Define Psychology in your own words.

Explain, using concrete examples, the importance

of a knowledge of psychology for professionals working with humans.

Introduction

The word “psychology” comes form the Greek word (Psyche mean Soul, Logos mean
Science), thus the meaning of Psychology is the science of soul.

1
Psychology also refers to the application or usage of understanding, knowledge and skills
to a number of areas of human activity, involving issues concerning with daily activities
such as education, events, people and their task, employment, association, relationship as
well as the treatment of mental health difficulties.

Psychology is concerned with the study of behavior and mental processes and at the same
time, it is also applied to many different things in human life. Everything we perform is
very much related to or with psychology. Psychology, primarily studies who and what we
are, why we are like that, why we act and think like that and what we could be as a
person.

Educational psychology can be defined as the study of the learner and of the learning-
teaching process in its various ramifications or subdivisions directed towards helping the
child comes to terms with society with a maximum of security and satisfaction.

LITERATURE REVIEW

2
Education in the narrow sense is the modification of behaviour of children in a controlled

environment. To shape the behaviour of the subject and bring some positive or negative

changes, it is necessary to study the science of behaviour. The developmental stages and

characteristics of children are very essential factors from which the teacher must aware in

order to be a successful teacher. If the teacher has no knowledge of children psychology,

how can we expect from him that he would succeed in bringing about the desirable

changes in children?

Judd describes educational psychology as, “a scientific study of the life stages in the

development of an individual from the time he is born until he becomes an adult.”

As Berliner (1993) noted, long before there was educational psychology, there was

thinking about psychology and education. Plato and Aristotle discussed topics like the

role of the teacher, the relationship between teacher and student, methods of teaching, the

nature and order of learning, the role of affect in learning is still studied by educational

psychologists today. The method of Socratic questioning is a current popular topic. In the

1500s, Juan Luis Vives had some very contemporary thoughts about psychology and

education such as the value of practice, the need to tap student interests and adapt

instruction to individual differences, and the advantages of using self-comparisons rather

than competitive social comparisons in evaluating students’ work. In the 1700s,

Comenius introduced visual aids in books and teaching and proclaimed that

understanding, not memorizing, was the goal of teaching. Hilgard (1996) observed that

some of the writings of European philosophers and reformers such as Rousseau,

3
Pestalozzi, Herbart and Froebel have a familiar contemporary ring for educational

psychologists--for example, Pestalozzi’s stress on the value of activity and Herbart's’

emphasis on prior experience and interest.

Educational Theories:

Theories about how children think and learn have been put forward by various
philosophers, educator and psychologists for centuries (Wood1998). The following table
illustrates a summary of some of the most famous theories.

Architects of the Theories

intellect
Dewey( 1938) Believes that learning is stimulated through experience. Thus,
curriculum and instructions should not be limited to classroom
walls but should include educational experiences and field trips.

Montessori (1955) Emphasizes that a proper learning environment should include

practical, sensory and formal skills. The teacher should provide
guidance and allow students to build their own learning i.e.
Discovery learning.

Piaget (1970) For the past 20 years his ideas have dominated our thoughts
about children’s thinking and learning. He discovered that
children actively construct their knowledge by acting upon
objects in space and time.

Vygotsky ( 1978) Suggests the learning starts through socialization and then
leads to a deep internal understanding. Children who fail to
perform a task on their own often succeed when helped by an
adult.

Gardner (1983) Defines human potential in terms of the ability to solve

problems in a culturally value setting. He believed in
intelligence as being multi faceted and multi dimensional. He
identified 8 realms of intelligence e which should be included in
classroom practices.

Goleman ( 1995) Developed the idea of an emotional intelligence with five

distinct domains. Argues that the emotional intelligence may be
more important than the IQ in terms of success in life.

4
Costa (2000) Focuses on 16 habits of the mind which are used to deal with
problems. These 16 intelligent problem solving behaviors
promote critical, creative and higher order thinking.

Sternberg & Propose three types of intelligence, Analytical, Creative and

Grigorenko Practical. Believes that the interactions of the three are
(2000) necessary for problem solving, decision making and creative
ideation.

One strategy associated with structured approaches to teaching involves breaking down

the tasks into small, manageable segments for teaching (Grobecker, 1999). Before

conducting a science lesson on sound, the teacher could simplify a complex science task

by introducing and teaching only one step of the scientific method, for example statement

of the problem, so that the procedures and purposes are clear prior to going over all of the

steps involved. This is particularly useful for students with Learning Disabilities as they

become easily frustrated and overwhelmed when material appears too complex initially

and they often give up before even starting a task (Lerner, 2003).

