COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

Bahir Dar University

DISTANCE LEARNING MODULE FOR THE COURSE

PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF DEVELOPMENT AND
LEARNING

BAHIR DAR

MAY, 2014

1|Page
Course Module Title: Psychological Foundations of Learning & Development
Course code:-PGDT-412
Credit Hours:-3

Developed by

*Shambel Molla Bizuneh (Masters in Educational Psychology)

Department of Psychology

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences

Bahir Dar University

May, 2014
Bahir Dar

2|Page
Contents
UNIT ONE: AN OVERVIEW ON PSYCHOLOGY ..........................................................................................5
1.1. Definition .............................................................................................................................................5
1.2. Goals of Psychology ............................................................................................................................6
1.3. Schools of Psychology .........................................................................................................................7
1.4. Research Methods in Psychology .............................................................................................................8
UNIT TWO: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE ....................................13
2. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................13
2.1. Developmental Characteristics ..........................................................................................................13
2.2. Dimensions(Aspects) of Development) .............................................................................................14
2.5. Controversies in Development ...........................................................................................................14
2.6. Theories of Development and Implications .......................................................................................16
2.6.1. Theories of Cognitive & Language Development ...........................................................................16
2.6.2. Theories of Psychodynamic Development.................................................................................21
2.6.2.2. Erickson‘s Psychosocial Stages of Development ..................................................................25
2.6.3. Moral Development .......................................................................................................................28
UNIT THREE: LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR DEVELOPMENT ................................................................34
3. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................34
3.1. Definition, Characteristics and Principles of Learning ...........................................................................34
3.2. Theories of learning ...........................................................................................................................37
3.2.1.1. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING.......................................................................................................37
3.2.1.2: Operant Conditioning....................................................................................................................39
3.2.2. Cognitive learning theories ..................................................................................................................42
UNIT FOUR: STUDENT SUPPORT: GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING.....................................................64
4. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................64
4.1. Concept of Guidance and Counseling ................................................................................................64
4.2. Guidance and Counseling in Schools.................................................................................................67
4.3. The Goal of Guidance and Counseling ..............................................................................................69
4.4. Types of Guidance and Counseling in schools ..................................................................................70
4.5. Qualities of Effective Guidance and Counselor .................................................................................74
4.7. Instrument Development and Validation ...........................................................................................76
4.8. Data Collection and Processing .........................................................................................................78
4.9. Data Collecting Techniques ...............................................................................................................83

3|Page
 Description Symbols

This symbol represents chapter open ups.

This sign indicates what comes next

This sign stands for in-text questions

This symbol refers to Activity

4|Page
 UNIT ONE: AN OVERVIEW ON PSYCHOLOGY

1. Chapter Overview
This chapter tries to acquaint students with the concept of psychology. The specific contents
addressed in the chapter are definition of psychology and related concepts, goals of psychology,
historical background and major perspectives in psychology, branches/subfields of psychology, and
research methods in psychology.

Stimulator: A psychologist once asked a group of university freshmen to tell him who they think a
psychologist is. Some say „someone who reads the palm of an individual and tells the behavior of a
person‟, others said „someone who is a fortune teller‟, the rest said, „a person who can understand
what someone is thinking about at a certain time.‟ What about you? You just explore these views as
you proceed through the discussions in this chapter.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
 Define psychology
 Point out the goals of psychology
 Identify early schools and modern perspectives of psychology
 Discuss the basis of differences among perspectives of psychology
 Differentiate the major research methods in psychology
Brain Storming Activity
 What comes to your mind when you hear about the word psychology?
 Have you ever heard about, read or listened to anything related to psychology?
 What do you expect from the course in psychology of learning and human development?
1.1.Definition

Though it is easy to think that everyday situations have commonsense answers, scientific
studies have found that people are not always as good at predicting outcomes as they think they are.
The hindsight bias leads us to think that we could have predicted events that we actually could not
have predicted. People are frequently unaware of the causes of their own behaviors. Perhaps most
importantly, the field of intuition has moved steadily from speculation about behavior toward a more
objective and scientific approach as the technology available to study human behavior has improved
(Benjamin & Baker, 2004) to Psychology. Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior.

5|Page
The term psychology was coined from two Greek words: Psyche meaning ―soul‖ and logos meaning
―science‖. The subject matter of psychology was shifted to the systematic study of behavior by J.B.
Watson in 1878-1958. At present, psychology is defined as the scientific study of human behavior
and mental processes. When we examine the above definition of psychology, we can have three
basic terms (i.e. science, behavior and mental processes).
 Science: - is a systematized body of knowledge which yields information by gathered
information through careful observation, experimentation, measuring and recording of events.
 Behavior: - whatever a person does that can be observed or overt activity.
 Mental processes: - are mental activities like thinking, remembering, reasoning, perceiving
and so on.
1.2.Goals of Psychology
Brainstorming Questions
Dear student, why do you think is psychology important?
What do you think a psychologist is doing when studying behavior and mental processes? Have
you listed some?
Fine, let us see the goals together below.
As a science, psychology has four goals; description, explanation, prediction, and control.
Description: Description involves observing the behavior and noticing everything about it. It is a
search for answers for questions like What is happening?‗ Where does it happen?‗ To whom does it
happen? And under what circumstances does it seem to happen?
For example, a teacher might notice that a young freshman girl in his/her general psychology
classroom is behaving oddly. She is not turning to her homework, her results are slipping badly, and
she seems to have a very negative attitude toward the course.
Explanation: Why is it happening? Explanation is about trying to find reasons for the observed
behavior. This helps in the process of forming theories of behavior (A theory is a general explanation
of a set of observations or facts). For instance in the above example, to find out why the girl is doing
all those things, the teacher would most likely ask her parents about her home background, her
friends and the like and may come to an understanding that this girl was behaving the way she did
because she was given attention (in a way reward) by other people when she used to behave oddly

6|Page
Prediction: prediction is about determining what will happen in the future. In the above example, the
case of the freshman girl, the psychologist or counselor would predict (based on previous research
into similar situations) that this girl may never be able to reach her full learning potential.
Controlling/Modification: How can it be changed? Control or modify or change the behavior from
undesirable one (such as failing in school) to a desirable one (such as academic success). In the
example above, certain learning strategies can be used to help the girl so that she will be successful
in her academic endeavor. Control can also be used in the sense that a psychologist tries to check out
the effects of certain undesirable factors in examining the relationship between two or more
behaviors. For example, in studying the relationship between intelligence and academic performance
in freshman courses, a psychologist needs to control the effect of socio-economic status of the
family.

Reflection
 Dear student, can you please reflect on the relationship and difference between the four
goals of psychology?

1.3. Schools of Psychology

The Most Important Approaches (Schools) of Psychology are summarized in table1

School of Description Important

psychology contributors
Structuralism Uses the method of introspection to identify the basic Wilhelm Wundt,
elements or ―structures‖ of psychological experience Edward B. Titchener
Functionalism Attempts to understand why animals and humans have William James
developed the particular psychological aspects that they
currently possess
Psychodynamic Focuses on the role of our unconscious thoughts, feelings, Sigmund Freud, Carl
and memories and our early childhood experiences in Jung, Alfred Adler,
determining behavior Erik Erickson

7|Page
Behaviorism Based on the premise that it is not possible to objectively John B. Watson, B.
study the mind, and therefore that psychologists should F. Skinner
limit their attention to the study of behavior itself
Cognitive The study of mental processes, including perception, Hermann
thinking, memory, and judgments Ebbinghaus, Sir
Frederic Bartlett,
Jean Piaget
Social-cultural The study of how the social situations and the cultures in Fritz Heider, Leon
which people find themselves influence thinking and Festinger, Stanley
behavior Schachter

1.4. Research Methods in Psychology

A. Definition of terms

Brainstorming Questions
Dear student, can you please describe what science, and the scientific method in
particular, is focused on?

Before getting into research methods, it is important to start with discussion of scientific method. At
the beginning of this chapter, we said that psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental
processes. This means, in psychology, researchers want to see only what is there, not what their
biases might want them to see. Researchers do this by using the scientific method (a system for
reducing bias and error in the measurement of data). Hence, before discussing the types of research
methods; we try to see the following terms.

Scientific method - a process of testing ideas through systematic observations,

experimentations, and statistical analysis.
Theory - is an integrated set of principles about observed facts that is intended to describe
and explain some aspects of experience.
Hypotheses - is a tentative proposition about the relationship between two or more variables
or phenomena. E.g. Males have high self - confidence in making decisions than females.

8|Page
B. Major types of research methods

Brainstorming question

 Dear student, do you think that psychologists are doing exactly the same thing to achieve
the different goals?

Although all psychologists pursue the same scientific method, there is, however, diversity in what
psychologists do to achieve the different objectives and goals. Hence, there are three major types of
research methods: descriptive, correlational and experimental research methods.

1. Descriptive research - in this type of research, the researcher simply records what she/he has
systematically observed. Descriptive research methods include naturalistic observation, case
studies, and surveys.
i. Naturalistic observation: is a descriptive research method in which subjects are
observed in their natural environment to get a real (not artificial) picture of how
behavior occurs. Limitations of naturalistic observation are observer effect (animals
or people who know they are being watched may behave artificially) and observer
bias (the researcher may not observe systematically or he/she may observe behaviors
he/she wants to observe and ignores others).
ii. Case study: is a descriptive technique in which an individual is studied in great
detail. Its advantage is that it provides tremendous amount of data about a single case
or individual. The disadvantage of case study is that the researchers can‗t apply the
results to other similar people, which means what researchers find in one case can‗t
necessarily apply or generalize to others.
iii. Survey: is a descriptive research method used to collect data from a very large group
of people. It is useful to get information on private (covert) behaviors and it addresses
hundreds of people with the same questions at the same time. Its disadvantage is that
it needs a careful selection of a representative sample of the actual population.
2. Correlational research - is a research method that measures the relationship between two or
more variables. A variable is anything that can change or vary –scores on a test, the temperature
in a room, gender, and so on. For example, a researcher might be curious to know whether or not
cigarette smoking is connected to life expectancy. Though correlation tells researchers if there is

9|Page
 a relationship between variables, how strong the relationship is, and in what direction the
relationship goes, it doesn‗t prove causation (which means it doesn‗t show the cause and effect
relationship). This means, for example, that if there is a relationship between smoking and lung
cancer, this doesn‗t mean that smoking causes lung cancer.
3. Experimental Research: it is a research method that allows researchers to study the cause and
effect relationship between variables. In experimental research, a carefully regulated procedure
in which one or more factors believed to influence the behavior being studied are manipulated
and all other factors are held constant. Experiments involve at least one independent variable and
one dependent variable. The independent variable is the manipulated, influential, experimental
factor. The dependent variable is the factor (behavior) that is measured in an experiment. It can
change as the independent variable is manipulated. For example, a researcher may need to know
whether or not class size has an effect on students‘ academic performance and hypothesizes as
―do students in small class size have better academic performance than students in large class
size? In this question, the researcher has two variables: class size, which is the independent
variable to be manipulated and students‟ performance which is the dependent variable to be
measured while class size is changed. Experiments also involve randomly assigned experimental
groups and control groups. An experimental group is a group whose experience is manipulated.
In our example, the experimental group is students who are assigned in small class sizes.
A control group is a comparison that is treated in every way like the experimental group except
for the manipulated factor (class size). The control group serves as a baseline against which the
effects of the manipulated condition can be compared. In this example, the control group is the
group of students who are assigned in large class sizes. Although experimental research is useful
to discover causes of behaviors, such research must be done cautiously because expectations and
biases on the part of both the researcher and participants can affect the results.

C. Steps of scientific research

Brainstorming Questions

Dear student, can you think of the procedures to be followed to conduct scientific research,
please? Did you try? Fantastic!

In scientific research, there are at least five major steps to be followed.

10 | P a g e
Step one - Defining the Problem - noticing something attention catching in the surrounding for
which one would like to have an explanation. For example, you may notice that children seem to get
a little more aggressive with each other after watching practically violent children‗s cartoon videos.
You wonder if the violence in the cartoon video could be creating aggressive behavior on the
children. Hence, you may raise a research problem focusing on the effect of aggressive videos on
children‗s behavior.

Step two - Formulating the Hypothesis - after having an observation on surroundings (perceiving
the problem), you might form an educated guess about the explanation for your observations, putting
it into the form of a statement that can be tested in some way. For our example above, you might
formulate a hypothesis ―children who watch violent cartoons will become more aggressive than
those who watch non-violent cartoons‖.

Step three - Testing the Hypothesis - at this step, the researcher employs appropriate research
methods and collects ample data (information) to accept or reject the proposed statement. For
instance, in the above example, the data will be gathered from children who watch aggressive videos
and from those who do not watch aggressive videos and make comparisons between the behaviors of
the two groups to determine whether watching aggressive video makes children more aggressive. .

Step four - Drawing Conclusions - this is the step in which the researcher attempts to make
generalizations or draw implications from tested relationship

Step five - Reporting Results - at this point, the researcher would want to write up exactly what
she/he did, why she/he did, and what she/he found. So that, others can learn from what she/he has
already accomplished, or failed to accomplish. This allows others to predict and modify behavior
based on the findings.

Reflection

 Dear student can explain the three major types of research methods in psychology, and the
ethical procedures to be followed, please?

11 | P a g e
Summary

 Psychology is a science of behavior and mental process.

 Psychologists aim at describing, explaining, predicting and controlling behaviors.
 Though Psychology as a scientific field began in 1879 in Germany, it has gone through different
phases.
 The perspectives of psychology are generally classified as early and modern. Early psychology
was considered schools of ―isms‖ which include structuralism, functionalism, behaviorism, and,
in fact, Gestalt psychology and psychoanalysis. Modern perspectives of psychology have
emerged from these early psychological thoughts.
 The knowledge of Psychology can be applied in different contexts such as health, education,
business, law, and the like.
 Psychologists study behavior using three major types of research methods; descriptive,
correlational, and experimental.
 In employing the different types of research methods, psychologists are expected to follow five
basic steps in conducting research.

Review questions

1. Compare and contrast the five early schools of thought in psychology.

2. Compare and contrast the modern psychological perspectives.
3. Please reflect on the relationship between the goals of psychology and the three types of
research methods using examples.
4. Mention the steps of conducting research in psychology.

