions of educational psychology?
1. Evaluation
2. Psychological counseling
3. Communitarian interventions
4. Referral to other professionals
What is the aim of educational psychology?
It helps educators understand what students need to succeed at school and at home.
Benefits of educational psychology to students:
1. Individualised Learning
2. Enhancing Teaching Practices
3. Motivation and Engagement
4. Special Education and Inclusion
5. Learning Assessment and Evaluation
6. Parent and Family Support
7. Research and Evidence-based Practices
Educational psychology is to better understand how individuals learn and how to improve
educational outcomes for learners of all ages.
1. Understanding learners
2. Selecting learning experiences
3. Teaching techniques and strategies
4. Creating effective learning environments
5. Evaluating learning outcomes.
The Importance of educational psychology
1. Aids educators in comprehending student outcomes
2. Instructional method
3. Addressing diverse learning needs including gifted learners and those with disability.
The four main function of psychology:
1. to describe
2. Explain
3. Predict
4. and change behaviour
Educational psychology can influence programs, curricula, and lesson development, as well as
classroom management approaches.
It is studying the most effective methods for teaching people with specific learning
Edward Lee Thorndike the father of educational psychology.
Educational psychology focus on the study of how humans learn and retain knowledge,
primarily in educational settings like classrooms. This includes emotional, social and cognitive
learning processes.
Educational psychology role in classroom management it emphasizes proactive approaches
that promote positive behaviour, establish clear expectations, and create a supportive learning
environment.
Motivations plays a key role in education. Students who are motivated are more likely to set
goals and work toward achieving those goals. Students are more likely to have higher
achievement and learn more when they are motivated.
In conclusion, Educational Psychology plays a vital role in understanding the complexities of
human learning, unlocking our potential for growth, and shaping our educational and
psychological development.
Educational psychology helps teachers :
1. Understand individual learner differences
2. Create positive learning environments
3. Select appropriate teaching strategies
4. Provide student guidance
5. Evaluate learning outcomes
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY NOTES
Intelligence in Educational Psychology Intelligence it is the higher level abilities (such as abstract
reasoning, mental representation, problem solving, and decision making), the ability to learn,
emotional knowledge, creativity, adaptation to meet the demands of the environment effectively.
Which educational psychology concept is relevant for enhancing student motivation?
Self-efficacy theory the beliefs become a primary, explicit explanation for motivation (Bandura
1977, 1986, 1997). Self efficacy is the belief that you are capable of carrying out a specific task or
of reaching a specific goal. Note that the belief and the action or goal are specific.
Educational psychology provides educators with the tools they need to create engaging and
effective learning experiences whether they use visual aids.
Educational psychologist can help develop practical standardized tests and research-related
subjects like how to reduce student anxiety around standardized testing.
The scope of educational psychology includes:
a. Understanding the learner's development
b. Abilities and differences
c. Determining age-appropriate learning experiences
d. Examining learning processes and theories
e. Analyzing learning environment and situations
f. Understanding the teacher's role and characterstics
What is Educational Psychology according to different authors?
a. Skinner - Educational Psychology as "that branch of psychology which deals with teaching
and learning
b. Stephen Educational Psychology is the systematic study of the educational growth and
development of a child.
c. Peel Educational Psychology is education a science of education
d. Stern Educational Psychology is the study of individual differences in intelligence and child
development
B: Human Growth and Development: In the context of childhood development
Growth is defined as an irreversible constant increase in size
Development is defined as growth in psychomotor capacity.
Both processes are highly dependent on genetic, nutrition and environmental factors.
Four areas of human growth and development
1. Physical
2. Behavioral
3. Cognitive
4. Emotional
Why it is important to understand human growth and development?
1. To gain an understanding of your own life experience
2. Help others understand what they're going through
3. Understand the relationship of society
4. Individual growth, lead more effectively
5. Support the physical and mental health of others
Periods of Human Development
1. Prenatal Development
2. Infancy and Toodlerhood
3. Early Childhood
4. Middle Childhood
5. Adolescence
6. Early Adulthood
7. Middle Adulthood
8. Late Adulthood
Components of growth and development
a. Physical
b. Cognitive
c. Communicative
d. Socioemotional
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY NOTES
Adaptive Stages of human development
1. Toddler-(1 to 5 yrs old)
2. Childhood - (3 to 11 yrs old)
3. Early Childhood - (3 to 8 yrs old)
4. Middle Childhood - (9 to 11 yrs old)
5. Adolescence or Teenage (from 12 to 18 yrs. Old)
A - Nature and Nurture
Nature refers to the biological/genetic predisposition that impact one's human traits - physical,
emotional and intellectual. Our nature provide us with the food we eat, the air we breathe, the
water we irrigate our crops with. It provides sustenance, beauty, rhythm and meaning for the
people living on earth.
Nurture in contrast, describes the influence of learning and other "environmental "factors on
these traits. It can also refer to upbringing or life experience more generally.
