TDFS 111 Notes-1

TDFS 111 CHINGOMBE SHAMMIE NOVEMBER 2022
What is psychology?
Tuckman and Monnetti (2011) define psychology as scientific study of human behaviour.
Educational psychology involves the study of how people learn, including topics such as
student outcomes, the instructional process, individual differences in learning, gifted
learners and learning disabilities. Educational psychology is the scientific field concerned
with applying psychological theories and concepts to the understanding and improvement
of teaching and learning in formal educational settings. In simpler terms, it is concerned with
the study of how students learn and how teachers can help them to learn effectively.
Educational psychology draws on and combines various psychological theories and
principles – such as those related to human development, motivation, learning, behaviour
management and assessment, among others – in order to improve the conditions of
teaching and learning.
LEARNING
Learning occurs in many different situations and can vary in type. Thus, learning ranges
from the acquisition of simple motor skills, through the memorization of facts, to the solution
of highly abstract problems. Learning results in a change in behaviour - one knows or can
do something after learning has taken place which one did not know or could not do before
- and in consequence influences future performance. Learning must not be seen as change
of a cognitive (thinking) nature only. When learning takes place, affective, conative and even
motor (muscular) activities are involved. Consider the following example: A young child sees
an interesting object (observes). He stretches out his hands (motor activity) to get a closer
look, becomes more interested in it, pays attention to it and grabs hold of it. He recognises
it as something he has seen before (perceives), begins thinking about where he has seen it
before, likes the feel and appearance of the object (affective), and desires (conative) to have
the object for himself . Learning is a more or less permanent change in behaviour which
results from activity, observation or training.
A feature of learning is that there must be cumulative improvement in the behaviour. This
involves acquisition (of skills and knowledge) and retention (thereof). 'Learning is that mental
activity by means of which knowledge and skills, habits, attitudes and ideals are acquired,
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retained and utilized, resulting in the progressive adaptation and modification of conduct
and behaviour'. Learning is influenced by the following:
Social atmosphere and physical environment in learning
Some schools are more effective than others in helping their pupils to achieve success.
What are the distinctive features of such schools? Research studies have shown that the
characteristics of the teachers and pupils within the school influence the performance of
pupils far more than the physical amenities such as sport fields, libraries and laboratories,
although these amenities are important too.
The teacher's relationship with the pupils
The interpersonal relationship between teacher and pupils not only affects the social and
emotional climate in the class-room, but is crucially important for achieving a high work
output and maximum use of the pupils' abilities. The teacher can exert indirect influence on
the teaching-learning situation by accepting the feeling tone of his pupils, by praising or
encouraging the pupils' behaviour, by telling jokes to release tension, and by building on the
pupils' ideas through appropriate questioning and discussion . The teacher who tries to
dominate or coerce (force into quiet obedience) his class is likely to engender
aggressiveness in some of his pupils, to the detriment of the pupils' learning. Teachers have
been categorised by pupils into three types, details of which are given in table below:
Unfriendly teacher Friendly and Encouraging pupils'

understanding teacher initiative teacher
1 The teacher who always 1 The teacher who makes 1 The teacher who lets the
scolds certain pupils. class work interesting. class do individual or group
projects.
2 The teacher who 2 The teacher who has a 2 The teacher who lets
punishes the whole class sense of humour and pupils help with the
for the things that only a few laughs at jokes made by the teaching, and encourages
of the class members do. pupils. discussion.
3 The teacher who shames 3 The teacher who is 3 The teacher who does
or embarrasses some always cheerful, and treats not stick rigidly to his
pupils. 4 The teacher who all his pupils alike. timetable.
causes pupils to be afraid to
ask
questions.
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5 The teacher who has 4 The teacher who does not 4 The teacher who takes
mannerisms that irritate get cross when pupils ask heed of suggestions made
pupils. questions. by the pupils.
6 The teacher who selects 5 The teacher who explains 5 The teacher who allows
the same pupils to help him things so that pupils can pupils to work at their own
and run errands easily understand. pace.
6 The teacher who is willing 6 The teacher who allows