12 | P a g e
 UNIT TWO: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLICATIONS FOR
PRACTICE

2. Introduction
This unit deals with concept of growth and development, stages of development, determinants of,
dimensions of development in general and relates these with the developmental profiles of the
students and their implications for learning. The major domains of development we need to study as
secondary school teachers are cognitive development, improvement of relations with others (Psycho-
social development), changes in emotional control (i.e. emotional development), understanding and
acceptance of moral values (i.e. moral development), and changes in identity (i.e. personality
development). As we are teachers, we need to develop grasp of the salient features of these changes,
how they affect students‘ learning, and how we can facilitate learning to occur in a better way.

Learning outcomes
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
 Describe basic terms in human development
 Discussion controversies of human development
 Explain the major developmental theories
 Appreciate the educational implications of theories of development.
2.1. Developmental Characteristics
2.1.1. Definition of Development and related terms
Before we define the term development there are some terms we need to define: growth, maturation
and learning.

Growth: - refers to a change in size or quantity. It is a change that contributed to development.

However, not all growth leads to development.

Maturation: - is a qualitative change that comes as a result of the unfolding of inherited tendencies.
Changes that result from maturation are difficult to quantify. Maturation is something that
distinguishes between a talking child and a non-talking one and between crawling child and walking
child.

13 | P a g e
Learning: - is a change in behavior that comes as a result of practice or experience. Changes that we
exhibit without any training or practice cannot be considered learned.

Development: - means a progressive series of changes in an orderly coherent pattern. It is a process

in which the internal physiological changes and the psychological processes stimulated by them are
integrated in a way which enables the individual to master further and new environmental
stimulations.

From the above definition of development we can understand that for some change to be considered
development it has to enable the person to cope with environmental demands. Developmental
changes can be a result of maturation, learning or a combination of the two.

2.2. Dimensions(Aspects) of Development)

There are three major aspects / dimensions of development. These are physical development,
cognitive development, and psychosocial development. Physical development involves changes in a
person's body. It includes change in body parts, brain sensory capacities, and health and motor skills.
Cognitive development involves all mental processes that help an individual obtain knowledge and
solve his/her problems. It includes mental abilities like learning, memory, language, thinking, moral
judgment, etc. Finally, psychosocial development refers to development in the areas of personality
(such as self-concept), social (attitudes and relations with other) for example, and emotional
(feelings such as anger, fear, and surprise).

The three aspects of development influence one another. For example if a child‘s glottal area is not
healthy or suffers from frequent ear infection we do not expect her to have good language or speech
hence physical development influences cognitive aspect of development. If a child is high achiever
in a given class (Cognitive development) he will have a better chance to be popular and selected to
be group leader in group activities or assignments (Psychosocial development).

2.5. Controversies in Development

Currently there are debates and controversies among common people and psychologists about the
nature of development. Some of the major controversies are between nature versus nurture, active
versus passive and continuity versus discontinuity.

14 | P a g e
 a. Nature versus Nurture

This controversy is about whether development is determined by hereditary factors (Nature) or

environmental factors (Nurture). Psychologists who are in favor of nature believe that all physical
and psychological traits directly proceed from generation to generator through genes. For this people
environment has little contribution to development. They say if your father or mother was intelligent
you will be intelligent. If your grandparents were generous you will also be generous.

In contrast, psychologists who are in favor of nurture stress the importance of environment over
heredity in determining development. Environment refers to any experience a person passes through
after birth. For environmentalists people are genetically born equal: differences that are observed
among people are results of different environmental opportunities.

b. Active versus Passive

This is another point of argument among psychologists. Those who are in favor of active conceive
human beings as active growing organisms that determine their own development. Whereas those
who are leaned towards passive position say humans are like machines that react to environmental
inputs/ demands. For this group of psychologists humans cannot initiate or direct their own
development.

c. Continuity versus Discontinuity

This controversy is about whether development involves sudden changes or a gradual continuous
process. Psychologists who are learned towards continuity position believe that development follows
a continuous pattern. For them development involves quantitative change. For this position it is
possible to predict later behaviors from previous ones as development is always governed by the
same processes.

In contrast, those who are leaned towards discontinuity position believe that development involves
sudden changes. Those changes are qualitative changes that distinguish one stage from another one.
Accordingly predicting later behaviors from previous ones is difficult task.

15 | P a g e
2.6. Theories of Development and Implications

2.6.1. Theories of Cognitive & Language Development

2.6.1.1. Piaget’s cognitive development theory
Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was a biologist but moved into the study of the development of children's
understanding, through observing them and talking and listening to them while they worked on
exercises he set. His view of how children's minds work and develop has been enormously
influential, particularly in educational theory. His particular insight was the role of maturation in
children's increasing capacity to understand their world: they cannot undertake certain tasks until
they are psychologically mature enough to do so. His research has spawned a great deal more, much
of which has undermined the detail of his own, but like many other original investigators, his
importance comes from his overall vision.

He proposed that children's thinking does not develop entirely smoothly: instead, there are certain
points at which it "takes off" and moves into completely new areas and capabilities. He saw these
transitions as taking place at about 18 months, 7 years and 11 or 12 years. This has been taken to
mean that before these ages children are not capable (no matter how bright) of understanding things
in certain ways, and has been used as the basis for scheduling the school curriculum. Whether or not
should be the case is a different matter.

Piaget's Key Ideas

Adaptation What it says: adapting to the world through assimilation and accommodation

Assimilation The process by which a person takes material into their mind from the
environment, which may mean changing the evidence of their senses to make it
fit.

Accommodation The difference made to one's mind or concepts by the process of assimilation.
Note that assimilation and accommodation go together: you can't have one
without the other.

16 | P a g e
Classification The ability to group objects together on the basis of common features.

Class Inclusion Understanding more advanced than simple classification, that some classes or
sets of objects are also sub-sets of a larger class. (E.g. there is a class of objects
called dogs. There is also a class called animals. But all dogs are also animals, so
the class of animals includes that of dogs)

Conservation The realization that objects or sets of objects stay the same even when they are
changed about or made to look different.

Decentration The ability to move away from one system of classification to another one as
appropriate.

Egocentrism The belief that you are the centre of the universe and everything revolves around
you: the corresponding inability to see the world as someone else does and adapt
to it. Not moral "selfishness", just an early stage of psychological development.

Operation The process of working something out in your head. Young children (in the
sensorimotor and pre-operational stages) have to act, and try things out in the real
world, to work things out (like count on fingers): older children and adults can do
more in their heads.

Stages of Cognitive Development

Stage
Characterized by :
Sensory-motor  Differentiates self from objects
(Birth-2 yrs)  Recognizes self as agent of action and begins to act intentionally: e.g.
pulls a string to set mobile in motion or shakes a rattle to make a noise
 Achieves object permanence: realizes that things continue to exist even
when no longer present to the sense (pace Bishop Berkeley)
Pre-operational  Learns to use language and to represent objects by images and words

17 | P a g e
(2-7 years)  Thinking is still egocentric: has difficulty taking the viewpoint of others
 Classifies objects by a single feature: e.g. groups together all the red
blocks regardless of shape or all the square blocks regardless of colour
Concrete  Can think logically about objects and events
operational  Achieves conservation of number (age 6), mass (age 7), and weight (age
(7-11 years) 9)
 Classifies objects according to several features and can order them in
series along a single dimension such as size.
Formal  Can think logically about abstract propositions and test hypotheses
operational systematically
(11 years and  Becomes concerned with the hypothetical, the future, and ideological
up) problems

Piaget's approach is central to the school of cognitive theory known as "cognitive constructivism":
other scholars, known as "social constructivists", such as Vygotsky and Bruner, have laid more
emphasis on the part played by language and other people in enabling children to learn. And the
combination of neuroscience and evolutionary psychology is beginning to suggest that the overall
developmental model is based on dubious premises. (It's too early to give).

Educational Implications of Cognitive Development theory

What are some applications of Piaget cognitive development to education?

Indeed, Piaget was not an educator, but has contributed many works that enhance the development
of education. Therefore, this section will try to elucidate some of the applications of the cognitive
development to teaching and learning.

 Take a constructivist approach: Piaget believed that children learn more when they
active and seek solutions for themselves. He opposed teaching methods that treat children
as passive receptors. Instead students learn better by discovering, reflecting on them,
discussing on them, rather than blindly imitating the teacher or doing things by rote.

18 | P a g e
  Facilitate rather than direct learning: effective teachers design situations that allow
students to learn by doing. These situations promote students‘ thinking and discovery.
 Turn the classroom in to a setting of explorations and discovery:

2.6.1.2. Vygotsky’s socio-cultural development Theory

The socio-cultural perspective emphasizes that all learning and cognitive development is viewed as a
social activity that can be understood only within a given cultural setting. Cognition is seen as
something that takes place in all cultures and in all settings, but the forms it takes may vary
depending on the survival needs of the group. What is considered intelligent behavior in one setting
may not be viewed as intelligent in another, as it may not have the same survival value?

One on the leading figures of the socio-cultural perspective is Lev Vigotsky. Vigotsky was born in
Russia in 1896. Three major themes are portrayed in his writing.

i) Cultural, historical and institutional factors reflect and shape an individual‘s mental processes. If we
want to understand an individual's thinking, we have to understand where it came from.
ii) Higher mental function in the individual has its origins in social activity. That is to mean we cannot
understand a child's development simply by focusing on his/her individual behavior. The social
world in which the individual lives deserves also attention. Learning takes place first at inter-
psychological (social) level and then latter at intra-psychological (person) level. Children learn to do
things with the help of others around them before they do them on their own.
iii) Language is an important mediator between learning and development Language develops initially
because of a child's need to communicate with people in the environment. However, in the course
of development it is converted to internal speech as it becomes an internal process and organizes the
child's thoughts. That is to mean children think or process information about something by talking
to themselves in their heads.
Zone of Proximal Development
According to Dembo (1994: 378), Piaget believes that development precedes learning, whereas
Vigotsky believes that learning precedes development. For Piaget an individual's developmental
stage determines the quality or thinking, and instruction above this level would not produce learning.
Vygotsky in contrast points out that children can often complete tasks with the help of peers or
teachers that they could not accomplish working independently. The abilities that children can

19 | P a g e
demonstrate when given assistance are not developed; they are in the process of becoming
internalized. The zone of proximal development (often referred to as the ZPD) is the difference
between an individual's current level of development and his or her potential level of development.

Since Vygotsky believed that higher-level thinking develops best in social contexts, he encouraged
learning situations in which teachers, parents, and more capable peers interact directly with students
who are at lower levels of thinking. This can be done by providing hints as to how children should
proceed when they cannot manage on their own Wood, Bruner and Ross Cited in Dembo (1994:379)
described the tutoring process in terms of providing a scaffold that helps a student solve a problem
or perform a task he or she could not do alone.

Vygotsky’s Work: Instructional Applications

Scaffolding: Interactive Instructional Support.

In classroom setting, scaffolding is assistance given to students to enable them complete tasks which
they cannot accomplish by themselves. Scaffolding helps to move learners through their zones of
proximal development by enabling them to eventually complete tasks independently. Effective
scaffolding considers learner's 'needs; it adjusts instructional requirements to the learners' level of
performance (Rosenshine & Meister, 1992). For example when learners need more help, the teacher
steps in; when less is required, the teacher steps back so that learners will progress on their own
(Eggen & Kauchak, 1999:51).

In classrooms, teachers provide scaffolding by breaking contents into manageable pieces, modeling
skills, providing practice and examples with prompts, and letting go when the student is ready.
According to Eggen & Kauchak(1999:51). Teachers can provide instructional scaffolding in many
different ways. The following are some of them.

One of the most common forms of scaffolding is teacher modeling. Teacher modeling involves that
teachers solve problems on their own and students watch. To allow for students have access to their
teacher's thinking as they wrestle with problems themselves effective teachers also think aloud as
they model the process. When students struggle to solve their own problems, teachers can also use
questions to provide assistance, focus attention, and suggest alternatives. In addition to interactive
forms of scaffolding, teachers can provide support through adapting instructional materials. One

20 | P a g e
form of adaptation is to vary the demands of the task (Rosenshine & Meister, 1992). For example,
when teaching students to ask questions about the material they are reading, the teacher can first
focus on generating questions about a single sentence, then paragraphs, and finally entire passages
(Palincsar, 1987).

Review Exercise

1. The view that development is a cumulative process, gradually adding to the same type of
skills is known as ________.
A. Nature C. nurture
B. Continuous development D. Discontinuous development
2. The idea that even if something is out of sight, it still exists is called ________.
A. Egocentrism C. Reversibility
B. Object permanence D. Conservation

2.6.2. Theories of Psychodynamic Development

The fore founder of this approach is Sigmund Freud a psychologist from Vienna, Austria. Based on
Freud‘s ideas about development others have extended psychoanalytic approach to development. In
this section we will see one theory, Erikson‘s, theory of psychosocial development. Like biological
theory, Erikson's approach emphasizes that children are born with certain instinctual tendencies or
drives. For him the genetic tendency that is most important for understanding personal-social
development is the drive for identify.

Like social learning theory, Erickson's theory emphasizes the role of environment (particularly child
rearing practices) as it interacts with an innate drive for identity Erikson's approach is also
developmental: He believes that personality gradually develops as a result of the interactions
between physical maturation, inborn drives, and experiences with the environment.

Unlike the biological and social learning approaches Eriksson's theory is a theory of stages of
identity. Each of the stages involves a central task or need that must be achieved before the
individual can successfully enter the subsequent stage.

21 | P a g e
 2.6.2.1. The psychoanalytic approach to personal social development

Freud proposed that personality development in childhood takes place during five psychosexual
stages, which are the oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital stages. During each stage sexual energy
(libido) is expressed in different ways and through different parts of the body. These are called
psychosexual stages because each stage represents the fixation of libido (roughly translated as sexual
drives or instincts) on a different area of the body. As a person grows physically certain areas of
their body become important as sources of potential frustration (erogenous zones), pleasure or both.

n describing human personality development as psychosexual Freud meant to convey that what
develops is the way in which sexual energy of the Id accumulates and is discharged as we mature
biologically. (NB Freud used the term 'sexual' in a very general way to mean all pleasurable actions
and thoughts).

Freud stressed that the first five years of life are crucial to the formation of adult personality.
The Id must be controlled in order to satisfy social demands; this sets up a conflict between
frustrated wishes and social norms.

