PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

CORE COURSE II

PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this course, the student - teacher trainee will be able to:

1. Apply methods of educational psychology for studying problems associated with education.

2. Comprehend and use the knowledge of educational psychology in fulfilling the obligations of a teacher.

3. Explain the basic concepts and principles associated with human development Explain the link between development and learning

4. Applies theories of development in dealing with learning and behavior problems of his / her students.

5. Assess the personality of human beings using selected psychological tools of assessment. Examines the factors influencing her/his personality and that of the fellow trainees.

6. The adjustment problems of self, and others .

7. Understands and applies knowledge of Intelligence, motivation, attention, perception, learning theories, theories of memories, and transfer theories and tries to maximize learning in the classroom

8. Identify the mental health problems of children in their practice teaching schools.

9. Studies the child rearing practices followed in her/his neighbourhood and examines its impact on their academic achievement, creativity, and general achievement motivation.

10. Apply the principles of guidance and counseling in helping their wards in school.

11. Identify children with learning disabilities viz., dyslexia, autism, slow learners etc and interventions for learning.

UNIT 1: Introduction to Educational Psychology

Psychology: Meaning, branches of psychology. Perspective of human behavior: Psychoanalysis - Behaviorism - Humanism- Transpersonalism. Educational psychology: Meaning - Origin, scope and significance of educational psychology for teachers.

UNIT 2: Growth and Development

Concepts: growth, development, maturation.- Developmental stages- Developmental tasks – Impact of nature and nurture on human development - Principles of development - Dimensions of development: physical, social, emotional and cognitive. - Theories of child development: Psychosexual development,(Freud) - Psychosocial development, (Erikson) - Cognitive development: Process - Stages of cognitive development. (Piaget), Moral development: (Piaget, Kohlberg). Adolescence: characteristics, problems, remedy.

UNIT 3: Personality and Human Adjustment

Personality: Meaning, Components. Factors influencing personality – Integrated personality – Adjustment as achievement and process – Causes of maladjustment – Conflict, Frustration – Adjustment Mechanisms – Group dynamics: competition and cooperation – Classroom climate and leadership styles of teachers.

UNIT 4: Psychological assessment - Techniques and Tools

Personality Assessment: Need for assessment – Methods of assessment: Scientific assessment Techniques: Observation - Interview- Questionnaire – Inventories - Case study - Situational Tests - Projective Techniques: Meaning - (TAT, Inkblot test, story completion test) - Free association Technique - Dream analysis - precautions to be considered while communicating test results – abuse of psychological tests.

UNIT 5: Motivation

Motivation: Types of motivation - Functions of motivation – Motivation in education. Rewards and punishment as motivator – Factors influencing motivation: Internal and external factors – Theories of motion: Theory of self-actualisation, (Maslow) - The psychoanalytic theory of motivation (Freud) - Theory of achievement motivation, (Me Cleland), - Level of Aspiration - Promotion of achievement motivation among learners.

UNIT 6: Attention, Perception and Memory

Attention, meaning – related concepts: distraction, inattention, divided attention, Span of attention. Factors influencing attention – sensation and perception – Laws of perception –Perceptual Errors. Memory and forgetting: Meaning – Causes of forgetting – Storage systems: Sensory memory, Short Term, long Term Memory. Duration and functions of memory storage systems. Theories of Forgetting: Theory of decay – Theory of interference – Theory of Motivation – Theory of consolidation - Strategies for Improving Memory – Memory Disorders.

UNIT 7: Learning and Learning Theories

Learning: meaning, nature and importance of learning for human excellence – Methods/styles of learning - Conditions of learning- (Gagne) – Factors influencing learning - Learning Curve – Types of learning: Learning by conditioning, (Pavlov, Watson, Skinner. – Learning by trial and error, (Thorndike) – learning by insight – (Kohler) Learning by observation, (Bandura) – Transfer of learning: concept, Principles - Teaching for effective transfer – Constructivist’s Conception of learning – Learning Disabilities: reading disability, writing disability, computation disability - Autism.

UNIT 8: Thinking, Intelligence and Creativity

Thinking: Meaning – Types of thinking: critical thinking, reflective thinking – reasoning – problem solving - Meta- Cognition. Role of language in thinking and learning - Intelligence: meaning, types. Theories of Intelligence: Mono Factor theory, Two Factor Theory, Group Factor Theory – Structure of Intellect – Multiple Intelligence – Emotional Intelligence - Nature and types of intelligence tests - Uses of Intelligence Tests. Creativity: stages of creativity –Measurement of Intelligence, creativity - Methods of fostering creativity among students.

UNIT 9: Mental Health and special children

Mental Health and Mental Hygiene: Concepts, Meaning. Mental health Problems of Indian children – Child Rearing Practices in India with special reference to gender aspect - Mental health in Indian schools – Programmes to improve Mental health in Schools. Special children: types and characteristics Inclusive Education.

UNIT 10: Guidance and Counseling

Guidance and Counseling: Meaning, Principles, Types –Significance of guidance services in schools - Functions of Guidance cells in school: Guidance in Secondary School - High School - Higher secondary School- Roles of Different Personnel in the School Guidance Program – Qualities of a good counselor -Basic Steps of counseling - Ethical code for a counselor - Mobile Counselling centres - state resource centre for counselling for children with disability.