to talk to pupils during or individual pupils to spend
after class about any more time on the subjects
problems which might be they like best
bothering them.
Friendly and
understanding teacher
The influence of peers
Although a child comes into contact with peers during his first few years of life, it is during
his school years that they have the greatest influence on him. In the class-room he learns
to co-operate and compete with them, and they become a standard against which he
compares and evaluates himself. In fact, by the time adolescence is reached the behaviour
of the peer group is probably as strong or stronger a standard than adult guidelines. Many
children model their learning activities on those of their peers. Indeed, research studies have
shown that some children pattern their learning styles on those of their more able peers,
while the influence of class-mates often has greater bearing on a pupil's aspirations to
achieve than the expectations of parents.
The physical environment
A factor that impedes learning is the physical condition of the class-room. Overheated,
badly ventilated and humid class-rooms induce drowsiness and discomfort among pupils
which, in turn, give rise to fatigue which is reflected in deterioration in performance and
emotional state. Uncomfortable desks have a distracting effect and induce fatigue.
Interests
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Interests can best be described as a person's likes or attraction to certain activities. Put
differently, interest is the satisfaction which a person derives from indulging in certain types
of activities. A pupil may be interested in cricket, music, needlework, reading, sport in
general, a specific school subject, etc. If a pupil is interested in a certain subject he will tend
to give more attention to it and attempt to do his best in it. In other words, interests give rise
to motivation. One of a teacher's tasks is to develop new interests in his pupils. It has been
found that interests tend to be unstable up to adolescence and that they are affected by
environmental circumstances and changes in political and social outlook. Furthermore, the
less able child has fewer interests than his more able peer. However, it must be pointed out
that it cannot be assumed that merely because someone is interested in a particular activity
he will be good at it.
Motivation
Pupils differ from one another in the way that they respond to their lessons. Some do not
want to learn or do not learn in accordance with their abilities; others strive to do well, work
hard and pursue their studies with vigour and enthusiasm; and still others give up easily and
need to be persuaded or goaded in order to persevere. Motivation lies at the root of a pupil's
wanting to learn and persisting in his efforts. A pupil who is highly motivated has a high need
to achieve. Motivation provides the energy and direction necessary to carry out an activity
to satisfy some need.
How to motivate pupils to learn and behave in the class-room is one of the most challenging
aspects of the teacher's task. Experimental research has shown that there are several
procedures that teachers can employ to motivate children to learn. Some of these will be
discussed briefly.
(a) Group work Co-operative group activity (particularly among primary school children)
is better for motivating learning than competition. However, it must be pointed out that
getting pupils in a class to work together in groups requires careful planning. The size of the
group has to be adjusted to the demands of the task. Pupils of similar abilities and interests
should be grouped together and the group leader should be someone who can lead without
being dominant.
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(b) Goal setting: The teacher should always be able to convince the pupils of the worth
of studying a particular subject or topic. Since successful performance motivates a pupil's
desire to learn and repeated failure has a detrimental effect on the desire to learn, teachers
must help pupils to set realistic goals for themselves. This makes it necessary for each pupil
to have a fairly reliable estimate of the difficulty of the learning activity and of his ability in
relation to it. Thus, the teacher should not demand the same level of performance from each
of his pupils. He should make it possible for pupils of all abilities to experience success more
often than failure.
(c) Rewards and punishment: These are extrinsic motivators. The rewards used at
school can be classified as concrete or symbolic. Concrete rewards are prizes, exemption
from homework, or reduction in workload. Symbolic rewards take the form of verbal praise,
good marks, and favourable reports to parents and promotion to a higher standard. Praise
acts as a facilitator (motivator) of learning, while blame and scolding had the opposite effect.
The main types of punishment used by teachers are reprimands, the confiscation of
privileges, and dismissal from class, isolation, detention, lowered marks and caning. Where
punishment is used frequently and with little discrimination it has a depressing effect on the
aspirations and future performance of pupils. It can create resentment and hostility in the
pupil, and induce insecurity and an unwillingness to learn in the class as a whole. Some
studies have shown that there is a positive relationship between the use of corporal
punishment in schools and the incidence of delinquency. However, the infliction of physical
pain as a method of punishment in primary schools should be forbidden'.
TEACHING
Teaching is a process of providing opportunities for pupils to learn. Teaching is a two way
transfer of information where the teacher and pupils interact during the teaching and
learning process. Teaching is an art because it must be developed by you as a classroom
practitioner. You must have enough knowledge and expertise for you to be confident in the
classroom. A teacher is obliged to plan, implement and evaluate your teaching
systematically.
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The teacher initiates the learning activities of the pupils in the class-room. Since teaching is
a unique, personal activity, no two teachers teach alike. Some teach better than others. In
the formal setting of the school the teacher has to teach in accordance with set syllabuses.
She/ he must abide by the rules laid down by the principal, who in turn is instructed by the
hierarchy in the education department which lays down policy; he must relate to and
cooperate with other teachers. She /he must attend to parents when they come to enquire
about their pupils and, if necessary, visit them at home; he must set and mark examination
papers; and he must assist with extra-curricular activities such as games, debates, concerts,
etc.
Competence and manner of teaching (a) A good teacher explains the work the pupils
have to do and helps them with difficulties. (b) A good teacher makes the lessons interesting.
(c) A good teacher gives pupils enough time to finish the work. (d) A good teacher knows a
great deal about the subject he is teaching. (e) A good teacher marks the pupils' work
regularly and fairly. (f) A good teacher encourages the pupils to work hard at school.
Category B: Method of discipline (a) A good teacher keeps order in the classroom. (b) A
good teacher is fair and just about punishment. (c) A good teacher gives praise for good
behaviour and work that is well done. (d) A good teacher has no favourites. (e) A good
teacher allows pupils to show initiative and independence. Category C: Personality qualities
(a) A good teacher is cheerful and good-tempered. (b) A good teacher is well-mannered
and polite. (c) A good teacher has a sense of humour. (d) A good teacher is patient,
understanding, kind and sympathetic. (e) A good teacher is friendly with the pupils both in
and out of school. (f) A good teacher looks nice and dresses well. Category D: Organising
ability (a) A good teacher makes certain that the class-room is tidy and attractive. (b) A good
teacher has work ready for the pupils as soon as they enter the class-room. (c) A good
teacher knows where to find the things he wants.
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(d) A good teacher makes sure that the pupils have the pens, paper and books that they
need. (e) A good teacher is able to organise all kinds of activities in the classroom. The
qualities enumerated above have been decided upon following research in which
questionnaires were completed by pupils, training college students and teachers. Some
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discrepancy exists between children's notions of a good teacher and teachers' notions of a
good teacher. Teachers place great emphasis on a teacher's personal qualities, while
children (both primary and secondary) place emphasis on teaching skills
OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF LEARNING-
Behavioural Cognitivists Social cognitivists