The ego and superego develop in order to exercise this control and direct the need for gratification
into socially acceptable channels. Gratification centers in different areas of the body at different
stages of growth, making the conflict at each stage psychosexual.

Oral Stage (Birth to 1 year)

In the first stage of psychosexual development, the libido is centered in a baby's mouth. During the
oral stages, the baby gets much satisfaction from putting all sorts of things in its mouth to satisfy the
libido, and thus its id demands. Which at this stage in life are oral, or mouth orientated, such as
sucking, biting, and breastfeeding. Freud said oral stimulation could lead to an oral fixation in later
life. We see oral personalities all around us such as smokers, nail-biters, finger-chewers, and thumb
suckers. Oral personalities engage in such oral behaviors, particularly when under stress.

22 | P a g e
Anal Stage (1 to 3 years)

During the anal stage of psychosexual development the libido becomes focused on the anus, and the
child derives great pleasure from defecating. The child is now fully aware that they are a person in
their own right and that their wishes can bring them into conflict with the demands of the outside
world (i.e., their ego has developed). Freud believed that this type of conflict tends to come to a
head in potty training, in which adults impose restrictions on when and where the child can defecate.
The nature of this first conflict with authority can determine the child's future relationship with all
forms of authority.

Early or harsh potty training can lead to the child becoming an anal-retentive personality who hates
mess, is obsessively tidy, punctual and respectful of authority. They can be stubborn and tight-fisted
with their cash and possessions. This is all related to pleasure got from holding on to their faces
when toddlers, and their mum's then insisting that they get rid of it by placing them on the potty until
they perform! Not as daft as it sounds. The anal expulsive, on the other hand, underwent a liberal
toilet-training regime during the anal stage. In adulthood, the anal expulsive is the person who wants
to share things with you. They like giving things away. In essence, they are 'sharing their s**t'!' An
anal-expulsive personality is also messy, disorganized and rebellious.

Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)

The phallic stage is the third stage of psychosexual development, spanning the ages of three to six
years, wherein the infant's libido (desire) centers upon their genitalia as the erogenous zone. The
child becomes aware of anatomical sex differences, which sets in motion the conflict between erotic
attraction, resentment, rivalry, jealousy and fear which Freud called the Oedipus complex (in boys)
and the Electra complex (in girls). This is resolved through the process of identification, which
involves the child adopting the characteristics of the same sex parent.

Oedipus Complex

The most important aspect of the phallic stage is the Oedipus complex. This is one of Freud's most
controversial ideas and one that many people reject outright. The name of the Oedipus complex
derives from the Greek myth where Oedipus, a young man, kills his father and marries his mother.
Upon discovering this, he pokes his eyes out and becomes blind. This Oedipal is the generic (i.e.,

23 | P a g e
general) term for both Oedipus and Electra complexes. In the young boy, the Oedipus complex or
more correctly, conflict, arises because the boy develops sexual (pleasurable) desires for his mother.
He wants to possess his mother exclusively and get rid of his father to enable him to do so.

Irrationally, the boy thinks that if his father were to find out about all this, his father would take
away what he loves the most. During the phallic stage what the boy loves most is his penis. Hence
the boy develops castration anxiety. The little boy then sets out to resolve this problem by imitating,
copying and joining in masculine dad-type behaviors. This is called identification, and is how the
three-to-five year old boy resolves his Oedipus complex. Identification means internally adopting the
values, attitudes, and behaviors of another person. The consequence of this is that the boy takes on
the male gender role, and adopts an ego ideal and values that become the superego. Freud (1909)
offered the Little Hans case study as evidence of the Oedipus complex.

Electra Complex

For girls, the Oedipus or Electra complex is less than satisfactory. Briefly, the girl desires the father,
but realizes that she does not have a penis. This leads to the development of penis envy and the wish
to be a boy. The girl resolves this by repressing her desire for her father and substituting the wish for
a penis with the wish for a baby. The girl blames her mother for her 'castrated state,' and this creates
great tension. The girl then represses her feelings (to remove the tension) and identifies with the
mother to take on the female gender role.

Latency Stage (6 years to puberty)

The latency stage is the fourth stage of psychosexual development, spanning the period of six years
to puberty. During this stage the libido is dormant and no further psychosexual development takes
place (latent means hidden). Freud thought that most sexual impulses are repressed during the latent
stage, and sexual energy can be sublimated towards school work, hobbies, and friendships. Much of
the child's energy is channeled into developing new skills and acquiring new knowledge, and play
becomes largely confined to other children of the same gender.

Genital Stage (puberty to adult)

The genital stage is the last stage of Freud's psychosexual theory of personality development, and
begins in puberty. It is a time of adolescent sexual experimentation, the successful resolution of

24 | P a g e
which is settling down in a loving one-to-one relationship with another person in our 20's. Sexual
instinct is directed to heterosexual pleasure, rather than self-pleasure like during the phallic stage.
For Freud, the proper outlet of the sexual instinct in adults was through heterosexual intercourse.
Fixation and conflict may prevent this with the consequence that sexual perversions may develop.
For example, fixation at the oral stage may result in a person gaining sexual pleasure primarily from
kissing and oral sex, rather than sexual intercourse.

2.6.2.2.Erickson’s Psychosocial Stages of Development

According to Borich & Tombari (2995-111) Erickson maintains that it is the inborn need for identity
that serves as an engine for personality development. Our need to know who we really are is life
long process that stands from infancy to old age. During infancy the quest for identity begins when
we begin to form personality as a result or our relationship with our parents. However as we get
older our personality develops as the result of the social interactions that widen to include the
community, playgroups etc.

Erickson proposed that there are eight psychosocial stages of development each of which challenges
us with a unique identity crisis that needs to be successfully resolved. If we fail to meet the
challenges of a stage we will not be prepared to meet the challenges of the subsequent stage. The
following is description of the stage

Stage 1: Infancy: Basic trust Versus mistrust (birth to 1 year)

During this period the child strives to build trust regarding his/her world. According to Elliot et al.
(2000:72) for Erikson a healthy personality requires a sense of trust toward oneself and the world.
The nature of relationship children have with their parents determines whether children will develop
trust to the world. During this period, infants wish their parents to satisfy their needs

It is not only the nature of parent child relationship that relates to children's sense of trust. As babies
develop better control over their bodies (as in their ability to accurately grasp playing and feeding
materials), they learn to trust their bodies also, thus increasing their psychological sense of security.

During this stage, especially during the last half of first year the child attaches to the mother
(Ainsworth; Bowlby cited in Elliot et al. 2000:72) If this attachment is not secure the child may not
develop the trust necessary to establish lasting relationships with others.

25 | P a g e
Stage2. Autonomy Versus Shame, Doubt (2-3 years)

Erikson believes during this period, personality is shaped by the child's learning the meaning of self-
control. According to him these years pose a challenge to children to make proper balance between
standing on one's own feet and being protected. At this stage parental reactions are important. If
parents are too restrictive the child may develop shame or self-doubt over his/her abilities. On the
other hand, parents should not leniently leave every attempt of the child to try out things
independently. Sometimes, as a result of parental leniency accidents might result.

Stage3. Initiative versus Guilt (4-5 years)

During this stage children show greater freedom of movement as a result of their developed physical
facilities. The cognitive abilities also allow children at this time for greater facility at language and
the ability to control her environment through questions and requests and her increasing abstract
capabilities allow for greater use of imagination and symbol. All these changes enable in child to
explore her environment.

Stage 4: Industry versus Inferiority (6-11 years)

By this time children develop a sense of being able to do things, which is the meaning of industry
The child's ego identity is now "I am what I learn" During these years the school becomes a proving
ground children will be tested if they can establish positive relations with their teachers? If they can
do well in subjects, and if they are able to form friendships, degree of success in such challenges
results in sense of industry. In contrast, children who despair of their skills and their status with
peers easily acquire a sense of inadequacy. Erikson's ideas of industry and inferiority are particularly
relevant for students who come from diverse backgrounds. According to these scholars, students
who feel their customs and languages are strange to the class may develop self-doubt.

Stage 5: Identity versus Identity Confusion (12-18) years

This stage is characterized by concerns about who one is and who one hopes to be According to
Borich & Tombari (1995:112) if the child has successfully negotiated all prior is identify crises, she
enters adolescence with the belief that she is in control of her life and is free to become whatever she
wants to and with expectations for success in whatever she attempts. At this stage children acquire
not only a clear sexual identity but also an occupational identity. If the adolescent enters this stage

26 | P a g e
having failure history with past crises, she will be unable to cope with the physical and social
changes she will be confronted with. As a result she will go to the next stage being confused about
who she is and what she will become.

Marcia has provided more information about the development of identity by distinguishing for
different patterns and common issues that adolescents experience during the psychosocial crises of
identity versus identity confusion. The four identify statuses Marcia identified are delineated based
on two factors: Crisis and commitment. Crisis refers to a condition in which the adolescent seems to
be actively involved in making choices among various occupations and beliefs. Commitment refers
to the degree of personal investment the individual expresses in an occupation or belief. In the
subsequent paragraphs the four identity statuses are discussed.

a. Identity diffusion: - this is a state adolescent begins. It is a state in which the adolescent has
not made any firm commitments to any ideology, occupation, or interpersonal relationship.
And is not currently thinking about such commitments. In short this stage is characterized by
no crisis and no commitment.
b. Identify moratorium: - as adolescents develop and have greater interpersonal, work, and
educational experiences, they begin to reflect on the kinds of long term commitments they
could make. In this status alternative choices and different roles are considered, but final
decisions are deferred during a period of uncertainty. In short, this stage is characterized by
crisis but no commitment.
c. Identity foreclosure: - in this status the adolescent selects some set of beliefs or goals without
carefully considering the alternatives.
d. Identity achievement: This is a status in which the adolescent resolves the identity crises and
settles on the relatively stable commitments.
According to Dembo (1994: 442) the four identified statuses may be perceived as a developmental
transition, but one stage is not a prerequisite for another. Only the moratorium status appears to be a
prerequisite for identity achievement since one can't develop a mature identity without considering
alternative options.

27 | P a g e
Stage 6. Intimacy versus Isolation (18-35)

This is a stage at which the challenge for the individual is to develop truly psychosocial closeness
with another person. According to Erikson, a sense of intimacy goes beyond being sexual and
involves the capacity to develop a true and mutual psychological intimacy with friends, the ability to
care for others without fearing a loss of self-identify. Erikson further notes that an individual cannot
develop a fully intimate relationship until he or she has established a clear identity. That is,
individuals must know who they are before they can develop a shared identity with another person
At this stage the negative polarity is a sense of isolation that is characterized by as self-absorption.
Some individuals might not establish strong intimate relationship with others because of fear of
losing oneself in the identity of another. As a result these people lean towards isolation.

7. Generativity versus Stagnation (35-65)

During middle age, psychologically healthy individuals think about the future of both society and
their own children. Guiding the next generation by passing on desirable social values is the most
outstanding characteristics of the period. If a sense of generativity is lacking individuals may
stagnate. That means they will be preoccupied with their own need only.

8. Integrity versus Despair (over 65)

In this stage individuals who have accomplished their goals in their lives develop a sense of
integrity. Such individuals are likely to graciously accept death. According to Erikson, successful
resolutions of crises are considered as prerequisites in resolving the crisis of this period. Others who
do not feel they have succeeded in their life will develop sense of despair. Such individuals are
afraid of death; they want to get more time if possible to do away with their unfinished businesses.

To sum up Erikson‘s theory of psychosocial development believes at each stage in life individuals
struggle with different sets of crises. Prior crises are reflected in each of the subsequent stages.
However at each stage only one type of crises becomes central and dominates most of the person‘s
behaviors.

2.6.3. Moral Development

Moral development is another perspectives used to describe human development. Accordingly, it has
been the interest of psychologists and educationists. And, although there are many scholars

28 | P a g e
interested on the area, it seems that Lawrence Kohlberg and Jean Piaget are the prominent ones.
Lawrence Kohlberg modified and expanded Jean Piaget's work to form a theory that explained the
development of moral reasoning.

Jean Piaget, after making an extensive study on children aged from 4 to 12, concluded that children
go through two distinct stages of moral development. These include

 From 4 to 7 years of age, children display heteronymous morality, the first stage of moral
development in Piaget’s theory. Children think of justices and rules as unchangeable
properties of the world, removed from the control of the people.
 From 7 to 10 years age, children are in transition, showing some features of the first stage of
moral reasoning and some features of the first stage of moral reasoning and some stages of
the second stage.
 From about 10 years age and older, children show autonomous morality, the second stage of
moral development. They become aware that rules and laws are created by people, and in
judging an action, they consider the actor’s intentions as well as the consequences.

Lawrence Kolhober, against of the stages mentioned by the Jean Piaget, come to outline six stages of
moral development. Kohlberg extended Piaget's theory, proposing that moral development is a
continual process that occurs throughout the lifespan. In his Stages of Moral Development, Kohlberg
states that human beings progress from a Pre conventional Level of moral development (in which
they refer to rules imposed by others) to a Post conventional Level of moral development (in which
they refer to rules imposed from within them).

Focus

"The Heinz Dilemma"

Kohlberg based his theory upon research and interviews with groups of young children. A series of moral
dilemmas were presented to these participants and they were also interviewed to determine the reasoning
behind their judgments of each scenario. The following is one example of the dilemmas Kohlberg
presented"

Heinz Steals the Drug

29 | P a g e
 "In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors
thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered.
The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug cost him to make.
He paid $200 for the radium and charged $2,000 for a small dose of the drug.The sick woman's husband,
Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money, but he could only get together about $ 1,000
which is half of what it cost. He told the druggist that his wife was dying and asked him to sell it cheaper
or let him pay later. But the druggist said: "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from
it." So Heinz got desperate and broke into the man's store to steal the drug-for his wife. Should the
husband have done that?" (Kohlberg, 1963).

Kohlberg was not interested so much in the answer to the question of whether Heinz was wrong or right,
but in the reasoning for each participant's decision. The responses were then classified into various stages
of reasoning in his theory of moral development

1. Pre-conventional Morality

Stage 1 - Obedience and Punishment

The earliest stage of moral development is especially common in young children, but adults are also
capable of expressing this type of reasoning. At this stage, children see rules as fixed and absolute.
Obeying the rules is important because it is a means to avoid punishment.