Bruner (1966) states that a theory of instruction should address four major aspects:

(1) Predisposition towards learning,

(2) The ways in which a body of knowledge can be structured so that it can be most
readily grasped by the learner,
(3) The most effective sequences in which to present material, and
(4) The nature and pacing of rewards and punishments. Good methods for structuring
knowledge should result in simplifying, generating new propositions, and
increasing the manipulation of information.

PIAGET’S THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

5
Cognitive constructivism is based on the work of Swiss developmental psychologist Jean
Piaget. He stressed that children actively construct their own cognitive worlds;
information is not just poured into their minds from the environment.

Piaget’s ideas have implications for teachers about what their students can learn and
when the students are ready to learn it. Piaget believed that children adapt their thinking
to include new ideas. Piaget's theory is based on the idea that the developing child builds
cognitive structures--in other words, mental "maps," schemes, or networked concepts for
understanding and responding to physical experiences within his or her environment.

There are two key Piagetian principles for teaching and learning. First, learning is an
active process. Direct experience, making errors, and looking for solutions are vital for
the assimilation and accommodation of information. How information is presented is
important. When information is introduced as an aid to problem solving, it functions as a
tool rather than an isolated arbitrary fact. Second, learning should be whole, authentic,
and real. Piaget helps us to understand that meaning is constructed as children interact in
meaningful ways with the world around them. Thus, that means less emphasis on isolated
"skill” exercises that try to teach something like long division or end of sentence
punctuation. In a Piagetian classroom, the role of the teacher is to provide a rich
environment for the spontaneous exploration of the child. A classroom filled with
interesting things to explore encourages students to become active constructors of their
own knowledge through experiences that encourage assimilation and accommodation.
Students must be given opportunities to construct knowledge through their own
experiences. They cannot be "told" by the teacher. The classroom should be filled with
authentic opportunities to challenge the students. The students should be given the
freedom to understand and construct meaning at their own pace through personal
experiences as they develop through individual developmental processes. . There is less
emphasis on directly teaching specific skills and more emphasis on learning in a
meaningful context. Technology, particularly multimedia, offers a vast array of such
opportunities. With technology support such as projectors and CD-ROMs, teachers can
provide a learning environment that helps expand the conceptual and experiential
background of the reader.

6
VYGOTSKY’S THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Lev Vygotsky’s theory highlights the important role-played by teachers and parents in the
cognitive development of the child. There are three underlying themes that unify
Vygotsky's rather complex and far-reaching theory. The first one is the importance of
culture, the second theme is the central role of language, and the third one is what
Vygotsky calls the "zone of proximal growth or development." The most important
application of Vygotsky's theory to education is in his concept of a zone of proximal
development. In his theory of the "Zone of Proximal Development" (ZPD). "Proximal"
simply means "next". It is common in constructing skills check-lists to have columns for
"cannot yet do", "can do with help". The ZPD is about "can do with help", not as a
permanent state but as a stage towards being able to do something on your own. The key
to "stretching" the learner is to know what is in that person's Zone of Proximal
Development what comes next, for them.

ZONE
BEYONDOF PROXIMAL
REACH AT PRESENT
CHILD’S
DEVELOPMENT
CURRENT
ACHIEVEMENT

Figure 1

He observed that when children were tested on tasks on their own, they rarely did as well
as when they were working in collaboration with an adult. It was by no means always the
case that the adult was teaching them how to perform the task, but that the process of

7
engagement with the adult enabled them to refine their thinking or their performance to
make it more effective. This concept is important because teachers can use it as a guide to
a child's development. It allows a teacher to know what a student is able to achieve
through the use of a mediator and thus enables the teacher to help the child attain that
level by itself.

Vygotsky’s theory emphasizes that cognitive development depends much more on the
people in the child’s world. Children’s knowledge, ideas, attitudes and values develop
through interactions with others. When children are talking or muttering to themselves,
this is called private speech. Vygotsky suggests that when the children are involved in a
private speech, they are actually communicating with themselves to guide their behavior
and thinking.

Vygotsky emphasizes on the role of language in cognitive development occurs through

the child’s interaction with more capable members of the culture – adults and more able
peers. These people serve as guides and teachers, providing the information and support
necessary for the child to grow intellectually.

Teachers together with their students create an environment supportive of a community

of learners. The atmosphere is instilled with excitement, full of fun and focused
empowerment. Participants are accepted as being at various levels within a communal
knowledge base that is dynamic, transformative and ever evolving. It is to become a
creative environment thriving on group process and supported by experts who guide
them. The experts may be students who vary in their levels of expertise. This evolves a
combination which creates a wealth of productive creativity.

Explain, using concrete examples, the importance of a

knowledge of psychology for professionals working with
humans.

8
1. Psychology helps to understand the aims of education

Psychology enlarges and refines the aim of education. Certain features of human nature
may be and have been thought to be unimportant or even quite valueless because of
ignorance of psychology.

