Educational Psychology
Week 1
Human Learning – Chapter 1
Learning is defined as a long-term change in mental representations or associations as a result of
experience. Sometimes learning is a passive process, more often, it requires the learner to do
something.
Many psychologists agree with this definition, others would prefer that the focus be on changes in
behavior rather than on mental representations or associations.
Psychologists have made generalizations about learning through principles and theories of learning.
Principles of learning identify certain factors that influence learning and describe the specific effects
these factors have. When a principle is observed over and over again (when it stands the test of time)
it is sometimes called a law. Theories of learning provide explanations about the underlying
mechanisms involved in learning. Principles of learning tend to be fairly sable over time. In contrast,
theories of learning continue to change as new research methods are developed, new research is
conducted and new findings come to light.
In the following image the evolution of learning theories over time is shown:
Theories have both advantages as drawbacks. First, the advantages will be discussed.
First, they allow us to summarize the results of many research studies and integrate numerous
principles of learning (parsimonious theory). Second, theories provide starting points for conduction
new research; they suggest research questions worthy of study. Third, theories help us make sense
of and explain research findings. Theories can also help us design instructional and therapeutic
strategies and environments that facilitate human learning and development.
Some potential drawbacks of theories: first, no single theory explains everything researchers have
discovered about learning (they are limited to their own research area). Second, theories affect the
new information that’s published, thereby biasing the knowledge we have about learning.
,When looking at theories and principles, it Is probably more helpful to think of theories in terms of
their usefulness than in terms of their this-is-the-ultimate-truth correctness.
Lecture 1.2
Educational psychology - introduction
Educational psychology is a the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human
learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows
researchers to understand individual differences in intelligence, cognitive development, affect,
motivation, self-regulation and self-concept, as well as their role in learning.
Some topics in educational psychology:
- Learning and cognition
- Behavior modification
- Development
- Individual differences
- Motivation
- Metacognition and self-regulation
- Learning in context: cooperation and community
Research in educational psychology
A few questions you can ask when talking about education:
- Who is learning
- Age and development
- Abilities (or specific problems)
- Dispositions
- Personality
- Particular interests and motivation
- What are they learning
- Learning material
- Learning domain
- Prior knowledge
- Perceived ability to learn the material
- How are they learning
- Alone or with others
- Use of learning and memorization techniques
- Through discovery or by other means
- Using technology
- What is the effect of learning?
- When do we consider learning to be ‘effective’?
- Forgetting
- Transfer of knowledge
Why do we do educational research?: to explore issues, shape policy and improve practice.
Quantitative research is the most common method in educational psychology (counting and
measuring, comparing conditions and statistical analysis). Qualitative research uses surveys,
interviews and observations and allows for more in-depth research. It is more sensitive to subjective
interpretation.
There are many ways of communicating in science. The most common is through an (peer reviewed)
article in a scientific journal.
Effective study tips:
- Spaced retrieval practice
, Spaced practice: spreading out learning and wait a while before reviewing class notes
Retrieval practice: put away stuff and try to remember (retrieving knowledge), making practice tests
and using flash cards.
- Elaboration and interleaving
Elaborating: thinking about the material, making connections, asking yourself questions
Interleaving: variation: don’t study one idea too long and vary the order in which you study material.
It makes learning more difficult, which can be good (transfer paradox).
- Concrete examples and dual coding
Concrete examples: collect examples (search for them), connect concepts and examples and share
and discuss them.
Dual coding: try to represent information in different ways (infographic, timeline, diagram, etc.)
Week 2
Human Learning – Chapter 3
Behaviorism consists of several assumptions:
- generalizability of learning principles across species
- focusing on observable events (behavior)
- the black-slate nature of newly born organisms
Early behaviorists insisted that psychology could be a true science, when only it defined learning as a
behavior change and they focused only on stimulus-response relationships. Nowadays some
behaviorists make a distinction between learning and behavior, and some believe that stimulus-
response relationships can be better understood when cognitive factors are also considered.
Ivan Pavlov proposed the classical conditioning, which occurs when two stimuli are presented close
together in time: an unconditioned stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response, and a neutral
stimulus that becomes a conditioned stimulus, that makes a conditioned response occur. When the
conditioned stimulus is presented numerous times without getting the reward (or without the
unconditioned response present), the response may decrease or entirely disappear (extinction) and
yet later reappear after a period of rest (spontaneous recovery). Classical conditioning provides one
possible explanation of how human beings acquire certain physiological responses.
Edward Thorndike focused on the acquisition of voluntary behaviors, which B. F. Skinner coined the
term operant conditioning for. It states: responses that lead to satisfying consequences
(reinforcements) are strengthened and thus more likely to occur again. Reinforcement and
punishment can be both negative and positive.
Some consequences are extrinsic reinforcers (privileges, attention, things), whereas others are more
intrinsic (sense of satisfaction). Behaviorists gave identified phenomena in which reinforcement plays
a key role. For example, complex behavior can be taught by reinforcing successive approximations to
the desired behavior (shaping) or by reinforcing an increasingly long sequence of responses
(chaining). A response that has been reinforced, but is no longer being reinforced tends to decrease
in frequency (extinction); however, reinforcing a response intermittently can maintain it indefinitely,
depending on the schedule of reinforcement.
Human Learning – Chapter 4
Behaviorist principles have many implications for classroom management. Classical conditioning can
be implied by creating an environment in which students regularly associate academic subject matter
with pleasurable feelings. Effective teachers ensure that productive student behaviors are regularly
followed by either extrinsic or intrinsic reinforcers.
To maximize reinforcement’s effectiveness, desired behaviors should be specified up front,
reinforcers should be tailored to individual students and response-reinforcement contingencies
should be explicitly communicated and consistently applied.