Stage 2 - Individualism and Exchange

At this stage of moral development, children account for individual points of view and judge actions
based on how they serve individual needs. In the Heinz dilemma, children argued that the best
course of action was the choice that best-served Heinz‘s needs. Reciprocity is possible at this point
in moral development, but only if it serves one's own interests.

30 | P a g e
Level 2. Conventional Morality

Stage 3 - Interpersonal Relationships

Often referred to as the "good boy-good girl" orientation, this stage of moral development is focused
on living up to social expectations and roles. There is an emphasis on conformity, being "nice," and
consideration of how choices influence relationships.

Stage 4 - Maintaining Social Order

At this stage of moral development, people begin to consider society as a whole when making
judgments. The focus is on maintaining law and order by following the rules, doing one‘s duty and
respecting authority.

Level 3.Postconventional Morality

Stage 5 - Social Contract and Individual Rights

At this stage, people begin to account for the differing values, opinions and beliefs of other people.
Rules of law are important for maintaining a society, but members of the society should agree upon
these standards.

Stage 6 - Universal Principles

Kohlberg‘s final level of moral reasoning is based upon universal ethical principles and abstract
reasoning. At this stage, people follow these internalized principles of justice, even if they conflict
with laws and rules.

Identification with Role Models that affects moral development of adolescents:

1. The first positive role model that any child should have is a parent. Nevertheless, many
parents fail to realize the value of modeling positive behavior to their children. They may try
to instill certain standards of behavior in their children, but children are more likely to imitate
the behavior they observe in a parent than to listen to any regulations that a parent hopes to
impose (see Reference 2). As a child grows into adolescence, his role models may be as
diverse as musicians, friends or even politicians. While his choice of role models may appear

31 | P a g e
 to be reckless or misguided, he is likely to seek role models who demonstrate behavior that is
consistent with the types of behavior modeled by his parents or caregivers.

Peer Pressure

3. Peer pressure is often considered to be a negative force in the life of a teen. Indeed, most
teens will not choose to engage in negative behaviors such as smoking or premarital sex
unless coaxed to do so by her peers. Still, peer pressure often exerts a positive influence on
the life of a teen. Often, teens will provide support to one another in times of stress. For
example, if a teen is considering committing suicide, her friends will usually be the first to
tell her that life is worth living.

Summary
 Human development is influenced by both nature and environment
 Cognitive development focuses on thinking, discovery and problem solving skills
which develops through stages. According Piaget, cognitive development has five
stages like sensory motor skill, preoperational, concrete operational and formal
operational
 Vygotsky believe that cultural symbols are means for the emergence of thought.
 Psychodynamic theories of development emphasis how our personality develops.
Freud believed that our personality develops through conflict resolution between our
psychic energies in five stages. These stages are oral, anal, phallic, latency and
genital. Whereas Erkison believed that our personality develops through our
socialization starting from early childhood to adulthood.
 Moral development theory focuses on how our feeling, cognition and values develop.
According Kohlberg, our moral development passes through three levels and six
stages.

32 | P a g e
Review Exercise

1. What is the level of moral development likely to be among the children you intend to teach?
How might this affect your approach to how you manage students‘ relations with others in
the class?
2. Marika sees Jamal take Yosuf‘s breakfast. Soon afterward, she sees Yosuf‘s retaliate by
taking Jamal‘s favorite pen. Marika does not report these incidents to the teacher, because
they involve equal exchanges. According to Kohlberg, which stage of moral development has
Marika reached?
A. stage 1 B. stage 2 C. stage 3 D. stage 4

33 | P a g e
UNIT THREE: LEARNING AND BEHAVIOR DEVELOPMENT

3. Introduction
In this chapter, you will study the foundations of learning and explore the nature of learning. The
contents of this unit are presented in two sections. In the first section, you will explore the nature of
learning and in the second you will focus on the theories of learning and their applications .
Advance organizer
How do you think over the following facts?
Almost all human behavior is learned. Imagine if you suddenly lost all you had ever learned. What could
you do? You would be unable to read, write, or speak. You couldn’t feed yourself, find your way home,
and drive a car, play a game, or “party.” Needless to say, you would be totally incapacitated. Learning
is involved in almost every phenomenon psychologists study and occurs in many different ways. Every
individual uses learning techniques and processes and directive unique thoughts and memories to
perform day-to-day functions.

Learning Outcomes
After you have studied this chapter, you will be able to:
 Explain the general meaning, types, and factors of learning
 Identify the characteristics of learning
 Describe some of the theories designed to explain the characteristics of learning
 Differentiate the viewpoints of different theories of learning.
 Discuss the applications of theories of learning
 State techniques used to motivate and reinforce behavior.

3.1. Definition, Characteristics and Principles of Learning

3.1.1. Definitions of learning

Brainstorming questions

 What is the meaning of learning to you?

 What are the elements of learning?

34 | P a g e
 There are many definitions of learning. However, the most widely accepted definition is
the one given below. Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior occurring as a result of
experience or practice. The above definition emphasizes four attributes of learning:
 Learning is a change in behavior
 This change in behavior is relatively permanent
 It does not include change due to illness, fatigue, maturation and use of intoxicant.
 This permanent change in behavior is not because of biological factors (like hormonal
changes) that bring permanent changes in behavior; but because of experience, or
practice
 The learning is not directly observable but manifests in the activities of the individual.
Reflection
Dear student, how do you get the definition of learning in line with your previous
conception?
3.1.2. Characteristics of learning
Brainstorming question
 What are the characteristics of learning?
Teachers and school administrative personnel need to have a good understanding of the general
characteristics of learning in order to apply them in school learning situation. If learning is a
change in behavior as a result of experience, and then instruction must include a careful and
systematic creation of those experiences that promote learning. This process can be quite
complex because, among other things, an individual's background strongly influences the way
that person learns.
Yoakman and Simpson (???) have described the following major important characteristics of
learning:
1. Learning is continuous modification of behavior throughout life
2. Learning is pervasive; it reaches into all aspects of human life.
3. Learning involves the whole person, socially, emotionally & intellectually.
4. Learning is often a change in the organization of experiences.
5. Learning is responsive to incentives

35 | P a g e
6. Learning is an active process
7. Learning is purposeful
8. Learning depends on maturation, motivation and practice.
9. Learning is multifaceted
Reflection
What did you recognize about the characteristics of learning?

3.1.3. Principles of learning

Brainstorming question
 What does it take for learning to take place effectively?
There are important principles that help explaining how learning occurs effectively. Some of
these most important principles of learning are as follows:
 Individuals learn best when they are physically, mentally, and emotionally ready to
learn.
 Students learn best and retain information longer when they have meaningful practice
and exercise.
 Learning is strengthened when accompanied by a pleasant or satisfying feeling, and that
learning is weakened when associated with an unpleasant feeling.
 Things learned first create a strong impression in the mind that is difficult to erase.
 Things most recently learned are best remembered.
 The principle of intensity implies that a student will learn more from the real thing than
from a substitute.
 Individuals must have some abilities and skills that may help them to learn.
 Things freely learned are best learned - the greater the freedom enjoyed by individuals,
the higher the intellectual and moral advancement.

36 | P a g e
 3.2. Theories of learning
Learning theory describes how students receive, process, and retains knowledge during learning.
Cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all play a part in
how understanding, or a world view, is acquired or changed and knowledge and skills retained.
3.2.1. Behavioral Learning Theories
Behavioral theory of learning believes that learning occurs as a result of stimulus-response
associations. Behavioral theories emphasize observable behaviors, seek laws to govern all
organisms, and provide explanations which focus on consequences. Behaviorists also differ among
themselves with respect to their views about the role of reinforcement in learning. There are two
major behavioral theories of learning. They are known as classical and operant Conditioning.

3.2.1.1. CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

The concept of classical conditioning was developed by a Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov (1849-
1936). According to Papalia, Feldman, & Olds, they define the classical conditioning as: Classical
conditioning is a type of learning which based on the association of a stimulus that does not
ordinarily elicit a particular response with another stimulus that does not elicits the response. From
the definition above, we understand that the key element in classical conditioning is association. It
means that if two stimuli repeatedly experienced together, they will become associated. For example,
if a student frequently encounters unpleasant stimuli in Mathematics class such as unfriendly
teachers, difficult questions, and a lot of homework, he may learn to dislike Mathematics.

Pavlov’s Experiments
Pavlov discovered classical conditioning almost by accident. Originally, he wanted to study the role
of salivation indigestion. He measured how much saliva dogs produce when given meat. After a few
days in the experiment, Pavlov noticed that the dogs in his laboratory started salivating when the lab
attendant entered the room with the meat dish, before meat was placed in their mouth

This aroused Pavlov‘s curiosity and he pursued the issue with more experiments. For example, he
sounded a bell just before presenting his dogs with food. After hearing the bell many times right
before getting fed, the dogs began to salivate as soon as the bell rang. In other word, the dogs had
been conditioned to salivate in response to a new stimulus (the bell) that normally would not produce
salivation. The dogs had learned to associate the bell with food.

37 | P a g e
Types of Stimulus and Response

Stimulus is an observable environmental event that has a potential to exert control over a behavioral
response. A response is an over behavior by a learner. Put it in a simpler way, a stimulus is anything
that can directly influence behavior and the stimulus produces a response.

In classical conditioning, there are 2 types of stimulus and 2 types of response. They are
unconditioned stimulus, conditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, and conditioned response as
explained in figure as follow:

Classical Conditioning

Stimulus Response

Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) • Unconditioned stimulus (UCS) •

This is a stimulus that can this is a stimulus that can
produce the response without produce the response without
any learning. • Example: Meat. any learning. • Example: Meat.

Conditioned stimulus (CS) • Conditioned response (CR)

Conditioned stimulus acquired the
ability to produce the response
because it was paired (associated)
with the unconditioned stimulus. •
Example: Bell.
• When a response is produced by
the conditioned stimulus, it is
referred to as the conditioned
response. • Example: Salivation.

38 | P a g e
Common Phenomena in Classical Conditioning
There are 3 common phenomena in classical conditioning; they are generalization, discrimination,
and extinction. The descriptions for these phenomena are explained below.

Generalization Generalization occurs when similar stimuli to a CS produce

the CR. A student may generalize his fear to physics and
chemistry tests although he had performed poorly only on
mathematics test. In this case, the physics and chemistry
tests were similar stimuli to the mathematics test and they
produced the CR by themselves.
Discrimination Discrimination is the opposite of generalization. It refers to the
ability to differentiate between similar stimuli. For example, a
student may feel fear during mathematics test but not during
physics or chemistry tests. This shows that the student is able
to discriminate between appropriate and in appropriate
situations for a response.
Extinction Extinction is the process of unlearning a learned response
because of the removal of the original source of learning. In
classical conditioning, extinction is done by repeatedly
presenting the CS without the US. This action will decrease the
frequency of previously CR. Eventually, the CR disappears. In
the example mentioned above, if the student repeatedly passes
the mathematics tests, his fear of mathematics tests will
disappear.

3.2.1.2: Operant Conditioning

Operant or instrumental conditioning is a form of learning in which the consequences of behavior
lead to changes in the probability that the behavior will occur. Thondike (1874- 1949) was the
pioneer in studying this kind of learning. His famous formulation of Law of Effect lies at the heart of
the operant conditioning. The Law of Effect states that:

39 | P a g e
―Behavior that brings about a satisfying effect (reinforcement) is apt to be performed again, whereas
behavior that brings about negative effect (punishment) is apt to be suppressed.

Types of Reinforcement and Punishment

Reinforcement is a consequence that increases the probability that behavior will occur. On the other
hand, punishment is a consequence that decreases the probability behavior will occur. Put it another
way, reinforcement will strengthen a behavior while punishment will weaken a behavior. There are 2
forms of reinforcement and punishment as shown in figure 4.3.

Reinforcement
Reinforcement

Positive
Positive Negative Negative
Reinforcem
Reinforcement Reinforcement ent Reinforce
ment

Schedules of reinforcement

When a response is first acquired, learning is usually most rapid if the response is reinforced each
time it occurs. This procedure is called continuous reinforcement. However, once a response has
become reliable, it will be more resistant to extinction if it is rewarded on an intermittent (partial)
schedule of reinforcement, which involves reinforcing only some responses, not all of them. There
are four types of intermittent schedules.

1. Fixed-ratio schedules: A fixed ratio schedule of reinforcement occurs after a fixed number of
responses. They produce high rate of responding. Employers often use fixed ratio schedules to
increase productivity. An interesting feature of a fixed ratio schedule is that performance sometimes
drops off just after reinforcement.

2. Variable-Ratio Schedule: A variable ratio schedule of reinforcement occurs after some average
number of responses, but the number varies from reinforcement to reinforcement. A variable ratio

40 | P a g e
schedule of produces extremely high steady rates of responding. The responses are more resistant to
extinction than when a fixed ratio schedule is used.

3. Fixed Interval Schedule: A fixed interval schedule of reinforcement occurs only if a fixed
amount of time has passed since the previous reinforcements.

4. Variable Interval Schedule: A variable interval schedule of reinforcement occurs only if a

variable amount of time has passed since the previous reinforcement. A basic principle of operant
conditioning is that if you want a response to persist after it has been learned, you should reinforce it
intermittently, not continuously. Because the change from continuous reinforcement to none at all
will be so large that the animal or person will soon stop responding. But if you have been giving the
reinforcement only every so often, the change will not be dramatic and the animal/ person will keep
responding for a while.

Punishment- is a stimulus that weakens the response or makes it less likely to recur. Punishers can
be any aversive (unpleasant) stimuli that weaken responses or make them unlikely to recur. Like
reinforcement, punishers can also be primary or secondary. Pain and extreme heat or cold are
inherently punishing and are therefore known as primary punishers. Criticism, demerits, catcalls,
scolding, fines, and bad grades are common secondary punishers. The positive-negative distinction
can also be applied to punishment. Something unpleasant may occur following some behavior
(positive punishment), or something pleasant may be removed (negative punishment).

The Pros and Cons of Punishment

Immediacy, consistency and intensity matter are important for effectiveness of punishment.

Immediacy – When punishment follows immediately after the behavior to be punished.

Consistency- when punishment is inconsistent the behavior being punished is intermittently

reinforced and therefore becomes resistant to extinction.