Developed J, B Watson Piaget and Brunner are the Levi Vygotsky is the
Pavlov, and Thorndike key proponents. proponent. Emphasis is on
Skinner. It focuses its Emphasis is on the child’s collaboration with others to
attention fully on the mental processes, produce knowledge and
observable or overt
knowledge and understanding.
behaviour of the organism.
Emphasis is on understanding. Studies a
experiences, especially human being’s memory,
reinforcement and thinking, language
punishment as acquisition, perception and
determinants of learning other metal process. It
and behaviour sharply contradict the view
of the behaviourists
Psychoanalytic theories Eclectic Approach Humanist
The key proponents are Abraham Maslow and

Sigmund Freud and Erick This is when at least two Carl Rogers. Santrock,
Erickson .Mangal (2002) psychological theories are 2004 defines humanists’
claims that psychoanalysis used to address the psychology as a school of
emphasizes its importance
of earlier experiences in life situation depending on the thought that emphasis the
and the need for better circumstances. The theory uniqueness of the individual
education to the child in the to be applied on the given and the search for self-
formative years situation depends on the actualization.
nature of the problem to be
solved.
Behavioural theories
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Behavioural theories suggest that learning is a result of interaction between the individual
and the environment. Behavioural theorists study observable and measurable behaviours,
rejecting theories that take internal thoughts and feelings into account.
SKINNER’S OPERANT CONDITIONING

Operant conditioning is a method of learning that emphasises that the consequence of a
behaviour determine how likely or unlikely it is for the behaviour to occur in similar settings
in future (Tuckman and Monnetti, 2011). Snowman et al (2009) noted that operant
conditioning refers to the fact that organisms learn to “operate” on their environment in order
to obtain or avoid a particular consequence. Banda, Chivore, Muchenje, Hapanyengwi-
Chemhuru, Nenohwe and Chikoto (2014) noted that operant conditioning is a type of
learning in which the likelihood or probability of a behaviour occurring is changed (increased,
decreased) as a result of procedures (e.g. reinforcement) that follow observable behaviour.
Thus, it is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishment for observable
behaviours.
Behaviour: is something that a student does that is directly measurable and observable.
According to this theory, a teacher who systematically uses the operant conditioning
principles can change the probability of a student’s behaviour by choosing whether or not
to follow that behaviour with a positive reinforce.
Skinner believed that we do have a mind but it is simply important to study observable
behaviour rather than internal mental processes. He believed that the best way to
understand behaviour is to look at the causes of an action and its consequences. Behaviour
which is reinforced tends to be repeated (i.e. strengthened) and behaviour which is not
reinforced tends to die out or be extinguished (i.e. Weakened).
Skinner studied operant conditioning by conducting experiment using a rat which he placed
in a “Skinner box”
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The term operant conditioning means roughly changing of behaviour by the use
reinforcement which is given after the desired response. Operant conditioning is sometimes
called trial and error. Operant behaviours are actions or operations that a pupil uses to meet
the demands of classroom learning tasks and activities. E.gs of operant behaviours is:
 Reading, writing and speaking.

