3. Overview Of Educational Psychology
• Educational psychology – branch of psychology concerned with the
scientific study of human learning
• Educational psychology, the most important field where psychological
principles are applied
• In the field of education, ‘learner’ is the focal point
• Educational psychology is a behavioral science with two main references –
human behavior and education
4. • ‘’ Educational Psychology is the science of Education ‘’ – E. A. Peel
• Education by all means is an attempt to mold and shape the behavior
of the pupil
• A related field of educational psychology is known as School
Psychology
MAJOR PERSPECTIVES IN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Behavioral perspective
• Developmental perspective
• Cognitive perspective
• Constructivist perspective
• Experiential perspective
5. History of Educational Psychology
Plato & Aristotle
As early as the days of Plato & Aristotle, educational psychology was not
considered a specific practice.
• Plato saw knowledge acquisition as an innate ability, which evolves through
experience and understanding of the world.
• Aristotle observed the phenomenon of ‘’ association’’
John Locke
• Considered as the ''Father of English Psychology’’.
• Introduced the term ‘’ tabula rasa’’ meaning ‘’ blank slate’’.
• Introduced ‘’ empiricism’’, or the understanding that knowledge is only built on
knowledge & experience.
• In the late 1600s,he advanced the hypothesis that people learn primarily from
external forces.
6. Before 1890
• Philosophers of education such as Juan Vives, Johann Pestalozzi, Frederich
Frobel & Johann Herbart examined, classified & judged the methods of
education centuries before the beginnings of psychology in the late 1800s.
Juan Vives (1493-1540)
• Proposed induction as the method of study and believed in the direct
observation & investigation of the study of nature.
• One of the first prominent thinkers to emphasize that the location of a
school is important to learning.
• Emphasized the importance of understanding individual differences of the
students & suggested practice as an important tool for learning.
• Introduced his educational ideas in his writings – ‘’ De anima et vita’’in
1538.
7. Johann Pestalozzi (1746-1827)
• A Swiss educational reformer
• Emphasized the child rather than the content of the school.
• In the early 19th century, Pestalozzi psychologized education by emphasizing
upon ‘education’ as a process of drawing out the functional mind of the
individual.
Johann Herbart (1776-1841)
• Father of Educational psychology
• In mid-19th century, He formulated an approach to education based directly and
avowedly upon psychology.
• Believed that learning outcome was influenced by interest in the subject and the
teacher.
• He also believed that teachers should consider this when deciding which type of
instruction is most appropriate.
8.
9. 1890-1920
• Three major figures in educational psychology in this period :
William James, G. Stanley Hall & John Dewey.
William James (1842-1910)
• Father of Psychology in America
• Made significant contributions to the field of education.
• His seminal 1899 text ’’Talks to Teachers on Psychology’’ is considered
the first textbook on educational psychology.
• He defines education as ‘’ the organization of acquired habits of conduct
and tendencies to behavior’’.
• He states that teachers should ‘’ train the pupil to behavior ‘’, so that he
fits into the social and physical world.
10. Francis Galton
• The oldest of the founders of educational psychology conducted the first
experimental investigation of associationism, tests on reaction time and
sensory acuity.
Stanley Hall
• Meanwhile published his papers using the questionnaire to investigate the
minds of children
Alfred Binet
• Published ‘’ Mental Fatigue ‘’ (1898), in which he attempted to apply the
experimental method to educational psychology.
• Next major contributor to the foundation of educational psychology in
the field of intelligence testing.
• With assistance of Theophile Simon, he developed the first Binet Scale.
11. • He believed that it was important to study individual differences
between age groups and children of the same age.
• Also emphasized that practice of material was important.
• The test became known as the Stanford – Binet & was one of the most
widely used tests of intelligence.
John Dewey( 1859-1952)
• Then comes John Dewey, his ideas were progressive ;he believed
schools should focus on students rather than on subjects.
• He advocated active learning, arguing that hands on experience was an
important part of the process
• In his book, ‘’ How We Think’’ (1910),he emphasizes that material
should be provided in a way that is stimulating & interesting to the
student as it encourages original thought and problem solving.
12. Edward Thorndike( 1874-1949)
• After Dewey, from the year 1900 to some ten or twelve years more,
educational psychology remained more or less in incubation till
Edward L. Thorndike came out with his revolutionary ‘laws of
learning’.
• Developed the theory of instrumental conditioning or ‘’ the law of
effect’’
• Contributed word dictionaries that were scientifically based to
determine the words and definitions used
• Biggest contribution to testing was CAVD intelligence test
13. Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
• Developed the theory of cognitive development.
• The theory stated that intelligence developed in 4 different stages :
sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage
and formal operational stage.
• He influenced educational psychology because he was the first to
believe that cognitive development was important & something that
should be paid attention to in education.
1920- present
Jerome Bruner
• In his book, ‘’The Process of Education’’, he stated that the structure
of the material & the cognitive abilities of the person are important in
learning
14. • Emphasized the importance of the subject matter.
• Was also influential in the development of MACOS, Man:A Course Of
Study, which was an educational program that combined anthropology &
science.
Benjamin Bloom (1903-1999)
• Developed an important taxonomy designed to categorize and describe
different educational objectives.
• The objectives were divided into three domains :
Cognitive ; Affective ; Psychomotor.
• He believed in communicating clear learning goals and promoting an active
student. He thought that teachers should provide feedback to the students on
their strengths and weaknesses.
• Also did research on college students and their problem-solving processes.
15. Nathaniel Gage (1917-2008)
• An important figure in educational psychology as
his research focused on improving teaching and
understanding the processes involved in teaching
• He edited the book ‘’ Handbook of Research on
Teaching‘’ (1963), which helped develop early
research in teaching & educational psychology.
• Gage founded the Stanford Center for Research
and Development in Teaching, which contributed
research on teaching as well as influencing the
education of important educational psychologists.
16. Interventions
• Educational psychologists offer a wide range of appropriate
interventions to help support children and young people.
• Examples of interventions carried out by Educational psychologists
include supporting children and young people with complex needs to
achieve their potential in their local school, providing therapeutic
intervention, literacy development and supporting effective
transitions.
• Interventions should be carefully planned and implemented on the
basis of agreed action plans to address an identified need.
17. • Mindfulness Attention Program(MAP)
• Beating Exam Anxiety Together (B. E. A. T)
• Sound Progress
• Video Interaction Guidance(VIG)
• Anger management
• Attachment awareness
• Attention concentration and hyperactivity interventions
• Behavior
• Confidence and self-esteem intervention
• Lego therapy
• Literacy intervention
• Memory intervention
18. Issues and Controversies
• The application of psychology to education has seen many
controversies.
• As examples of two issues in educational psychology and schooling,
consider conceptions of intelligence and approaches to the teaching of
reading.
• Ability differences in school
• Learning to read
• Expectations of the profession