Intensity- In general terms, severe punishments are more effective than mild ones. However, there
are studies that indicate that even less intense punishments are effective provided that they are
applied immediately and consistently. However, when punishment fails:

41 | P a g e
  People often administer punishment inappropriately or mindlessly. They swing in a blind rag
or shout things they do not mean applying. Punishment is so broad that it covers all sorts of
irrelevant behaviors.
 The recipient of punishment often responds with anxiety, fear or rage. Through a process of
classical conditioning, these emotional side effects may then generalize to the entire situation
in which the punishment occurs- the place, the person delivering the punishment, and the
circumstances. These negative emotional reactions can create more problems than the
punishment solves. For instance, a teenager who has been severely punished may strike back
or run away. Being physically punished in childhood is a risk factor for depression, low self-
esteem, violent behavior and many other problems.
 The effectiveness of punishment is often temporary, depending heavily on the presence of the
punishing person or circumstances
 Most behavior is hard to punish immediately.
 Punishment conveys little information. An action intended to punish may instead be
reinforcing because it brings attention.

3.2.2. Cognitive learning theories

Overview: It is true that some behaviors are acquired through classical and/ or operant conditioning.
But, there are aspects of our psychological makeup that can also be acquired through cognitive
learning. Cognitive learning theories expound the holistic nature of learning rather than the
reductionist approach. The four major theories are Bandura, Piaget, and Vygotsky, and Bruner.

In this sub-topic, you are to revisit and sharpen your understanding about cognitive learning theories,
especially ideas by Albert Bandura, Piaget, Vygotsky, and Brunner; and use this understanding to
design teaching activities that enhance active learning in your class. In thinking about the quality of
the activities you design, you should consider concept such as active learning, cooperative learning,
peer tutoring, apprenticeship, contextual and situated learning

42 | P a g e
Cognitive Psychology focuses on the study of how people think, understand, and know. They
emphasizes on learning how people comprehend and represent the outside world within themselves
and how our ways of thinking about the world influence our behavior.

From a cognitive learning perspective, learning involves the transformation of information in the
environment into knowledge that is stored in the mind. Learning occurs when new knowledge is
acquired or existing knowledge is modified by experience. Among the main issues studied and
discussed by cognitive psychologists are:

• The cognitive theories present a positive view of development, emphasizing conscious thinking.
• The cognitive theories (especially Piaget‘s and Vygotsky‘s) emphasize on the individual‘s active
construction of understanding.
• Piaget‘s and Vygotsky‘s theories underscore the importance of examining developmental changes
in children‘s thinking.
• The information processing theory offers detail descriptions of cognitive processes.

In-text questions:

What are the differences between Behavioral and Cognitive perspective pertaining to human
learning.

3.2.3. The Theory of Bandura and Observational Learning Theory

Social learning theory extends behaviorism. Both behaviorism and social learning theory agree that
experience is an important cause of learning. They also include the concepts of reinforcement and
punishment in their explanation of behaviour. Furthermore, they agree that feedback is important in
promoting learning (Eggen and Kaucak, 2007).

Observational Learning

Most of the principles of the social learning theory were developed by Bandura (Papalia, Olds &
Feldman, 2007). Social learning theory believes that students learn by observing or watching and
imitating other people. This process is called modelling or observational learning.

43 | P a g e
According to Hinrichs, Observational learning is so common and so powerful‖ Hinrichs, 2004. One
of the most important examples is the effect of watching violent media and its effect on developing
aggressive behaviour in children. The newer version of social learning theory is called the social cognitive
theory. The change is due to a greater emphasis on cognitive processes in learning. According to Bandura;
―Both social and cognitive factors play important roles in learning.‖ Bandura (1989). There are 4 processes
involved in observational learning. These include attention, retention, production, and motivation.

Process 1- Attention: Before students can imitate a model‘s behavior, they must pay attention to
what the model is doing or saying. For example, seeing a teacher writing from the same perspective
as the student see their own makes observational learning easier.

Process 2- Retention: To produce a model‘s action, students must be able to store the model‘s
action in their memory for future retrieval. Students‘ retention will be improved when a teacher
gives vivid, logical, and clear demonstrations.

Process 3- Production To attending and remembering, students must be physically capable of

reproducing the model‘s action. Here, the students need a lot of practice, feedback, and coaching
before they can reproduce the model‘s action.

Process 4 - MotivationThe students must be motivated to demonstrate the model‘s action.

Reinforcement can be use to encourage observational learning. For example, a teacher can use direct
reinforcement such as saying ―Good work!‖ Alternatively, a teacher may want to use vicarious
reinforcement. In this case, a student may simply see other students being reinforced for a particular
behavior and then he increases his own production of that behavior.

Reciprocal Determination Model

Bandura developed a reciprocal determination model that comprises 3 factors. The factors are
behaviour, person, and environment as shown on Figure as follow:

44 | P a g e
Figure: Interactions of 3 factors in reciprocal determination model

Behavior, environment and person factors interact to influence learning. They influence and are
influenced by each other. For example, a teacher‘s feedback (environment) can lead students to set
higher goals (person/cognitive) and these goals will motivate students to put more efforts (behavior)
in their studies.

 Activity

1. How would observational learning be useful to you as a teacher?

2. What are some contributions and criticism of the social learning theory?

3.2.4: Gestalt psychology

Gestalt is a perspective focuses on the belief that human consciousness cannot be broken down into
its elements. This approach to psychology was founded on the concept of the gestalt, or whole.
Gestalt psychologists originated from the work of Max Wertheimer (1880 - 1943), and his students
Wolfgang Kohler (1887 – 1967) and Kurt Koffka (1886 – 1941) who have made substantial
contributions to our understanding of perception. Gestaltists pointed out that perception has meaning
only when it is seen as a whole.

45 | P a g e
(Plural „Gestalten‖) is German for ―pattern‖, ―figure‖, ―shape‖, or ―form‖. It is used to refer to
wholes, systems and complete structures rather than the reductionist approach of seeking ever
smaller components of a phenomenon. In learning, opposed to the reductionism of behaviorism, it
concentrates on the way in which the mind insists on finding patterns in things, and how this
contributes to learning, especially the development of ―insight‖.

Figure 3.2.1 illustrated the gestalt perception which saw that the whole is different from the sum of
the parts.

Figure 3.2.1: Gestalt saw that the whole is different from the sum of the parts

Gestalt psychology is a theory of mind and brain that proposes that the operational principle of the
brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies, or that the whole is different
from the sum of its parts. The Gestalt effect refers to the form-forming capability of our senses,
particularly with respect to the visual recognition of figures and whole forms instead of just a
collection of simple lines and curves. Figure 5.4 shows an example of picture that contains the
gestalt theory.

The word Gestalt in German literally means ―shape‖ or ―figure‖. Gestaltists performed many
researches on perception and human learning. They believed learning is the result from good
perception, which enable an individual to form correct concept in their mind. Later on they proposed
the principles or law for perceptual organization. Henceforth, we will discuss these principles, which
consisted of six principles, which are good form, figure or ground, similarity, proximity, closure, and
continuity.
46 | P a g e
i) The Law of Good form or Pragnanz

The word ‗Gestalt‘ means ‗form‘ or ‗shape‘. Gestalt psychologists were of the view that
psychological organization will always be as ‗good‘ as prevailing conditions allow. For Gestalt
psychologists, form is the primitive unit of perception. When we perceive, we will always pick out
form. Our perceptions are influenced by our past experiences. This principle is also called Pragnanz
Law. (Tan OonSeng et al., 2003).

ii) The Law of Figure – Ground Discrimination

The Rubin vase shown in Figure 3.2.2 is an example of this tendency to pick out form. We do not
simply see black and white shapes; we also see two faces and a vase.

Figure 2.2.2: Two faces or a vase? (From Spooncer, 1992 p.35)

What about Figure 2.2.2 Do you see a young lady or an old lady?

Figure 3.2.2: Young Lady or Old Lady? (From Spooncer, 1992 p.35

47 | P a g e
iii) The Law of Proximity

Figure 3.2.3: Two men and the table

 When you look at “A” you see (a man + a man) + a table.

 When you look at “B” you see (a man + a table) + a man.

Things, which are close together in space or time, tend to be perceived as grouped together. Thus, if
you want your audience to associate the product with the presenter, put them close together; if you
want them to perceive two ideas as associated, present them in close proximity.

iv) The Law of Similarity

Figure 3.2.4: Trees in different shapes

48 | P a g e
Things that are similar are likely to form ‗Gestalten‘ as groups. So, in the graphic labeled with A (on
the left), you probably see an X of fir trees against a background of the others. In the graphic labeled
with B (on the right), you may see a square of the other trees, partly surrounded by fir trees. The fact
that, in picture labeled with A, we see an X while in the picture labeled with B, and we can see a
square, incidentally, an example of good form or Prägnanz.

V) The Law of Closure

Figure 3.2.5: Words and shape

Perceptually, we have the tendency to fill in the gaps. In other words, we can still read WASHO, see
the square and read ‗perception‘ despite the missing information. You probably know that
redundancy can be deliberately added into messages to increase the likely fidelity of reception, but
the Gestalt psychologists‘ law of closure suggests that it certainly is not always necessary.

vi)The Law of Continuity

When you see figure 3.2.6.5(1), you are much more likely to see it as consisting of two lines like
6.(1a), rather than of the two shapes 6.(1b).This is the Gestalt principle of continuity which saw a
single unbroken line is likely to be seen as an entity.

49 | P a g e
 Activity


 According to Gestalt psychology perceptual organization influence good learning.

Explain the five perceptual laws regarding human perception by Gestaltists.

2.2.4: Vygotsky and cognitive development

Vygotsky believed that we encoded and represent our world through language, and our thoughts are
based on language-―inner speech.‖ Social interaction plays an important role in the transformation
and interpretation process. Vygotsky argued that development first takes place on a social plane. The
child observes the parents‘ behavior, listens to the parents‘ speech, and tries to imitate. The parents‘
guidance for the child in his/her efforts, making connections when needed and provide greater
challenges when appropriate is emphasized in this development. Development is conceived as the
conversion of social relationships into mental functions.

Basic concepts of Vygotsky:

 Zone of proximal development-is a distance between the actual developmental level as

determined by independent problem-solving and the level of potential development as
determined through problem-solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with a more
capable peer. In other words, it is the difference between what children can do independently
and what they can do with help.

50 | P a g e
  Scaffolding- the process of guiding the learner from what is presently known to what is to be
known. This occurs into the ZPD. The more competent person supports the learner in their
endeavor to reach the new level of development.

Educational Implication of theories of learning

Lesson1: Behaviorism in the classroom

This section describes how teachers can apply the principles of behaviorism in the classroom. It is
divided into three subsections according to the perspectives discussed earlier that are classical
conditioning, operant conditioning and social learning theory.

i. Applying Classical Conditioning in the Classroom

The key element in classical conditioning is association. Therefore, teachers are encouraged to
associate variety of positive and pleasant events with learning and classroom activities. For example,
a teacher may:

 Use attractive learning aids.

 Decorate the classrooms.
 Encourage students to work in small groups for difficult learning tasks.
 Greet the students and smile at them when he comes to the classroom.
 Inform the students clearly and specifically the format of quizzes, tests, and
examinations.
 Make the students understand the rules of the classrooms.
 Give ample time for students to prepare for and complete the learning tasks.

ii. Applying Operant Conditioning in the Classroom

In operant conditioning, the consequences of behavior produce changes in the probability that the
behavior will occur. Reinforcement and punishment are the 2 main concepts in operant conditioning.
The following are some examples on how operant conditioning can be applied in the classrooms.

51 | P a g e
  Recognize and reinforce positive behaviors and genuine task accomplishments.
 Use various types of reinforcement such as teacher approval (praise, smiles, attention,
and pats on the shoulder), concrete reinforcement (cookies, candies, and stationeries) and
privileges (longer recess time and more time with friends).
 Reinforce good behaviors and punish bad ones consistently.
 Use schedule of reinforcement, such as surprise rewards, to encourage persistence.
 Use positive punishment as the last option. Use negative punishment, such as detention
class, instead.
 Punish students‘ behavior, not their personal qualities.
 Tell the students which behavior is being punished.

Lesson2: Applying the Social Learning Theory in the Classroom

The social learning theory focuses on how people learn by observing and imitating others. To
motivate learning using this approach, a teacher may:

 Use high-achieving and successful peers as models.

 Model positive behaviors himself.
 Use vicarious reinforcement, that is, make sure students see that positive behaviors will
lead to positive consequences.
 Demonstrate and teach good behaviors.

Self-Assessment

Having positive role models can make an important difference in whether individuals develop
optimally and reach their full potential. First, evaluate the role models who have played an important
part in your life. Second, think about the type of role model you want to be for your students. Third,
give some thought to how you will incorporate other models into your students‘ lives. Fourth,
explore who your education mentor might be.

52 | P a g e
 My models

Activity: List the most important role models in your life. Then describe what their positive models
have meant to your development.

Role Models Their Contributions

1.----------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------
2.----------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------
3.----------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------
4.----------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------

Lesson4: Cognitive theory in the classroom

Teachers can apply concepts from cognitivists in the classroom to enhance their students
understanding. The steps taken are discussed below.

Meaningful • Teachers need to promote more effective learning, the teacher need to link new
learning information to familiar information.
• Example: If teacher want to teach about rice plantation, it is advisable for him to
organize trip to ‗Fogera‘, South Gondar, where rice are planted or show them video
showing rice plantation
Dual coding • Guide students to process information using dual coding theory.
theory • Dual coding theory suggests that we remember better when two processes are
engage: visual learning and verbal learning.
Schema theory • Engage student in schema theory while teaching.
• This theory suggested that our prior knowledge can facilitate or enhance transfer of
learning.
• Example: In teaching account, teacher may use prior knowledge or formula they
have learned earlier in mathematics.

3.2.5: Information Processing Model (IPM):

The Information Processing Theory approach to the study of cognitive development evolved out of
the American experimental tradition in psychology. Information processing theorists proposed that
like a computer, a human mind is a system that processes information through the application of

53 | P a g e
logical rules and strategies. The mind has a limited capacity for the amount and nature of the
information it can process.

Figure 3.3.1: Information processing model

The terminology of the Information Processing Model as illustrated in Figure 5.12 emphasizing the
significance of ―encoding‖ (input) of information, the ―storage‖ of information, and the ―retrieval‖
(access) of information. The language and the metaphor often used is one of the minds of as
computer. IPM theorist, U.Neisser, maintains that the correlation between cognition and computers
is a powerful one (Benjafeld, 1992 in Tan, 2003). Most IPM theorists see the computer as only a
metaphor for human mental activity.