 Solving problems in mathematics
 Operating computer or microscope
 Managing practical subjects
 Running, cooking, riding a bicycle etc.
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF OPERANT CONDITIONING

When a consequence strengthens a preceding behaviour reinforcement has taken place.
When a consequence weakens a preceding behaviour punishment and extinction has
occurred.
Neutral operant: responses from the environment that neither increase nor decrease the
probability of a behaviour being repeated.
Reinforcers: Responses from the environment that increases the probability of a behaviour
being repeated. Reinforcers can be either positive or negative. Punishers: responses from
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the environment that decreases the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated. Punishment
weakens behaviour. Reinforcement (strengthens behaviour).
Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in a Skinner
box. The box contained a lever on the side and as the rat moved about it would accidentally
knock the lever. Immediately as it did so a food pallet would drop into a container next to
the lever. The rats quickly learnt to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in
the box. The consequence of receiving food if they pressed the lever ensured that they
would repeat the action again and again.
Positive reinforcement strengthens behaviour by providing a reward.

The removal of an unpleasant reinforce can also strengthen behaviour. This is known as
negative reinforcement because it is the removal of an adverse stimulus which is rewarding
to the animal. Negative reinforcement strengthens the behaviour because it stops or
removes an unpleasant experience.
Skinner showed how negative reinforcement worked by placing a rat in a Skinner box and
then subjecting it to an unpleasant electric current which caused discomfort. In fact Skinner
even taught the rats to avoid electric shock by turning the light just before the electric current
came on. The rats soon learnt to press the lever when the light came on because they knew
that this would stop the electric current being switched on. These two learnt responses are
known as escape learning and avoidance learning.
Punishment (weakens behaviour).

Punishment is defined as the opposite of reinforcement since it is designed to weaken or
eliminate a response rather than increase it. Like reinforcement, punishment can work either
by applying an unpleasant stimulus like a shock after a response or by eliminating a
potentially rewarding stimulus for instance, deducting someone’s pocket money to punish
undesirable behaviour.
NB: It is not always easy to distinguish between punishment and negative reinforcement.
Behaviour modification
These are set of therapies / techniques based on operant conditioning. The main principle
comprises changing environmental events that are related to a person’s behavior. For
example, the reinforced of desired behaviours and ignoring or punishing the undesired ones.
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This is not as simple as it sounds- always reinforcing desire behaviour, e.g., is basically
bribery.
There are different types of positive reinforcements. Primary reinforcement is when a reward
strengthens behaviour by itself. Secondary reinforcement is when a reward strengthens
behaviour by itself.
Examples of behaviour modification therapy include token economy and behaviour shaping
Token economy
The token economy system in which targeted behaviours is reinforced with tokens
(secondary reinforces and later exchanged for rewards). Token economy has been found
to be very effective in managing psychiatric patients. However the patients can be over
reliant on tokens, Teachers use tokens at primary school by giving young children stickers,
merit badges etc. to reward good behaviour. A simple way of giving reinforcement in
behaviour is in providing compliments, approval and encouragement as a way of effectively
altering behaviour in a desired manner. Types of schedules
Fixed-ratio schedules are those where a response is reinforced only after a specified
number of responses. This schedule produces a high, steady rate of responding with only
a brief pause after the delivery of the reinforcer. An example of a fixed-ratio schedule would
be delivering a food pellet to a rat after it presses a bar five times.
Variable-ratio schedules
Occur when a response is reinforced after an unpredictable number of responses. This
schedule creates a high steady rate of responding. Gambling and lottery games are good
examples of a reward based on a variable ratio schedule. In a lab setting, this might involve
delivering food pellets to a rat after one bar press, again after four bar presses, and a third
pellet after two bar presses. Fixed-interval schedules are those where the first response
is rewarded only after a specified amount of time has elapsed. This schedule causes high
amounts of responding near the end of the interval, but much slower responding
immediately after the delivery of the reinforcer. An example of this in a lab setting would be
reinforcing a rat with a lab pellet for the first bar press after a 30 second interval has elapsed.
Variable-interval schedules occur when a response is rewarded after an unpredictable
amount of time has passed. This schedule produces a slow, steady rate of response. An
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example of this would be delivering a food pellet to a rat after the first bar press following a
one minute interval, another pellet for the first response following a five minute interval, and
a third food pellet for the first response following a three minute interval.
Educational implications.
Teachers should break down tasks into manageable activities especially at primary level.
Reinforce each desirable response or even parties connect answers.
Teach from simple to complex / known to unknown
Rewards should not be given selectively.
Unwanted behaviour must minimised or eliminated promptly
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
This was developed by a Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov who experimented with dogs. It
helps us to understand test anxiety and phobias. Pavlov established the laws of classical
conditioning when he studied the dogs. Classical conditioning is learning by association.
MAJOR CONCEPTS
To fully understand Pavlov’s (1927) of classical conditioning we need to understand two

