Introduction to Institute of

Educational professional
psychology
Psychology Bahria university-
Karachi campus
Kia hai ye education akhir??
Ej–oo–key–shuhn ( H silent)
 Educat Psycho
ion logy

Educational Psychology is a distinct discipline with its own

theories, research methods, problems and techniques. It has
the understanding and improvement of education as its
primary goal
( Wittrock, 1992)
 WHY STUDY EP?
In educational psychology, learning theories give good insight into the way
the students learn. And once you know this, you can make the teaching-
learning process 'learner centered' in real sense.
It actually helps you to understand what are the needs of learner in the
classroom, why he behaves in a specific way, why he responds in a way
different from others and different from his own behaviour at different times.
Once you understand the learner, you can design instructional strategies
accordingly to make teaching-learning a successful experience.
 How?
Very simple example, when a student is not participating in the
classroom activities or is less active in class, how can you decode what's
going on in his mind? How can you help him and make teaching-
learning more meaningful for him?

• The answers to such situations in class lies in educational psychology.

• It is not only a physical being in a classroom but humans who are yet
to understand themselves and there is more!
 Parhayn gy kia is me?

Classroom
How students (you) Intellectual
management and the
learn in an Disabilities in the
ideal classroom
educational setting classroom
setting

Theories of
Qualities of effective Behavioral issues in
individual
teachers the classroom
development
Educational Psychology ki bht saari definitions

• Educational psychology is one of the many branches

of psychology dealing mainly with the problems,
processes and products of education.
• It is an attempt to apply the knowledge of psychology
in the field of education.
• It may be defined as that branch of psychology which
studies the behavior of the learner, his educational
needs and his environment.
 Aik aur…

• Educational psychology is the branch of psychology that

specializes in understanding teaching and learning in
educational settings.
 Thori c aur bus…

• According to Skinner (1958):

• Educational psychology is that branch of psychology
which deals with teaching and learning
• Crow and Crow (1973) defined educational psychology as:
Educational psychology describes and explains the learning
experiences of an individual from birth through old age.
 The following points confirm the nature of educational
psychology as scientific:
• 1. Laws of educational psychology are universal
• 2. Scientific methods
• 3. Constant search of the truth
• 4. Reliability
• 5. Positive science - deals with proven facts as they are or as they
operate, can be developed into theories
• 6. Applied behavioral science
• 7. Developing positive science
Players in Educational Psychology

The learner

The learning
The teacher
process

The learning
situation
 Learning Learning
Learner
process situation

Evaluation of
Teaching
Learning Teacher
situation
performance
 Scope kia hai bhai?

• Educational psychology is a science of education which

mainly deals with the problems of teaching and learning and
helps the teacher in his task of modifying the learner’s
behavior and bringing about all-round development of his
personality.
• The scope of such behavioral study has to be limited within
the confines of the teaching-learning process.
 Scope of Educational Psychology

• The following questions should be answered by an educational

psychologist today.
 How are children's abilities and knowledge related to objectives of
education?
 How does knowledge of learning process and theories contribute to more
efficient learning and teaching?
 How do characteristics of the learner affect his readiness to learn and
efficiency of learning?
 How do characteristics of the teacher affect pupil learning?
 How do the behaviors of the teacher and the student affect efficiency of
learning?
TEACHING: An ART or SCIENCE?
 TEACHING: ART AND SCIENCE

• As a science, educational psychology’s aim is to provide you with

research knowledge that you can effectively apply to teaching
situations and with research skills that will enhance your
understanding of what impacts student learning.
• But your teaching will still remain an art. In addition to what you
can learn from research, you will also continually make important
judgments in the classroom based on your personal skills and
experiences, as well as the accumulated wisdom of other teachers
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• The field of educational psychology was founded by

several pioneers in psychology in the late nineteenth
century. Three pioneers
• William James,
• John Dewey, and
• E. L. Thorndike
stand out in the early history of educational psychology.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
• William James
Soon after launching the first
psychology textbook, Principles of
Psychology (1890), William James
(1842–1910) gave a series of lectures
called “Talks to Teachers” in which he
discussed the applications of
psychology to educating children.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
• He emphasized the importance of observing
teaching and learning in classrooms for improving
education.
• One of his recommendations was to start lessons at
a point just beyond the child’s level of
knowledge and understanding to stretch the
child’s mind.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• John Dewey
Dewey established the first major
educational psychology laboratory in
United States, at the University of
Chicago in 1894.
We owe many important ideas to John
Dewey.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• First, he viewed child as an active learner. Before Dewey, it was believed that
children should sit quietly in their seats and passively learn in a rote manner. In
contrast, Dewey (1933) argued that children learn best by doing.
• Second, education should focus on the whole child and emphasize the child’s
adaptation to the environment. Dewey reasoned that children should not be just
narrowly educated in academic topics but should learn how to think and adapt to
a world outside school. He especially thought that children should learn how to be
reflective problem solvers.
• Competent Education for all
 Diversity & early edu psych
• Two pioneering African American psychologists, Mamie and Kenneth Clark, conducted
research on African American children’s self-conceptions and identity.
• In 1971, Kenneth Clark became the first African American president of the American
Psychological Association.
• In 1932, Latino psychologist George Sanchez conducted research showing that intelligence
tests were culturally biased against ethnic minority children.
• Leta Hollingworth was the first individual to use the term gifted to describe children who
attained exceptionally high scores on intelligence tests
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
behavioral approach