Psychology makes ideas of educational aims clearer. When one says that the aim of
education is culture, or discipline, or efficiency, or happiness, or utility, or knowledge, or
skill, or the perfection of all one's powers, or development, one's statements and probably
one's thoughts, need definition. Different people, even amongst the clearest-headed of
them, do not agree concerning just what culture is, or just what is useful. Psychology
helps here by requiring us to put our notions of the aims of education into terms of the
exact changes that education is to make, and by describing for us the changes which do
actually occur in human beings.

As per Thorndike, psychology contributes to a better understanding of the aims of

education by defining them, making them clearer; by limiting them, showing us what can
be done and what can not; and by suggesting new features that should be made parts of
them. Psychology makes ideas of educational aims clearer. When one says that the aim of
education is culture, or discipline, or efficiency, or happiness, or utility, or knowledge, or
skill, or the perfection of all one's powers, or development, one's statements and probably
one's thoughts, need definition. Different people, even amongst the clearest-headed of
them, do not agree concerning just what culture is, or just what is useful. Psychology
helps here by requiring us to put our notions of the aims of education into terms of the
exact changes that education is to make, and by describing for us the changes which do
actually occur in human beings.

2. To understand individual differences

With the help of psychology teacher understand the individual’s differences. Teacher
faces a class of 30 to 50 students who have a different range of individual differences.

9
Teacher with the knowledge of education psychology and individual differences may
adjust his teaching to the needs and requirements of the class.

These studies of individual differences or variability are being supplemented by studies

of correlations. How far does superior vividness and fidelity in imagery from one sense
go with inferiority in other sorts of imagery? To what extent is motor ability a symptom
of intellectual ability? Does the quick learner soon forget? What are the mental types that
result from the individual variations in mental functions and their inter-correlations?
Psychology has already determined with more or less surety the answers to a number of
such questions instructive in their bearing upon both scientific insight into human nature
and practical arrangements for controlling it.

3. To understand effective teaching methods

Every day experience shows that lack of proper methods of teaching sometimes results in

failure of communication in the classroom. The educational psychology gives us the

knowledge of appropriate methods of teaching. It helps in developing new strategies of

teaching.

A major responsibility of educators is to design and implement units of

instruction to help students reach important educational goals and to
achieve this we need to employ strategies that integrate many of the
principles of educational psychology.

Example:

IMPLEMENTING PIAGET AND VYGOTSKY THEORIES IN HINDI CLASS

Teacher in Hindi classes present their students with projects ( Drama) that engage them.
Here is where students learn to use tools for searching materials, draw, analyse, write,
speak and off course enact.. The pupil develops a sense of which tool and material to
choose for the piece they wish to work. Students are taught to go beyond what we see to
convey a strong personal vision of their work. Students are taught both implicitly and

10
explicitly to look more closely than they ordinarily do and to see with new eyes. Students
in Hindi drama classes are also asked to make evaluations of their own performance.
They are asked to talk about what their works and what does not work in their own
pieces. The students learn to make aesthetics judgments and to defend them. The fact that
they are engage in continuous self-assessment, they have the opportunity to learn to be
self-critical and think about how they could improve.

In most pedagogies based on constructivism, the teacher’s role is not only to observe and
assesss, but to also engage with the students while they are completing their activities.
When teachers encourage students to imagine and explore, they do not tell students
exactly what to do. Instead, they urge them to experiment, to discover what happens, to
try out alternatives. Comments such as ‘See what would happen if..’ ‘How else you could
have done this..’ were all ones prompting students to adopt an exploratory risk, taking
attitudes and discover that instead of avoiding mistakes one should capitalize on them.

In this way scaffolding for learning is developed. This means that students and teachers
move from areas where they feel comfortable to areas with which they are less familiar.
Because all participants will be stretched toward their limit in this way high quality
teaching and learning is expected to occur.

Scaffolding for learning takes authors from areas within which they feel empowered and
confident to areas where although shaky and a little intrepidous, keen and eager to learn.

4. Production of suitable textbooks

Educational psychology has contributed to the preparation of teachers for at least the last

century through courses, texts, and teaching/testing materials. The relationship between

educational psychology and teacher education has changed over time as educational

psychology moved from a body of theory derived in laboratories that was assumed to

apply to teaching to a field that directly studies many problems and tasks of classroom

11
and subject matter teaching and learning. As in the past, educational psychology

continues to be challenged to be relevant and useful for teachers.

5. Understanding the developmental stages of growth

Psychology contributes to knowledge of methods of teaching in three ways. First,

methods may be deduced outright from the laws of human nature. For instance, we may
infer from psychology that the difficulty pupils have in learning to divide by a fraction is
due in large measure to the habit established by all the thousands of previous divisions
which they have done or seen, the habit, that is, of "division -- decrease" or "number
divided -- result smaller than the number." We may then devise or select such a method
as will reduce this interference from the old habits to a minimum without weakening the
old habits in their proper functioning.