types of stimuli and two types of responses: unconditioned stimuli (US), unconditioned
response (UR), conditioned stimuli (CS), and conditioned response (CR). In classical
conditioning, the stimulus (S) triggers the response (R) of an organism. With the exposure
of the organism to the stimulus, reflex results. Reflex is the involuntary behaviour which
comes from within. One of the most common reflexes seen to us is the blink of an eye
whenever air is blown into air or a foreign object approaches it.
Generally there are four consecutive concepts under this model.

1. The Unconditioned stimulus (US) triggers the Unconditioned response (UR ) : US
UR
This means without learning, a stimulus can elicit a reflex. Reflex is called the
unconditioned response because as what we mentioned, it is involuntary and we do
not need to learn it for the event to occur.
2. The Neutral stimulus (NS) is a stimulus that does not elicit the Unconditioned
Response : NS NO RESPONSE
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This means that when this stimulus is presented to the organism, it will not execute
the same response he showed when it encountered the US.
3. US and NS are repeatedly paired and presented to the organism.
4. 4. The pairing of US and NS transforms a NS into a Conditioned Stimulus (CS). This
means that whenever the previously neutral stimulus is presented alone (US is not
showed anymore) to the organism, it causes UR to occur. But this time, UR is
changed into Conditioned Response (CR), because the response is elicited due to
conditioning. Therefore, CS elicits CR.
Classical conditioning can be involved in both positive and negative experiences in the
classroom. Things that produce pleasure (positive) are a favourite song, feelings that a
classroom is safe and teacher’s warmth and nurturing. On a negative note pupils can
develop fear if they associate the classroom with criticism or beating from the teacher or
classmates. If a child fails and is criticised this can produce anxiety.
Principles of classical conditioning
Generalization - To produce generalisation Pavlov gave food to the dog after ringing the
bell and not after any other sound. It occurs when an individual once conditioned to respond
to a specific stimulus now responds to a specific stimulus of similar nature. Let’s assume
that the child was criticised in Biology test he or she will become nervous in Chemistry
because these two subjects are closely related.
Discrimination: is when organism responds to certain stimuli but not others. For instance
Pavlov gave food to the dog after only ringing the bell and not after any other sound.
Subsequently, the dog responded only to the bell. In a classroom the student who is nervous
in statistics does not become nervous in psychology of teaching and learning because these
two subjects are different.
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Extinction: involves the weakening of the conditioned response. In one session Pavlov rang
the bell but did not give the dog any food. Eventually the dog quit salivating. Similarly, if the
student who gets nervous while taking test begins to do better on tests, her anxiety will fade.
Systemic desensitisation: is a method that reduces anxiety by getting the individual to
associate deep relaxation rather than anxiety. For instance there are some students who
are nervous to present during the lecture so allow them to practice on their own at home, in
their small groups and later to the whole TDEFS group.
Implications
Pupils may become anxious in some subject and not anxious in others. Teachers should try
to diffuse anxiety and be constantly warm (friendly) during all lessons.
Challenge pupils to compare and contrast situations.
Teach from known to unknown.
Give pupils manageable tasks. Notify them of the test in advance.
Psychoanalytic theories
SIGMUND FREUD
Sigmund Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis. It is a method for treating a mental
illness and also a theory which explains human behavior. He explored the human mind
more thoroughly than any other who became before him. His contributions to psychology
are vast. The words he introduced through his theories are now used by everyday people,
such as anal (personality), libido, denial, repression, cathartic, Freudian slip, and neurotic.
Freud compared the mind to an iceberg
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He developed a structural model of the mind, whereby he described the features of mind’s
structure and function. In this model the conscious mind (everything we are aware of) is
seen as the tip of the iceberg, with the unconscious mind as a storehouse of primitive wishes
and impulse kept at bay and mediated by the preconscious area. However, Freud found
that some events and desires were often too frightening or painful for his patients to
acknowledge. He believed such information was locked away in a region he called the
unconscious mind. This happens through the process of repression. Sigmund Freud
emphasized the importance of the unconscious mind, and a primary assumption of Freudian
theory is that the unconscious mind governs behavior to a greater degree than people
suspect. Indeed, the goal of psychoanalysis is to make the unconscious conscious.
He later developed a more structural model of the mind comprising the entities id, ego and
superego (what Freud called “the psychic apparatus”). These are not physical areas within
the brain, but rather hypothetical conceptualizations of important mental functions.
ID EGO SUPEREGO
Instincts Reality Morality
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ID Freud assumed the id operated at an unconscious level according to the pleasure