• E. L. Thorndike
E. L. Thorndike (1874–1949),
who focused on assessment and
measurement and promoted the
scientific foundations of learning.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• Thorndike argued that one of schooling’s most important tasks is to

sharpen children’s reasoning skills, and he excelled at doing
exacting scientific studies of teaching and learning.
• Skinner argued that the mental processes proposed by psychologists
such as James and Dewey were not observable and therefore could
not be appropriate subject matter for a scientific study of psychology,
which he defined as the science of observable behavior and its
controlling conditions.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• Developed the concept of programmed learning, which involved

reinforcing the student after each of a series of steps until the student
reached a learning goal.
• Thorndike especially promoted the idea that educational psychology
must have a scientific base and should focus strongly on
measurement.
 The cognitive revolution

• The objectives spelled out in the behavioural approach to

learning did not address many of the actual goals and needs of
classroom educators.
• In reaction, as early as the 1950s, Benjamin Bloom created a
taxonomy of cognitive skills that included remembering,
comprehending, synthesizing, and evaluating, which he
suggested teachers should help students develop and use.
 The cognitive revolution

• The cognitive revolution in psychology began to take hold by

the 1980s and ushered in an era of enthusiasm for applying the
concepts of cognitive psychology—memory, thinking,
reasoning, and so on—to help students learn.
• Toward the latter part of the twentieth century, many
educational psychologists returned to an emphasis on the
cognitive aspects of learning advocated by James and Dewey at
the beginning of the century.
Why research is important?

Teachers can improve their practice by reflecting on personal

experiences and listening to advice from experts.

Research determines what strategies to keep and what to avoid.

Research avoids errors in judgment based on personal experience.

 What is research?

Scientific research
• Objective, systematic, and testable research that reduces the
likelihood that information will be based on personal beliefs,
opinions, and feelings

Scientific method
• An approach to discover accurate information that includes
conceptualizing the problem, collecting data, drawing
conclusions, and revising research conclusions and theory
 RESEARCH
METHODS

The two philosophies that dominate scientific educational research are

the quantitative and qualitative approaches.

quantitative research methods

Primarily experimental approach concerned with the causal relationships between dependent and
independent variables

qualitative research methods

Primarily non-experimental approach concerned with identifying and describing themes underlying
human experience or the experience of a particular phenomenon
 Observational

Experimental

Educational Psychology
Correlational

Research Methods in
Case Studies

Interviews

Focus Groups

Program Evaluation
Research

Action Research
Research Methods in Educational Psychology
Observational
• Observation involves systematic study of behaviours or events
in either a lab or a natural setting.

Experimental
• Research that allows educational psychologists to determine the
causes of behaviour

Correlational
• Research that seeks to describe the strength of the relation
between two or more events or characteristics
Research Methods in Educational Psychology

Case Studies
• An in-depth examination of an individual or situation

Interviews
• Interviews are a data-gathering method; they are usually conducted
face-to-face but can also be done by phone or by video conference.

Focus Groups
• The focus group is a discussion-based interview that produces verbal
data generated via group interaction.
 Research Methods in Educational
Psychology

• Program Evaluation Research

• Research designed to make decisions about the
effectiveness of a particular program is called program
evaluation research.
• It usually focuses on a specific school or school system,
in which case its results are not intended to be
generalized to other settings.
 Research Methods in Educational
Psychology

• A program evaluation researcher might ask questions like

these:
• Has a gifted program started two years ago had positive
effects on students’ creative thinking and academic
achievement?
• Has a technology program in place for one year improved
students’ attitudes toward school?
• Which of two reading programs being used in this school
system has improved students’ reading skills the most?
 Research Methods in Educational
Psychology

• Action Research
• Research used to solve a specific classroom or school
problem, improve teaching and other educational
strategies, or make a decision at a specific level.
• The goal of action research is to improve educational
practices immediately in one or two classrooms, at one
school, or at several schools.
• It can even be accomplished in a single classroom by an
individual teacher
Applications of Educational Psychology

• An educational psychologist may be asked to advise a parent on how to

deal with a preschool child with major temper tantrums
• To assess a young child with profound and multiple disabilities
• To advise teachers on the nature of a 7-year-old's reading difficulties
• To advise teachers and parents on an adolescent's problematic behavior
• To undertake play therapy with an 8-year-old who has been sexually
and physically abused
• To give an adolescent counseling or psychotherapy
• The EP may provide a consultancy service to the teacher or school
Applications of Educational Psychology

• Educational psychology provides basis for the initial

education of teachers, particularly in
• Management of learning and behavior,
• Curriculum design, with special attention given to the
needs of individual children