Educational Psychology

HOME STUDY COURSE - LEARN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Understand how people of any age learn.

What is educational psychology? From a literal standpoint, one could argue that the study of learners, learning and teaching, is all subsumed under the heading ‘educational psychology’. For those who wish to adopt the principles of educational psychology in an educational setting, this definition can be expanded to include the knowledge, wisdom and everyday theory that every teacher requires in order to resolve the dilemmas that occur teaching on a daily basis.

Although there are no hard and fast rules to becoming a good teacher, good teaching practice can be learnt. Teachers need to engage in critical thinking if they are to keep abreast of teaching. That is they need to be systematically identifying problems, exploring the evidence, and finding the answer. In addition, those teachers who are constantly checking their teaching practices and attending seminars on the latest principles will make more effective teachers.

Whatever your reason for studying educational psychology, it is necessary to understand the basic principles which underlie the theories involved. Wherever possible when studying psychology, it is a good idea to quote names and dates of research, as all theories need to be supported by scientific evidence.

A lot of contemporary research has built on theories developed many years ago.

Comment from one of our Educational Psychology students:

"I found the course interesting, challenging, and rewarding"       J. Beer

Lesson Structure

There are 7 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction -Development & Learning Theory
   • Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
   • Schemes
   • Assimilation and Accommodation
   • Equilibration
   • Piaget’s Stages of Development.
2. Behavioural Learning
   • The Evolution of Behavioural Theories of Learning
   • Thorndike’s Theory of the Law of Effect
   • Skinner’s Theory of Operant Conditioning
   • Principles of Behavioural Learning; Reinforcers
   • Positive and Negative Reinforcement
   • The Premack Principle
3. Information Processing
   • Information Processing Theory
   • A Model of Information Processing
   • Perception
   • Gestalt Psychology
   • Attention
   • Short-Term Memory
   • Long-Term Memory
   • Division of Long-Term Memory
4. Memory Retention & Loss
   • Remembering and Forgetting
   • Interference
   • Inhibition and Facilitation
   • Primacy and Recency
   • Learning Strategies
5. Individual Needs
   • Effective Instruction
   • The QAIT Model
   • Quality of Instruction
   • Appropriate Levels of Instruction
   • Incentive;Time
   • Between-Class Ability Grouping
   • Within Class Ability Grouping
   • Effective Use of Ability Groups
   • Mastery Learning
   • Outcomes-Based Education
   • Individualised Instruction
6. Constructivist Learning
   • What is the Constructivist View
   • Top Down or Bottom Up Processing
   • Generative Learning
   • Discovery Learning
   • Reception Learning
   • Activating Prior Knowledge
7. Motivation
   • Intrinsic Motivation
   • Extrinsic Motivation
   • Factors Affecting Motivation
   • Motivational Theories
   • Behavioural Learning Theory
   • Human Needs Theory; Dissonance Theory
   • Cognitive Dissonance Theory
   • Personality Theory
   • Attribution Theory Expectancy Theory;
   • Improving Motivation
   • Nurturing Interest/Curiosity
   • Providing Incentive to Learn

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Discuss theories of development and learning.
• Explain behavioural theories of learning
• Describe how Information Processing Model Works
• Describe processes involved in memory loss and retention
• Describe different methods of effective instruction to cater for individual needs.
• Explain the relevance of constructivist learning in education
• Differentiate definitions of motivation and the application of motivation to learning

Vygotsky and Social Cognition

Lev Vygotsky was born in the USSRin 1896. He was responsible for the social development theory of learning. He proposed that social interaction influences our cognitive development. Central to his theory is the belief that biological and cultural development does not occur in isolation. Vygotsky approached development differently to Piaget. Piaget developed that development had four main periods of cognitive growth – sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations and formal operations. Piaget’s theory suggested that development had an end point, whereas Vygotsky believed that development is a process that is to be analyzed rather than a product to be obtained. He argued that the process begins at birth and continues until death, so it is too complex to be defined in stages.

Vygotsky argued that the development process is life long and is dependent on social interaction and social learning that leads to cognitive development. Vygotsky calls this the zone of proximal development. This is the distance between the actual development level shown by independent problem solving and the level of potential development shown by problem solving with adult guidance or with help from peers - so if a child can perform a task with help from an adult or peer that they could not achieve on their own. The zone of proximal development bridges the gap between what IS known and what CAN be known. Vygotsky argued that learning occurs in this zone.

Interested in working with children –

Adolescent Psychology http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Adolescent-Psychology-451.aspx

Child Psychology http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Child-Psychology-291.aspx

Developmental Psychology http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Developmental-Psychology-372.aspx

Sports Psychology http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Sports-Psychology-292.aspx

Certificate in Applied Developmental Psychology http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/Certificate-In-Applied-Developmental-Psychology-398.aspx

Or if you are not sure if psychology is for you, why not try our Introduction to Psychology - http://www.acs.edu.au/courses/product.aspx?id=359

If you would like to see our range of psychology books, please visit - http://www.acsbookshop.com/books_productcategory.aspx?id=14

For more information on the range of careers available in psychology, have a look at - http://www.thecareersguide.com/articles.aspx?category=14

We have some interesting articles on psychology and counseling at - http://www.acs.edu.au/psychol/