principle. The id contains two kinds of biological instincts (or dives) which he called Eros
and Thanatos. Eros, or life instinct, helps the individual to survive; it directs life-
sustaining activities such as respiration, eating and sex .The energy created by the life
instincts is known as libido. In contrast, Thanatos or death instinct, is viewed as a set of
destructive forces present in all human beings When this energy is directed outward onto
others, it is expressed as aggression and violence. Freud believed that Eros or stronger
than Thanatos, thus enabling people to survive rather than self-destruction of the
individual.
EGO
The ego develops from the id during infancy. The egos goal is to satisfy the demands of the
id in a safe a socially acceptable way. In contrast to the id the ego follows the reality principle
as it operates in both the conscious and unconscious mind.
SUPEREGO
The superego develops during early childhood (when the child identifies with the same sex
parent) and is responsible for ensuring moral standards are followed. The Superego
operates on the morality principle and motivates us to behave in a socially responsible and
acceptable manner. The superego can make a person feel guilty if rules are not followed.
When there is conflict between the goals of the id and superego the ego must act as a
referee and mediate this conflict. The ego can deploy various defense mechanisms to
prevent it from becoming overwhelmed by anxiety. Defense mechanisms are way in which
one tries to defend or protect oneself. These are ways in which people distance themselves
from unpleasant thoughts and feelings.
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Freud’s Psychosexual Stages
Oral Stage
The oral stage occurs in an infant’s life from birth to 18 months. During this time, an infant
is focused with receiving oral pleasure. This occurs through breast or bottle feeding, or
sucking on a pacifier. It is believed that if an infant receives too much or too little oral
stimulation, they may develop a fixation or a personality trait that is fixated on oral
gratification. It is believed that these people may focus on activities that involve the mouth
such as over eating, biting the fingernails, smoking, or drinking. They may have a stronger
tendency to smoke, drink alcohol, over eat, or bite his or her nails. Personality wise, these
individuals may become overly dependent upon others, gullible, and perpetual followers.
On the other hand, they may also fight these urges and develop pessimism and aggression
toward others.
Anal Stage- 18 months and three years.
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The anal stage is directly related to a child’s awareness of bowel control and gaining
pleasure through the act of eliminating or retaining faeces. Freud’s theory puts the anal
stage between 18 months and three years. It is believed that when a child becomes fixated
on receiving pleasure through controlling and eliminating faeces, a child can become
obsessed with control, perfection, and cleanliness. This is often referred to as anal retentive,
while anal expulsive is the opposite. Those who are anal expulsive may be extremely
disorganized, live in chaos, and are known for making messes.
Phallic Stage
Freud believes the phallic stage or the Oedipus or Electra complexes occurs during a child
is three to six years of age. The belief is that male children harbour unconscious, sexual
attraction to their mothers, while female children develop a sexual attraction to their father.
Freud taught that young boys also deal with feelings of rivalry with their father. These
feelings naturally resolve once the child begins to identify with their same sex parent. By
identifying with the same sex parent, the child continues with normal, healthy sexual
development. If a child becomes fixated during this phase, the result could be sexual
deviance or a confused sexual identity. Electra complex the girl child will be attached to the
father whilst the boy child will be attached to the mother (Oedipus complex).
Latency Stage
The latency stage is named so because Freud believed there weren't many overt forms of
sexual gratification displayed. This stage is said to last from the age of six until a child enters
puberty. Most children throughout this age form same sex friendships and play in a manner
that is non-sexual. Unconscious sexual desires and thoughts remain repressed.
Genital Stage
Freud believed that after the unconscious, sexual desires are repressed and remain
dormant during the latency stage, they are awakened due to puberty. This stage begins at
puberty and develops with the physiology changes brought on through hormones. The prior
stages of development result in a focus on the genitals as a source for pleasure and teens
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develop and explore attractions to the opposite sex. The genital stage is the last stage of
the psychosexual development theory.
If these psychosexual stages are completed successfully, the result is a healthy personality.
If certain issues are not resolved at the appropriate stage, fixation can occur. A fixation is a
persistent focus on an earlier psychosexual stage. Until this conflict is resolved, the
individual will remain "stuck" in this stage. For example, a person who is fixated at the oral
stage may be over-dependent on others and may seek oral stimulation through smoking,
drinking, or eating.
METHODS OF ASSOCIATION IN PSCHOANALYSIS
Free Association- one is taken to a memory lane to establish that which is in the
unconscious part of the mind. Freud would then view the data from the unconscious mind.
Through association one can establish the truth.
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Dream interpretation- Freud said whatever you dream is whatever you will be thinking or
interested in.
Slips of tongues- most mothers use this. There is some truth on the slips of tongues.
Whatever one says by slips of tongues is what he / she will be thinking of.
Hypnosis-persons are drugged and exposed to self-talk. When someone is unconscious