6. Psychology aids to deal with problem of misbehaviour

The following case study shows how possessing a knowledge of educational psychology
can be a better tool to counter the problem of students misbehaviour.

CASE STUDY:

Jack is a student of Form II, and is repeatedly sent to the rector’s office as he is disruptive
in almost every class. Despite the regular reprimands of the rector, he continues to disturb
the whole class, and he does not show any sign of guilt. Being his form teacher, I first of
all, inquired about his family background and found that his parents are divorced, and he
is presently living with his father and step mother. Furthermore, his father asserts that his
behaviour at home is normal since he is strict with him. It appears that, since the child
cannot express himself at home, he tends to release all physical and emotional energy at
school.

What I proposed, as his form teacher, to my colleagues and his parents is that there
should be a balance between discipline and strictness while reorienting his energy in the
proper channels, like letting him join sports club, and assigning him special duties like

12
ensuring cleanliness in class. At my level, I promoted him as vice class captain, making
him feel he is important in class.

After a close follow-up, it is observed that Jack has shown considerable signs of
improvement, teachers are more or less satisfied with his behaviour, and the rector
himself has proposed to give him a special award for his efforts, in the meantime
encouraging other students to follow the same trend.

In my opinion, punishment is not the right mode of correcting the inappropriate

behaviours, since they teach what not to do rather than why not to do. It is worth noting
that adolescence is perceived as a time for developing independence and very often to
exercise their independence the adolescents start questioning their parents' rules and
teacher’s authority and this most of the time leads to rule breaking.

7. Psychology helps to understand the principle of motivation

Motivation arouses, sustains, and integrates behaviour. The works of several theorists
have had a lasting impact on our understanding of motivation. Maslow's needs hierarchy
demonstrates how a deficit in any category of need, such as physiological, safety, or love,
will affect student performance. Bruner suggested that educators use discovery learning
as a means of stimulating students’ interest in learning. According to Bandura, the
teacher’s performance in the classroom can be a powerful model for students to imitate.
Among the most potent influences on motivation are anxiety, attitudes, curiosity, and
locus of control. When students have positive attitudes toward school, teachers, and
themselves, they typically experience higher levels of academic achievement. Therefore,
teachers can encourage motivation and desirable behavior in students using a variety of
strategies, including positive reinforcement, cooperative learning groups, and technology
in the classroom.

8. Psychology helps in the preparation of time table

13
Psychological principles are kept in view in framing time-table. Contrary to the past
practice new endeavour is made not to teach difficult subjects in successive periods or in
the last periods. A class of Additional Maths will be really boring and difficult during the
two last periods as the mind is already exhausted by these period of time.

Psychology contributes to understanding of the means of education, first, because the

intellects and characters of any one's parents, teachers and friends are very important
means of educating him, and, second, because the influence of any other means, such as
books, maps or apparatus, cannot be usefully studied apart from the human nature which
they are to act upon.

14
Identify and describe the major drawbacks resulting from the
lack of insight into the body of knowledge related to the
overall human growth and development.

1. Inability to understand the behaviours of adolescence.

Adolesence is the most crucial period of an individual life. It is the period of rapid
revolutionary changes in the individual’s physical, mental, moral and social outlook. The
teacher is basically the “proxy parent” of today’s adolescents at school. Without a
psychological background of adolescence, the latter is unable to provide a suitable
environment for the growth and development of the adolescent.

At this stage of life, the adolescent is usually the hero worshipper and anyone with
character who gives him attention, understanding, sympathy, and friendship is in a
position to be of inestimable good influence. However, due to emotional imbalance the
adolescents have lack of interest in school work. In such a case if the teacher administers
punishments in anger or loose temper or indulge in sarcasm, the adolescents tend to be
more rebellious.

2. Inability to produce suitable textbooks

Lack of insight of psychology will lead to ignorance of intellectual development of the

learner, their needs and interest at different levels. This will also perpetuate lack of
illustrations and care for multiple intelligence in the preparation of textbooks. Blooms
taxonomy of Higher Order and Lower Order Skills also will not be considered. This will
create lack of interest.

3. Classroom management difficulty

It is quite difficult to deal with problem of misbeviour, manage the class without the
proper notion of psychology. Contrary to this, at present, psychology follows that it is
recommended to deal with all the minor problems before they can escalate into big ones

15
(Starr, 2004). It is also suggested that to continue to maintain control without
confrontation, techniques such as:
• establishing eye contact,
• moving around the room to be nearer to restless students
• have a silent signal and give a quiet reminder
• know ways to re-direct a student's attention
• begin a new activity when the other one is out of control
• offer students a choice
• be prepared to use humour to diffuse situations
• provide positive reinforcement
• wait quietly until everyone is on task
• make use of directed questions are helpful.

16