According to Erik Erikson's psychological theory also supports the statement that nurture is
more influential in each person's development if we take an example from real life then we come
to know that a person who is raised in such an environment where all of his problems were
solved at a time has highest self-esteem, better life.
Plato proposed that the origins of structure and function lie in the organism's nature, whereas
Aristotle proposed that they lie in its nurture.
Sir Francis Galton an English Victorian believe about Nature vs Nurture. He argued that there is
no escape from the conclusion that nature prevails enormously over nurture.
In 1874 Sir Francis Galton believed hereditary factors alone influenced our characteristics.
Based on his study Galton concluded that nature has a larger effect than nurture on
development.
Charles Darwin proposed many controversial theories to the idea of Nature vs Nurture, adding
fuel to the debate when advancing ideas on human evolution.
Early Approaches There are four distinct human development approaches:
1. Income Approach
2. Welfare Approach
3. Capability Approach
4. Basic needs Approach
The Income Approach
includes any method of converting an income stream into an indicator of market value. The
income approach is also called the capitalization approach because capitalization is the process of
converting an expected income into an indicator of market value.
Welfare Approach
to human development considers human beings as the beneficiaries and not development
participants. The welfare approach to development argues for higher government expenditure in the
following sectors health, education, and amenities. The approach emphasizes meeting the physical
needs of the people e.g. food, clothing, shelter, medical care etc. The assumption for this approach is
providing services for the poor people.
Capability Approach
is the normative approach to human welfare that concentrates on the actual capability of
persons to achieve lives they value rather than solely having a right or freedom to do so. It was
conceived in the 1980s as an alternative approach to welfare economics. It also proposes a particular
information basis for making social decisions namely, individual's capabilities and functionings.
The basic needs approach (BNA)
tendencies in economics. It emphasizes that human needs goes against these concept is no
more emotionally charged than other economic concept (e.g., utility or growth)) The BNA also
situates human needs within economic and development ethics.
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY NOTES
MIDTERM LECTURES
MATURATION
Is a stage of completion of growth and strengthening of acquired mental, social, and emotional
development.
MATURATION
Plays a role in a person’s ability to accept responsibility for his or her own thoughts, feelings and
behaviors. It affects their ability to keep track of his or her thinking and, in this case, to control the
various emotions they may experience in a learning situation.
A child requires the ability ride a bicycle as it learns strength, balance and coordination. Growth in
weight, height, body mass, expansion of muscle tissue is seen I in process of maturation.
THE CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT
Means that we are influenced by when and where we live and our actions, beliefs, and values are
a response to circumstances surrounding.
CONTEXT refers to the environment in which a development is located.
5 CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT:
1. SOCIAL
2. EMOTIONAL
3. PHYSICAL
4. COGNITIVE
5. LANGUAGE
NORMATIVE INFLUENCES
Is defined as an event or occurrence that affects everyone in a specific population or culture
simultaneously. It is an age-graded influences, biological and environmental factors that have a
strong correlation with chronological age.
NON-NORMATIVE INFLUENCES
Means that people experience these influences differently; and some may not experience them at
all. It is unpredictable influences not tied to a certain developmental time, personally or historical
period.
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE
Is a set of assumption about reality that inform the questions we ask and the kinds of answers we
arrive at as a result.
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE
Are frameworks or paradigms that sociologist that use to interpret and understand social
phenomena.
THREE MAJOR THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE THAT DOMINATE SOCIOLOGY TODAY:
1. Structural functionalism - a macro level theory that sees society as an interconnected system
with each part having a different function while still working together.
2. Conflict theory - a social theory that posits that society is in a state of perpetual conflict because
of competition for limited resources.
3. Symbolic interactionism - is a micro level theory that focuses on meanings attached to human
interaction, both verbal and non-verbal and to sysmbols.
COGNITION, MORAL DEVELOPMENT & LEARNING THEORIES
Piaget’s Cognitive Development was a progressive reorganization of mental processes as a
result of biological maturation and environmental experience.
DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES
1. Newborn Development
2. Infant Develpoment
3. Toddler Development
4. Preschooler Development
5. School Age Development
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY NOTES
KOLBERG’S SIX PHASES OF SEQUENCIAL GROWTH
1. Obedience and Punishment
2. Instrumental Puropse
3. Good boy / Nice girl
4. Law and Order
5. Social Contract
6. Universal Ethical Principal
LEARNING
Is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, values, attitudes and
preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by human, non-human, animal and some
machines.
LEARNING
Is generally a relatively a permanent changes in behavior, skills, knowlegde or attitudes resulting
from identifiable psychological or social experiences.
LEARNING
Is cognitively constructed and relies on social, emotional, and cooperative processes.
THREE MAIN TYPES OF LEARNING:
1. Classical conditioning - the process of an automatic conditioned response that is paired with a
specific stimulus.
2. Operant conditioning - also called “instrumental conditioning” is a learning process where
voluntary behavior are modified by association with the addition of reward or aversive stimuli.
3. Observational learning - is a learning occurs through observing the behavior of other.