they tell the truth e.g. apologising after making a mistake.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS.
- Primary school teachers should be concerned with the handling of children’s psycho
sexual problem because the first five years of human development lays the
foundation for one’s personality.
- Teach children to control their urges and desires before they even go to school e.g.
pre-school because it is the past that controls the future.
- Expose a lot of activities to children so that they get rid of energy drive for more
profitable activities this is known as catharsis hypothesis.
- Unresolved conflicts with the individuals determine the individual’s personality

through fixation e.g. one’s chewing, smoking. Thumb sucking, excessive eating is
developed within the first five years of development therefore the teachers should
intervene for there are high possibilities of undesirable characters in later life.
- Fixation at phallic stage can be identified in in an individual trying to graduate from

peers of the same sex and is rejected the teacher should therefore encourage pupils
to accept one another.
- Freud’s view of free association reminds teachers of the importance of encouraging

learners to be open to free dialogue. It can be sued in counselling children with
problems at school.
20
- The importance of the conscious and unconscious remind teachers to help children
to learn to exercise self-control i.e. developing from the ID zone to more pro- social
levels.
- Teachers should note some pupils might try to use defense mechanism so teach
them not to use them to try to cover up the real self.
- Remain a caring, warm and considerate teacher to your pupils.
- Expose children to decision making giving them responsibilities.
- Be a good role model
DEFENCE MECHANISMS
When people experience difficulties, they have different ways of handling their pain. We
use defense mechanisms to protect ourselves from feelings of anxiety or guilt, which arise
because we feel threatened, or because our id or superego becomes too demanding.
Defense mechanisms can hide many different feelings from anger to love to sadness.
Name of
Defense Description Example
Mechanism
Burying a painful feeling or thought from
your awareness though it may resurface You can't remember your
Repression
in symbolic form. Sometimes considered father's funeral.>
a basis of other defense mechanisms.
You are arrested for drunk
Not accepting reality because it is too driving several times but
Denial
painful. don't believe you have a
problem with alcohol.
You and your roommate
Reverting to an older, less mature way have get into an argument
Regression
of handling stresses and feelings so you stomp off into
another room and pout
Attributing your own unacceptable You get really mad at your
Projection thoughts or feelings to someone or husband but scream that
something else he's the one mad at you.
21
When you get mad at your

Channelling a feeling or thought from its
sister, you break your
Displacement actual source to something or someone
drinking glass by throwing it
else.
against the wall.
Reaction Adopting beliefs, attitudes, and feelings When you say you're not
Formation contrary to what you really believe angry when you really are.
Justifying one's behaviours and I always study hard for tests
motivations by substituting "good", and I know a lot of people
Rationalization
acceptable reasons for these real who cheat so it's not a big
motivations deal I cheated this time.
Redirecting unacceptable, instinctual
Intense rage redirected in
drives into personally and socially
the form of participation in
Sublimation
acceptable channels sports such as boxing or
football
You are attracted to
The effort to hide and control someone but say that you
Suppression really don't like the person at
unacceptable thoughts or feelings
all
ERIKSON’S STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development

Like Piaget, Erik Erikson (1902-1994) maintained that children develop in a predetermined
order. Instead of focusing on cognitive development, however, he was interested in how
children socialize and how this affects their sense of self. Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial
Development has eight distinct stages, each with two possible outcomes. According to the
theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality and successful
interactions with others. Failure to successfully complete a stage can result in a reduced
ability to complete further stages
22
and therefore a more unhealthy personality and sense of self. These stages, however, can
be resolved successfully at a later time.
looks towards their primary caregiver for stability and consistency of care.
If the care the infant receives is consistent, predictable and reliable, they will develop a
sense of trust which will carry with them to other relationships, and they will be able to feel
secure even when threatened.
Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of hope. By developing a sense of trust, the infant
can have hope that as new crises arise, there is a real possibility that other people will be
there are a source of support. Failing to acquire the virtue of hope will lead to the
development of fear.
For example, if the care has been harsh or inconsistent, unpredictable and unreliable, then
the infant will develop a sense of mistrust and will not have confidence in the world around
them or in their abilities to influence events.
This infant will carry the basic sense of mistrust with them to other relationships. It may result
in anxiety, heightened insecurities, and an over feeling of mistrust in the world around them.
1. Trust vs. Mistrust