Finally, just as the computer can be made into a better information processor by changing its
hardware and its software (programming), so do children who become more sophisticated thinkers
through changes in their brains and sensory systems (hardware) and in the rules and strategies
(software) that they learn.

54 | P a g e
  Activity

 Describe the features of three stages of memory storage in Information

Processing model.

Multi-Store Model of Memory

One of the major issues in cognitive psychology is the study of memory. The dominant view is
labeled the ―stage theory‖ and is based on the work of Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). The Atkinson-
Shiffrin model (also known as the Multi-store model, Multi-memory model and the Modal model) is
a psychological model proposed in 1968 by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin as a proposal for
the structure of memory. It proposed that human memory involves a sequence of three stages, which
are sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory as shown in Figure 2.3.2.2.

Figure 3.3.2: Multi-store model of memory (also known as the, Multi-memory model and the Modal
model)

55 | P a g e
The multi-store model is a very common model of memory assuming that there are different types of
memory used for different tasks. It is an explanation of how memory processes work. You hear, see
and feel many things, but you can only remember a few. These link together in an effective sequence
as explained below.

a) Sensory Memory

The first stage is sensory memory, which contains receptors that briefly hold on to only that
information that enters through our senses. Sensory memory is affiliated with the transudation of
energy(change from one form of energy to another). The environment makes a variety of sources of
information (light, sound, smell, heat, cold, etc.) available, but the brain only understands electrical
energy. The body has special sensory receptor cells that transducer (change from one form of energy
to another) this external energy to something the brain can understand. In the process of
transudation, a memory is created. This memory is very short (less than 1/2 second for vision; about
3 seconds for hearing).

Figure 3.3.3: Sense organ

The sense organs have a limited ability to store information about the world in a fairly unprocessed
way for less than a second. Example:

• The visual system possesses iconic memory for visual stimuli such as shape, size, colour and
location (but not meaning)
• The hearing system has echoic memory for auditory stimuli.

56 | P a g e
b) Short-term memory

The second stage is short-term memory, a temporary storage facility. Short-term memory is also
called working memory and relates to what we are thinking about at any given moment in time.

Short term memory is conscious memory. It is created by our paying attention to an external
stimulus, an internal thought, or both. It will initially last somewhere around 15 to 20 seconds unless
it is repeated (called maintenance rehearsal) at which point it may be available for up to 20
minutes‖. Another process that is sometimes used to expand the capacity of short-term memory is
called chunking. Chunking is a process by which we group individual bits of information into some
types of large, more meaningful unit.

c) Long-term memory

The third stage is long-term memory (LTM). LTM provides the lasting retention of information,
from minutes to a lifetime. Long-term memory appears to have an almost limitless capacity to retain
information, but it could never be measured, as it would take too long.

Contemporary psychologists agree that long-term memory can be divided into subtypes of
declarative and procedural memory (Santrock, 2008). Declarative memory is subdivided into
episodic memory and semantic memory.

Procedural • Procedural memory is non-declarative knowledge in the form of skills and cognitive operations.
memory • Procedural memory cannot be consciously recollected, at least not in the form of specific events
or facts.
• Procedural memory is sometimes called ―knowing how,‖ and recently it also has been

57 | P a g e
 described as ―implicit memory.‖
• When students apply their abilities to perform a dance, their procedural memory is at work.
Declarative • Declarative memory is the conscious recollection of information, such as specific facts or
memory events that can be verbally communicated.
• Declarative memory has been called ―knowing that‖ and more recently has been labeled
―explicit memory.‖
Demonstrations of student‘s declarative memory such as describing a basic principle of math.
Episodic • Episodic memories are the memories we have for times and places (like first day Aidilfitri
celebration).
Information encoded in our episodic memory is in the form of images.
Semantic Semantic memories are our memories for general facts and concepts. Most of what we
memories learned in school (instructional content) is stored in our semantic memories.

Self-Assessment
How Effective Are My Memory and Study Strategies?
Teachers who themselves practice using good memory and study strategies are more likely to model
and communicate these to their students than teachers who don‘t use such strategies. Candidly
respond to these items about your own memory and study strategies. Rate yourself on this scale: 1 =
never, 2 = some, 3 = moderate, 4 = almost, or 5 = always. Then total your points.

Description 1 2 3 4 5
1 I‘m a good time manager and planner.
2 I‘m good at focusing my attention and minimizing distractions.
3 I try to understand material rather than rotely memorizing it.
4 I ask myself questions about what I have read or about class
activities.
5 I take good notes in class and from textbooks.
6 I regularly review my notes.
7 I use mnemonic strategies
8 I‘m very organized in the way I encode information.
9 I spread out my studying to consolidate my learning.
10 I use good retrieval cues.
11 I use the Preview, Questioning, Reading, Reciting and Reviewing
(PQ3R) method or a similar study method.

Scoring and interpretation:

If you scored 50–55 total points, you likely use good memory and study strategies.
If you scored 45–49 points, you likely have some reasonably good memory and study strategies. If
you scored below 45, spend some time working on improving your memory and study strategies.

58 | P a g e
Steps To Enhance Long-Term Memory

According to Santrock, ―Long term memory means information is retained in the long term memory
over time‖. Teacher can help students store the information in the long-term memory using methods
such as positive transfer, dual coding theory, rehearsal, instructional strategies, mnemonics, and
memory gadgets or devices.

Table 2.3.1: List of methods to help students store the information, in the long-term memory

Positive transfer
 Teacher may transfer learning using appropriate strategies or activities.
 Schema theory suggest teacher to activate prior knowledge and make connection with new
knowledge to enhance student‘s learning.

Dual coding theory

 In dual coding theory, theorists suggest that we remember better when two processes are
engage such as visual learning and verbal learning.
 For example, a teacher guide young children to write the digit ―8‖ may provide verbal
instruction as well as visual presentation. She may begin with pencil on the chil‘s paper
saying, “Let’s start by writing the letter S and then curving back to join the open end joining
something like that looks like two circles touching each other on the side.”

Rehearsal
 Student may use two types of rehearsal that is maintenance and elaborative.
- Maintenance rehearsal is rote repetition of the information in STM, like repeating
phone number a few dozen times.
- Elaborative rehearsal is not based on mere repetition but occurs when the information
is expanded, embellished on, and related to other concepts already in LTM.

Instructional strategies
Teacher may use instructional strategies that actively involved students in learning such as group
discussion, singing and reading aloud, cooperative learning, inquiry, discovery, experimenting or
leaning by doing.

59 | P a g e
Mnemonics
- Teacher may use mnemonic devices such as acronyms whilst teaching
important facts.
- Example of acronym is SMS for short messages service or FELDA for Federal
Land Development Authority.
Memory devices
• Students may use memory device such as mind mapping, graphic organizer, fish –
bone diagram, tree diagram, etc to enhance their understanding and good memory.

Summary
 Learning is a relatively permanent change in behavior occurring as a result of experience or
practice.
 Learning is characterized by different issues like modification of behavior, pervasive, active
processes, purposeful, active processes, multifaceted, and the like.
 Learning has important principles that are categorized in to 8 different and valuable principles.
 Factors that affect learning of individuals include motivation, intelligence, maturation, and
physical condition of the learner, good working conditions, psychological wellbeing, background
experience and length of the working period.
 In this unit, you have learned the viewpoints of different theories of learning that have been
attempted to explain the behavioral changes are acquired through learning experiences.
 Classical Conditioning/Ivan Pavlov/:-Emphasis on experiences especially the association
between stimulus and response
 Operant Conditioning/B.F. Skinner/:- Emphasis on experiences, especially reinforcement and
punishment as determinants of learning and behavior
 Social Cognitive theories that focuses on modeling and four stages (attention, retention, motor
reproduction and motivation) for learning to happen.
 Social Cognitive/Albert Bandura/: Emphasis on interaction of behavior, environment, and person
(cognitive) factors as determinants of learning

60 | P a g e
  Cognitive theories: Include learning theories like latent and insight learning theories.
 Information processing approach focuses the ways of encoding; storing and retrieving
information based the function of sensory memory, short-term memory and long term memory.

Review Exercise

I. Write “True” If the Statement Is Correct and “False” If the Statement Is Incorrect.
1.Primary motives are learned from the environment.
2.Cognitive approach views learners as passive receiver of information.
3.In intermittent reinforcement schedule all desirable behaviors will not receive reinforcement.
4. For behavioral learning, students are the main source of knowledge than teachers.
II. Read the following questions and scenarios carefully and state your brief answer on the
space provided.
Scenario. A mother flashes a light and then blows a puff of air into the child’s eye. The child
automatically blinks. After a few trials, just the flash of light will cause the participant to
blink.
Based on this scenario answer questions from 23-26.
What is unconditioned response? ___________
What is unconditioned stimulus? ___________
What is the conditioned stimulus? __________
What is the conditioned response? ___________
II. Choose the best Answer for the following questions
1. Information processing is most closely aligned with
A. Behaviorism. C. Cognitive psychology.
B. Social cognitive theory D. Socio-cultural theory.
2. According to the information-processing approach, a 15-year-old can compute faster than a
10-year-old because the
A. 15-year-old‘s brain has had more time to develop, and the 15-year-old has had more
experience working with numbers.
B. 15-year-old has had more experiences of both positive and negative reinforcement.
C. 15-year-old‘s brain has lost many of its original connections and undergone loss of myelin.

61 | P a g e
 D. 15-year-old has had much more time to develop rote memory skills.
4. Abeba wants her students to know their basic math facts without having to stop to think
about them. Therefore, she plays many math games with her second-grade students, such as
addition and subtraction bingo, math bees, and card games. What is Abebe‘s goal in playing
these games with her students?
A. To help her students to develop automaticity in knowing their math facts
B. To encourage strategy construction
C. To foster encoding skills
D. To improve metacognitive skills, such as self-awareness
5. When asked to describe in detail how to make a sandwich, Maria skips several steps. When
asked to make the sandwich, Maria does so flawlessly. Why is it that although Maria knows
how to make the sandwich, she is unable to describe the process in detail?
A. It is difficult to translate procedural memory into words.
B. Maria has not encoded the process into long-term memory.
C. It is difficult to translate episodic memory into semantic memory.
D. Maria‘s episodic memory is faulty.

References

Elliott, S.N., Kratochwill, T.R., Cook, J.L., and Travers, J.F. (2000). Educational psychology:
Effective teaching, effective learning. Boston: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Eggen, P &Kauchak, D. 2007. Educational psychology windows on classrooms. 7th ed. New
Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Feldman, R. S. 2005. Understanding psychology.7th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill.

Morris, C. G. &Maisto, A. 2001.Understanding psychology.5th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Papalia, D. E., Olds, S. W., & Feldman, R. D. 2007. Human development.10th ed. Boston:
McGraw Hill.

Santrock, J. W. 2008. Educational psychology. 3rd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill.

James, W. (1890). Principles of Psychology, New York: Holt.

62 | P a g e
Gagne, R (1970). The Conditions of Learning (Second Edition). New York: Holt, Rinehart, &
Winston Holt.

Lahey, B. B. 2004. Psychology: an introduction. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill.

63 | P a g e
 UNIT FOUR: STUDENT SUPPORT: GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING
4. Introduction
In this topic, you have to revise and deepen your understanding about guidance and counseling
and use this understanding to assist your students to solve their academic and social problems in
the school. The aim is to provide guidance and counseling services to students to make their
school and future lives healthy, comfortable and productive.

Learning Objectives:

 After you have completed this unit, you should be able to:
 Define the terms guidance, and counseling
 Identify the aims and objectives of guidance and counseling in schools
 Explain the needs for guidance and counseling
 Appreciate the characteristics of effective guidance and counselors.
 Use the principles and functions of guidance and counseling to ensure a safe learning
environment in school.
 Identify and apply different tools of data collection in different situations. select and apply
appropriate counseling techniques to solve students‘ problems
4.1. Concept of Guidance and Counseling

Activity 1:
 Dear students, what is guidance and counseling?
 Have ever participate in Guidance and Counseling activity

The terms guidance and counseling have been loosely or interchangeably used. Guidance is a term
which is broader than counseling and it includes counseling as one of its services. Butter makes a
logical separation of the counseling process i.e. (i) adjusting and (ii) distributive phase. In the
adjusting phase, the emphasis is on social, personal and emotional problems of the individual, in the
distributive phase the focus is upon educational, vocational and occupational problems. The

64 | P a g e
distributive phase can be most aptly described as guidance while the adjusting phase can be
considered as description of counseling‗.

Guidance and counseling are two sides of the same coin. The goal in both cases is to give an
opportunity for an individual to see a variety of available options and thereafter, assist the person in
making a wise choice. Guidance is the process that is put in place at a time a choice is to be made.
Counseling on the other hand i) helps with considering all sides of a potential choice even before the
choice is made; ii) takes place when a choice has been made and there is a need to modify, reinforce
or abandon such a choice.

The basic purpose of a guidance and counseling program is to ensure the physical, emotional, social,
and educational development of learners. Since primary school students spend most of the school
day with just a few teachers, these teachers are in a favorable position to perform their role as a
counselor for their students. They can assume their counseling role at two levels – school and
classroom. At school level, their role as counselor will be oriented towards the more general and
common problems of primary schoolchildren. In contrast, their role as classroom counselor will be
slanted towards the more specific and individual problems of their students.

Definitions:
Guidance is a broad term that is applied to a school‘s program of activities and services that are
aimed at assisting students to make and carry out adequate plans and to achieve satisfactory
adjustment in life. Guidance can be defined as a process, developmental in nature, by which an
individual is assisted to understand, accept and utilize his/her abilities, aptitudes and interests and
attitudinal patterns in relation to his/her aspirations. Guidance as an educational construct involves
those experiences, which assist each learner to understand him/herself, accept him/herself and live
effectively in his/her society. This is in addition to the learner having learning experiences about the
world of work and people therein.

65 | P a g e
Counseling is usually viewed as one part of guidance services; it is subsumed by the general term,
guidance, in that it is one service within guidance rather than a synonym. It is difficult to think of
one definition of counseling. This is because definitions of counseling depend on the theoretical
orientation of the person defining it. Let us examine some of these definitions. Counseling is
learning-oriented process which usually occurs in an interactive relationship with the aim of helping
the person learn more: about the self; about others, and about situations and events related to given
issues and conditions and also to learn to put such understanding to being an effective member of the
society.

Counseling is a process in which the helper expresses care and concern towards the person with a
problem to facilitate that person‘s personal growth and positive change through self-understanding.
Counseling denotes a relationship between a concerned person and a person with a need. This
relationship is usually person-to-person, although sometimes it may involve more than two people. It
is designed to help people understand and clarify their views of their life-space, and to learn to reach
their self-determined goals through meaningful, well-informed, choices and through resolution of
problems of an emotional or interpersonal nature. It canbe seen from these definitions that
counseling may have different meanings.

Activity 2: a)List any four activities you have carried out in your department within the last
one year that are:
(a) Guidance and (b) counseling in nature.
c)From your list, indicate the elements which distinguish each activity as either guidance or
counseling.

In fact, counseling is provided under a variety of different labels. For example, there are instances
where counseling is offered in the context of a relationship which is primarily focused on other, non-
counseling concerns. For example, a student may see a teacher as a person with whom it is safe to
share worries and anxieties. In such a situation it seems appropriate to see what is happening as

66 | P a g e
 being a teacher using counseling skills rather than engaging in an actual counseling relationship. The
teacher is counseling but not being a counselor.
Guidance programs and the counseling service within them, usually deal with situational and
environmental conditions. Counseling is often seen as assistance given individuals to attain a clear
sense of identity. Counseling, as well as the total guidance program, stressed rational planning,
problem-solving, and support in the face of situational pressures. The counseling relationship is
usually characterized by much less intensity of emotional expression than that found in the
therapeutic relationship. Counseling services are usually located in schools, universities, community
service agencies, and pastoral organizations, while psychotherapeutic services are usually found in
clinics, hospitals, and private practice. The recipients of counseling are `normal‘ individuals rather
than those who exhibit abnormal or extreme modes of adjustment. Psychotherapy exists for
individuals with psychological disorders. Counseling helps the essentially normal individual remove
frustrations and obstacles that interfere with development, while psychotherapy attempts to deal with
disabling or disintegrating conflicts.

Counseling focuses upon helping the individual to cope with development tasks such as self-
definition, independence, and the like. Attention is given to clarifying the individual‘s assets, skills,
strengths, and personal resources in terms of role development. Counseling approaches, are based
more upon emphasizing present conscious material (material available within the individual‘s
awareness) while psychotherapeutic approaches tend to emphasize historic and symbolic materials,
relying heavily upon reactivation and consideration of unconscious processes.

Activity 3: Go through the statement of views on the meanings of guidance and of counseling. Review
these views. What are the commonalities in your meanings (or definitions) and those listed above?

4.2. Guidance and Counseling in Schools

The basic aim of a guidance and counseling program is to help student teachers identify problems or
issues in schools, and then to develop a rationale for a guidance and counseling program in a school
setting. This unit will provide comprehensive knowledge about school-wide guidance and
counseling programs, which will encourage Student Teachers to use their creativity and fresh ideas

67 | P a g e
to conceptualize their own guidance and counseling programs in school. It will also develop their
ability to perceive, respond to, and manage the whole spectrum of guidance and counseling in
schools through an action plan.

The school is expected to provide more than just teaching and instruction. A school guidance and
counseling program includes all those activities other than instructional which are carried out to
render assistance to pupils in their educational, vocational, personal development and adjustment.
The fundamental aim of guidance and counseling program being the maximum development of the
child, all guidance counseling program must be geared toward attainment of the goal. Guidance and
counseling services can assist the pupils in knowing themselves-their potentialities and limitations,
making appropriate choices in educational, vocational and other fields. Some of the important
guidance services are:

 The orientation services  Group guidance services

 Student inventory services  Placement services

 Career Information services  Research and evaluation services.

 Counseling services

Learners in the school systems come in with a wide variety of backgrounds. There is diversity in
their entry socio-economic and academic profiles. This diversity translates into a differential in
their behavior patterns. Yet our desire is to ensure that all are found worthy in learning. In
institutions of learning (schools), guidance and counseling should address learners‘ difficulties.
These difficulties encompass the whole spectrum of student life in institutions of higher learning.
A number of them may have negative impact on the teaching/learning process. Counseling
should probe what students‘ difficulties are and then approach them systematically. For example,
in diagnosing learning difficulties the lecturer should focus on the following aspects:

 Difficulties that arise during instruction: these may be related to the content, the lecturer
or the way of presentation.
 Difficulties after instruction: these may be related to social activities of the student or
they may be related to the facilities themselves. In such cases where should the

68 | P a g e
 information come from? The sources of relevant information about learners can be found
or gleaned through the following:
 Individual observation: This requires that individual lecturers are keen in noting any
strange things that happen to the students or with the students. The observation should
arise out of a genuine desire to help and get involved with the students.

4.3. The Goal of Guidance and Counseling

The goal of guidance and counseling is to make it possible for an individual to see and explore
his or her unlimited endowed options Odeck, 1999). Educationally, guidance should involve
those experiences which assist each learner to understand and accept oneself so as to live
effectively in society.

Major Service Areas

The major service areas of guidance and counseling in schools include: Educational guidance
and counseling. This aspect of counseling should concern itself with assisting the students in
their curriculum and school life choices. Students need assistance in subject they learn and
planning for the subjects that they take at the institutions of learning. All teachers could be
involved in this without any need for specialized training in counseling.

1. Vocational guidance and counseling

This aspect of counseling addresses the learners‘ problems as regards to vocational choices.
Again here the lecturers are best placed to give relevant advice to learners since they know their
academic strengths and weaknesses in areas that may pertain to specific vocations, occupations
or jobs. The fact that the lecturers know the interests and aptitudes of most of their students
makes them the best persons to assist their students in areas that are related to their vocations.

2. Personal and social guidance and counseling

This aspect of counseling refers to the very personal problems that students meet. These
problems may range from financial needs to interpersonal relationships. Although the lecturers

69 | P a g e
may help to reduce these pressures, there is need for more specialized assistance from
professionally trained hands. The fact that the lecturers may have an upper hand in interaction
with the students only goes to show how crucial it is that they should get involved. As role
models to the majority of students it is important the lectures are made aware of their crucial role
in social guidance.

3. Student records and follow up

These usually yield information that would facilitate a lecturer to assist a student whose problem
may have been ignored or brushed aside for along time.
The major service areas of guidance and counseling in schools are:
4. Educational guidance and counseling is that which assists students in their curriculum
and school life choices.
5. Vocational guidance which assists the individual to choose and prepare for an
occupation that is compatible with his interests and aptitudes.
6. Personal and social guidance which assists the individual to behave appropriately in
relation to other members of the society.

Activity 4:
Comment on the view that teachers are best placed to give relevant advice to learners since they
know their academic strengths and weaknesses. The fact that the teachers know the interests and
aptitudes of most of their students makes them the best persons to assist their students in their
learning. How are you as a teacher in a school fitted to play these roles?

4.4. Types of Guidance and Counseling in schools

Types of guidance and counseling include: Individual and Group - Individual guidance, Group
Guidance: Concept, Need and Significance, Organization of Group Guidance activities,
Techniques of Group Guidance, Advantages of Group Guidance, Limitations of Group Guidance

70 | P a g e
 a. Individual guidance and counseling. Individual guidance and counseling is tailored to
an individual. It is advice, strategy or planning designed for a singular person or thing
and their unique situation. This is in contrast to general guidance which is frequently
based on demographic information such as age or income or meant for the general
population. The most common reference to individual guidance and counseling is in
reference to children or students. This is ideally the role of guidance and counseling,
educational or career http://www.ehow.com/careers/ counselors. Individual guidance and
counseling can be used to refer to any advice, usually professional advice, given to a
person based on their unique circumstances. This could include legal services, career
counseling, financial planning, medical or psychological advice or a number of other
areas where a trained professional is looked to for direction/support in a given area.

b. Group Guidance: Concept, Need and Significance: Group refers to collection of

people, interaction between individuals, development of shared perceptions, the
development of affective ties and the development of interdependence of roles. For
example many students and /teachers at one school may gather together to form a group.
Group guidance encompasses those activities of guidance which are carried on in a group
situation to assist its members to have experiences desirable or even necessary for
making appropriate decisions in the prevailing contexts. In a more specific term, it is
guiding the individual in a group situation. Group could be of any type ,but for guidance
purposes a group should have a common goal. Just collection of individual may not be
called a group for organizing guidance activities. Selection of group members will have
to depend on sharing a common problem, volunteering to be members and willingness to
group activities.

Jones, A.J (1951) defines group guidance ‗as any group enterprise or activity in which the
primary purpose is to assist each individual in the group to solve his problems and to make his
adjustment‗. Group guidance is used to address the developmental needs of a functional group
consisting of a number of students to implement program that would benefit them at all time.
Students in group with common problems and concerns are helped in groups i.e. small or large.
In other words, if guidance is to be available to all, it should be planned in groups.

71 | P a g e
Some of the objectives of group guidance are:
 To help people in identifying common problems, analyze them and find relevant
solutions
 To place a wide range of information before people with common problems which could
be useful for them for finding solutions?
 To provide a platform where people with common problems could interact with each
other and could be benefited by each other‗s perspectives, ideas and experiences
 To help in creating an atmosphere where people could get an opportunity to express
themselves and in the process analyze themselves.

Organization of Group Guidance Activities

Planning of group guidance activity may focus the following points.

1. Need Assessment: The need assessment must be done to find out the common problems of
individuals in the group. This can be done by administering questionnaire, checklists and
interview.

2. Determining size of the group and time, venue for group activities: Depending upon the
group activity the size of the group should be fixed. The size should be approachable and
manageable. The venue should be selected taking in to account the group selected for activity.

3. Selection of members and role specifications: The participants selection for group guidance
activity is also very important. The students for example should be communicated about their
roles in group activities.

4. Orientation of Members: The group goals should be clarified. It should be stated in clear,
objective and measurable terms.

5. Monitoring of activities and evaluation of outcomes: If we want to conduct the activities

purposefully, it should be properly monitored taking into account the goal/s.Feedback about
activity needs to be collected from participants.

72 | P a g e
Some of the common group guidance activities are: Class talk, career talk, displays and
exhibitions.

Techniques of Group Guidance: A number of techniques are used in organizing group

guidance. Group Discussion: For example at senior secondary stage students should have
knowledge about different career. A group discussion may be organized in the school. For
organization of the group discussion proper room/hall, group and relevant topic and
expert/resource person should be selected. The group discussion will be useful only if the
members participate effectively without the fear and all the members have the opportunity to
participate. But the effectiveness of the group discussion depends upon the facilitator and the
group selected.

Problem solving: For solving individual as well as common problems, problem solving can be
applied as a technique. It comprises of the following steps;
 Existence of common problem

 Focused description of the problem

 Initiation of action for solving problem based on relevant facts

 Analysis of problem in the light of data collected

 Listing of possible solutions and Evaluation of them

 Acceptance of degree of acceptance of solution in the group

Role play: In small group role playing can be adopted as a technique of guidance. Role playing is
a method where real life situations are simulated by group members/participants. This provide
new insight, intuitions, skills and understanding of opposing viewpoints. The role playing may
comprise of the following steps;

 Existence of common problem

 Orientation of group to role playing and the problem

73 | P a g e
  Assigning of roles

 Preparation of other members/audience to observe intelligently

 Assessing the role play

 Concluding session and feedback

Other methods like case study and socio-metric technique can be used as group guidance
technique.

Summarizing exercise
Exercise 5: What is individual guidance and counseling? What is group guidance and
counseling? What are the objectives of group guidance? How can you organize group
guidance activities? State the techniques of group guidance. Explain Role play technique of
group guidance.

Purpose Type and Use

Cognitive  Psychometric Tests; e.g. for measuring intelligence Quotient (I.Q),
Measure cognitive style/preference; self-concept, reasoning skills sand problem
solving.
 Achievement Tests: for measuring achievement in cognitive domain such
as subject matter test.
Affective  Questionnaires, Inventories, questionnaires For measuring attitudes,
Measures perceptions and affective behaviors.
Psychomotor  Observational Schemes, Practical skills inventory For measuring different
Measures aspects of practical abilities

4.5. Qualities of Effective Guidance and Counselor

74 | P a g e
 Whether you’re a counseling degree student, a licensed counselor, or even if you’re
starting your own counseling practice, here are some characteristics that can make an
effective counselor.
1. Be organized within your practice.
Effective counselors prioritize organization in their practice, which makes it much easier to
provide effective counseling to both new and existing clients.. Organization of paperwork,
scheduling, and proper storing of confidential information will give your clients peace of mind
and confidence in your counseling process. While providing your clientele with a greater sense
of well-being from your organization, an effective and organized counselor will also experience
a greater sense of wellness and balance within themselves, which will allow space for a more
effective counseling process.
2. Practice ethically and professionally.
Due to the power differential that may often be experienced in the counseling relationship, an
effective counselor needs to be able to understand their duties as an ethical professional.
Doctoral and master‘s degree programs will include courses focused solely on ethics in
healthcare, more specifically in mental health. Beyond classroom education on ethics, there are
many resources for counselors to understand the ethics of the profession. Some resources include
the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics, ASERVIC competencies, and mental
health statutes that vary from state to state.
3. Educate yourself.
If you are on the path to earn a degree in clinical mental health counseling, you‘re already
moving forward with one of the most important, and necessary steps needed to take to become
an effective counselor. Alongside clinical experiences in the counseling field, counselor
education helps mental health professionals be able to extend the scope of their work.
5. Confidence and responsibility.
Whether you‘ve been a licensed professional counselor for 20 years or you‘re new to the
profession, you must maintain confidence in your work. A client is looking to you for help, so
use your education and experience assuredly. Good clinical supervision is also suggested and
necessary to maintain competence, and to review situations that may happen in practice that can
lead to further education and confidence in the application of counseling skills.
6. Respectful and non-judgmental.

75 | P a g e
According to the American Counselors Association (ACA) Code of Ethics, ―Counselors are
aware of — and avoid imposing — their own values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors‖. As a
counselor, you must respect each client‘s beliefs and struggles, and never assert your personal
values or beliefs. Self-disclosure must be used appropriately and in necessary situations to
further build out the therapeutic relationship. A good therapeutic relationship is often defined as
having trust, agreement on therapeutic goals formulated together on a treatment plan, and a
collaborative approach to working towards those goals.
6. Understand the importance of communication.
Every client is different; you may have some that need time to warm up to you, while some
aren‘t afraid to reveal their life story from the start. An effective counselor must understand that
communication needs to be personalized to each client. Interpersonal skills go beyond the
context of therapy itself. Consider differences in ethnicity, culture, background, and be self-
aware of personal biases that may hinder or create barriers within the therapeutic relationship. If
the communication barrier still remains after seeking out supervision and additional training, an
effective counselor must consider the option of a more appropriate referral outside of one‘s
private practice.
7. Flexible attitude.
When working as an effective counselor, you will have to be accommodating to the
unpredictability of your clientele. Some clients will be late or may cancel, along with clients that
are seeking an emergency session. An effective counselor must possess a flexible attitude and
unconditional positive regard to ensure your clients feel safe, which in turn becomes beneficial
for the development of the therapeutic alliance.

4.7. Instrument Development and Validation

The table above gives the stages in the development of any of the instrument listed in the table
Domain Specification: This is where the construct, attitude or skill to be measured is identified
and specified in both general and specific terms. It includes: Preparation of blueprint, item
writing, first level validation and revision, pilot testing and finalization.
Preparation of Test Instrument

76 | P a g e
This is an important stage of preparing the plan or blueprint for writing items for the instrument.
The plan showing coverage of the instrument in terms of objectives and domain content are put
on a grid. This is to ensure that the domain in focus is covered in breath and in depth.

Item Writing
This is the process of composing the first draft of the instrument by writing its component items.
The structure of the instrument starts developing from this stage. It is perhaps the most
intellectually demanding step in the process of instrument development. The process ends when
the distribution of items in the test blueprint is completely covered.
First Level Validation and Revision
After the first draft of the instrument is composed, it is subjected to validation for face and
content validity. Comments from the validation items are used to revise the structure and items
on the instrument.

Pilot Testing
The revised draft is pilot tested on a sample of the population for which the instrument is meant.
Further refinement of the instrument is made on the basis of pilot test data.
Finalization
Data from the pilot testing exercise are used to further refine the instrument. At this time, the
reliability values are determined.
Adapting Instruments
Sometimes, it is not worth the effort developing and validating a new instrument if standardized
forms exist. It could be like re-inventing the wheel Most times however, it may not be able to use
the standardize instrument in the pure form without adapting it to our situation. Adaptation could
be with minimum modification. The modification could also be major. The direction of
modification is usually in the areas of: - Degree of fit with the test blueprint, Cultural bias and -
Length.
After modification, the instrument should be subjected to validation and reliability examination
as if it was a new instrument. Develop and validate the following instruments which could
facilitate your providing objective guidance and counseling service to your students.

77 | P a g e
Activity 6:
1. A questionnaire to collect background data on your students that are relevant to their academic,
social and career guidance needs.
2. A questionnaire to measure their attitude towards the course you teach.
3. A 50 item achievement test in your course which will reveal the learning difficulties of your
student.

Exercise: Adapt a standardized psychometric inventory e.g. for measuring self-concept for use in
your class. Provide an opportunity for your students to talk about themselves: their ―now‖ and
their ―tomorrow‖. Note what they avoid saying, what they emphasize and relate these to your
prior knowledge of each student. Do you gain a better understanding? Are you confused the
more?

Activity 7:
1. Administer the questionnaire you developed in for measuring the attitude of your students
towards your teaching. Score the items in the questionnaire. Remember to reverse scoring for
negative terms. Take the total for each section of the questionnaire and for the whole instrument.
Calculate the mean for the group. Record the scores for each student in the different sections and
also the total scores. What counseling decisions need to be taken on the basis of the graph?
2. Call selected students on individual basis and get to know them better based on item of
exercise 6. e.g. ―You said in class that you were xyz, but efg is what I knew of you. Can you
explain further? Or can you help me reconcile the two views about you?

4.8. Data Collection and Processing

Instruments can be administered individually or to a group of learners. After administration, the
responses should be scored and the data recorded in a manner that is amenable to processing.
Data processing can simply involve manual calculation (using the hand-held calculator) of

78 | P a g e
percentages and means and drawing of graphs to show the distribution of scores. It can also be
through the use of a personal computer for more elaborate analysis.

Processed data should be stored in such a way as to facilitate retrieval when needed for offering
guidance and/or counseling to individuals or groups of learners.
Group and Individual Interview
The interview is a good technique for getting in-depth information that could otherwise not be
obtained from most instruments. In a relaxed atmosphere, the interviewee (the person being
interviewed) could furnish the interviewer (the person conducting the interviewer) with a large
volume of information. In order not to be drowned by the avalanche of information, we need to
systematically plan for, execute, and follow-up interviews that we conduct during guidance and
counseling exercises.
Planning The following steps need to be taken in planning and interview:
Step 1 Stage Setting
Identification of characteristics of the interviewee
Step 2 Arranging the sitting, audio/Video recording Developing aninterview guide
Step 3 Pilot testing the instrument
Step 4 Finalization of the interview guide
Executing: In executing the interview plan, the interviewer needs to
 Present the questions audibly and ensure that the interviewee fully understands the
demand of the question.
 Avoid forcing the pace of response
 Complete the question and answer session for a question before moving on to the next.
 Take notes as the responses are given.

Follow – Up
 Develop the interview transcript
 As follow-up questions if there are areas that need clarification from the interviewee.
For group interviews, target respondents should be identified. Agreements should be reached by
the group on a subject before being recorded by the interviewer.

79 | P a g e
Group and Individual Observations
Observations are designed to provide perspectives to data gathering that are not capture by test
administration and interviews. These perspectives include nonverbal behaviors and interaction
patterns. A sad look; a look of excitement, gait when walking, shy tendencies in class, and
aggressive tendencies are some of the characteristics of the learner to be counseled that a
questionnaire may not reveal in full. By observing the learner, we are able to record in graphical
and direct form, such physically observable behaviors.

The development of an observation instrument is the first step to be taken. We should follow the
sequence shown in steps 1 to 4 on the previous page. After developing the instrument, we could
use it in gathering data by observing the group as a unit or for observing individual students with
specific problems.

There are two main types of observation. The observer, in this case the teacher, participates in
the activities given to learners. This enables the teacher pit himself or herself in the place of the
learner (empathy). In non-participant observation the observer looks from a distance and records
unobtrusively. This is the more common mode of observation in guidance and counseling.
 Anecdotal Record
This is record of snapshots of significant events in the life of the learner. The events can be
recorded either by the teacher or by the learner. Whichever way, the teacher keeps the record for
the purpose of having insights into the behavior patterns of the learner. This record is important
as the teacher prepares to attend to the counseling needs of the learner.
 Student Advising
This is an organized scheme for offering guidance to students. The focus is usually academic
guidance although it could be stretched to include social guidance if social activities in the life of
the learner impacts negatively on learning.

In many institutions, the scheme is department based. Each lecturer in the Department is
assigned a group of students. The students are expected to meet periodically with the Advisor, as
a group or individually. Where such schemes exist, they have been known to be effective in
helping students overcome their learning difficulties.

80 | P a g e
Records to be kept by the Teacher/Counselor
 Records of Achievement
A good record of achievement test can serve as an effective instrument wit which we can
measure an individual‘s performance with (a) those of others in his group and (b) his past
achievement. With this, one can diagnose his weakness and strength.

School progress of each student can also be measured, need for remedial measures determined
and the progress of the entire students improved. For instance, a Mathematics test if well-
constructed could provide information as to whether or not; students‘ weakness is in the
fundamental operation.
 Personality Information Records
Personal qualities and interests are equally important as factors which affect one‘s success in
occupation, life, social life, and in school. The only way to measure personality is by observing
how the individual behaves in different situations. Such observations can be made in the
classroom, at playground, during social gathering, etc. when the individual is quite himself or
herself. Personality records should contain the following views about the students;
(a) Concern for others -antisocial, indifferent, dependable, sometimes socially concerned or
deeply concerned. (b). Responsibility -unreliable, somewhat dependable, usually dependable,
conscientious, assumes much responsibility. (c). Emotional stability -hyper-emotional, excitable,
usually well balanced, exceptionally stable.

 Health Records
Though the teacher cannot have this, it is necessary that the school counselor has a record about
student‘s health. This should be made up-to-date indicating the type of disease from which the
individual must have suffered, the duration of illness and the time of the year, if possible.
Medical statements about student‘s ears, eyes, teeth, posture, nervous symptoms, or speech
defects should also be included. A cumulative up-to-date health record will help the school
counselor refer particular students at different times to specialists for treatment. This also helps
to decide the type of job to which a student can be assigned. A research fellow on school
discipline has suggested that the offence should not determine the punishment but instead type of

81 | P a g e
punishment recommended should depend on the physical strength of the individual offender. It
therefore follows that a detailed, up-to-date health record will help remind the counselor and the
school authority of the importance of individual differences in dealing with the children.

 Family Records
The home is one of the major factors which affect the education of students. An unstable home
causes the student emotional imbalance. The family record should include name and address of
parents, their nationality and occupation, and the socio-economic status.
If family records are kept and maintained up-to-date by the counselor, clues can be found in an
attempt to spot out student‘s difficulties with the aim of helping to alleviate his or her suffering.
A good knowledge of the family records of the student will help to foster the triangular
relationship, which should exist between the teachers, the parents and the student.

Activity 11:
Which records of the student s in your c lass do you have ? How do you obtain them? Of what
use are the records to you? Which ones would you have loved to have but which you do not
have? Why would you wish you had them? Think of your student‘s days, did any of your
teachers ever give you any advice, suggestion, threat etc. If ―yes‖, What was it upon? Why did
he/she has to do so? What was your reaction? Find out if any of your students would have loved
to discuss his life, program, career, or future plans with you but was afraid or reluctant t to do so.
How many students? Why were they afraid or reluctant? What do you intend to do after this
discovery? After a class test, do you discuss students‘ performance with them?

82 | P a g e
 4.9. Data Collecting Techniques

Dear learners, you need to develop or adapt instruments for data gathering for guidance and
counseling; use the instruments developed/adapted for data collection process data collected;
conduct group and individual interviews and observations; and keep anecdotal records of
learners.
Instrumentation in Guidance and Counseling
We need as much information as possible from learners in order to make a success of guidance
and counseling, It is when most, and perhaps all the information is in that we can take a global
look at the problem and offer meaningful guidance and counseling. The tool for gathering
information is known as the instrument. Such tools include tests, questionnaires, inventories,
interview guides and observational schemes. Just as the thermometer is an instrument in the
hands of the scientist, so also is the questionnaire the instrument in the hands of guidance
counselors. For data collected to be useful, the instrument should be valid and reliable. In this
section, you will learn to develop instruments for data collection and adapt existing instruments
for your case. First, let us see the different types of instruments.

Types of Instruments
Several typologies exist for classifying instruments. For example, instruments can be grouped on
the basis of (a) what they measure, e.g. cognitive (achievement tests); affective (attitudinal
inventories and questionnaires); psychomotor (practical skill tests); and (b) how they measure
e.g. power and speed tests.

The following techniques help assure good communication with young people during the
counseling session:

 Create a positive and friendly first impression.

 Establish rapport during the first session, show empathy and reassure the young client.

83 | P a g e
  Eliminate barriers to good communication (e.g., negative attitudes, poor listening, not
allowing youth to express fears or ask questions, being judgmental and impatient, etc.)
 Use ―active listening‖ with the young client; i.e. acknowledging, confirming and asking
clarification from the speaker.
 Provide information simply and use visual aids as much as possible.
 Ask appropriate and effective questions and use open-ended questions.
 Allow youth to ask questions and seek clarification.
 Recognize and take advantage of teachable moments.
Source: Levenberg, P. and A. Elster. 1995. Guidelines for Adolescent Preventive Services

Summary
In this unit:
 You define guidance, and counseling
 guidance and counseling in schools is explained
 The purpose for guidance and counseling is discussed.
 The unit also discusses the characteristics of effective counselor
 Different tools of data collection in different situations are explained in this unit.

84 | P a g e
Review Exercise
Choose the Best Answer for the Following Questions
1. Which aims to make available knowledge or inputs not ordinarily provided through the
instructional program or during the regular period of time?

A. Counseling C. Information

B. Follow-up D. Placement

2. Which test should be administered if the teachers/counselor‘s purpose is to identify the

individual's hidden/inner feelings prejudice, desires and thoughts?

A. Interest inventories C. Aptitude tests

B. Projective tests D. Achievement tests

3. In a class, there are children who usually get out of the social circle. How do you describe
these children?

A. Aggressive type C. Quarrelsome type

B. Friendly type D. Shy type

4. Dianne has the above-average mental ability, but she is poorly motivated in class. That is why
she has low grades in her academic performance. Is she?

A. Slow learner C. Under-achiever

B. Superior D. Over-achiever

5. Which statement about counseling is QUESTIONABLE?

A. Counseling is inherent in a school.

B. Counseling is a cooperative endeavor.

C. Counseling does not involve the principal and other school personnel.

D. Counseling enhances the guidance program, teaching, and supervision.

6. What is the ultimate aim of counseling for the individuals to attain?

A. Self-knowledge C. Self-discovery

B. Self-direction D. Self-understanding

85 | P a g e
References

Cobia, D. C., & Henderson, D. A. (2003).Handbook of school counseling. Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Merrill.
Dougherty, A. M. (2009). Psychological consultation and collaboration in school and
community settings (5th ed.). Belmont: Brooks/Cole.

Gysbers, N. C., & Moore, E. J. (1981).Improving guidance programs. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall.
Hederson, D. A., & Thompson, C. L. (2011). Counseling children (8th ed.). Belmont: Cengage
Learning.

Jones, J. A., (1979) Principles of Guidance, McGraw Hill New York.

Myrick, R. D. (1997). Developmental guidance and counseling: A practical approach (3rd ed.).
Minneapolis, MN: Educational Media Corporation.
Nayak, A. K. (2007). Guidance and counselling. New Delhi: APH Publishing.

Smith, E. J. (2006). The strength-based counseling model.The Counseling Psychologist, 34(1),

13–79.
Thompson, R. A. (2012). Professional school counseling: Best practices for working in the
schools (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.

86 | P a g e