birth – 1 year
Erikson's first
psychosocial crisis
occurs during the first
year or so of life (like
Freud's oral stage of
psychosexual
development). The
crisis is one of trust
vs. mistrust.
During this stage the
infants are uncertain
about the world in
which they live. To
resolve these
feelings of
uncertainty the infant
23
Consistent with Erikson's views on the importance of trust, research by Bowlby and
Ainsworth has outlined how the quality of the early experience of attachment can affect
relationships with others in later life.
Expressions of Trust
2. open, non-suspicious attitudes
3. lets mother go
4. welcomes touching
5. good eye contact
6. shares self and possessions
Expressions of Mistrust
1. avoids relationship
2. suspicious, closed, guarded
3. unwilling to let mother go
4. loner and unhappy
5. poor eye contact
6. does not share self or possession
2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

The child is developing physically and becoming more mobile. Between the ages of 18
months and three, children begin to assert their independence, by walking away from their
mother, picking which toy to play with, and making choices about what they like to wear, to
eat, etc.
The child is discovering that he or she has many skills and abilities, such as putting on
clothes and shoes, playing with toys, etc. Such skills illustrate the child's growing sense of
independence and autonomy. Erikson states it is critical that parents allow their children to
explore the limits of their abilities within an encouraging environment which is tolerant of
failure.
For example, rather than put on a child's clothes a supportive parent should have the
patience to allow the child to try until they succeed or ask for assistance.
So, the parents need to encourage the child to becoming more independent whilst at the
same time protecting the child so that constant failure is avoided.
A delicate balance is required from the parent. They must try not to do everything for the
child but if the child fails at a particular task they must not criticize the child for failures and
accidents (particularly when toilet training). The aim has to be “self-control without a loss of
self-esteem” (Gross, 1992). Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of will.
If children in this stage are encouraged and supported in their increased independence, they
become more confident and secure in their own ability to survive in the world.
If children are criticized, overly controlled, or not given the opportunity to assert themselves,
they begin to feel inadequate in their ability to survive, and may then become overly
24
dependent upon others, lack self-esteem, and feel a sense of shame or doubt in their own
abilities.
Expressions of autonomy
1. independent
2. not easily led
3. resists being dominate
4. able to stand on own two feet
5. works well alone or with others
6. assertive when necessary
II. Expressions of shame and doubt
1. procrastinates frequently
2. has trouble working alone
3. need structure and directions
4. has trouble making decisions
5. is easily influenced
6. Embarrassed when complimented
3. Initiative vs. Guilt Around age three and continuing to age five, children assert
themselves more frequently.
These are particularly lively, rapid-developing years in a child’s life. According to Bee (1992)
it is a “time of vigour of action and of behaviours that the parents may see as aggressive".
During this period the primary feature involves the child regularly interacting with other
children at school. Central to this stage is play, as it provides children with the opportunity
to explore their interpersonal skills through initiating activities.
Children begin to plan activities, make up games, and initiate activities with others. If given
this opportunity, children develop a sense of initiative, and feel secure in their ability to lead
others and make decisions.
Conversely, if this tendency is squelched, either through criticism or control, children
develop a sense of guilt. They may feel like a nuisance to others and will therefore remain
followers, lacking in self-initiative.
The child takes initiatives which the parents will often try to stop in order to protect the child.
The child will often overstep the mark in his forcefulness and the danger is that the parents
will tend to punish the child and restrict his initiatives too much.
It is at this stage that the child will begin to ask many questions as his thirst for knowledge
grows. If the parents treat the child’s questions as trivial, a nuisance or embarrassing or
other aspects of their behaviour as threatening then the child may have feelings of guilt for
“being a nuisance”.
Too much guilt can make the child slow to interact with others and may inhibit their creativity.
Some guilt is, of course, necessary, otherwise the child would not know how to exercise
self-control or have a conscience.
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Expressions of initiative
1. is a self-starter
2. accepts challenges
3. assumes leadership roles
4. sets goals- goes after them
5. moves easily, freely with body
III. Expressions of guilt
1. gets depressed easily
2. puts self down
3. slumped posture
4. poor eye contact
5. has low energy level
4. Industry (competence) vs. Inferiority

Children are at the stage (aged 5 to 12 yrs.) where they will be learning to read and write,
to do sums, to do things on their own. Teachers begin to take an important role in the child’s
life as they teach the child specific skills.
It is at this stage that the child’s peer group will gain greater significance and will become a
major source of the child’s self-esteem. The child now feels the need to win approval by
demonstrating specific competencies that are valued by society, and begin to develop a
sense of pride in their accomplishments.
If children are encouraged and reinforced for their initiative, they begin to feel industrious
and feel confident in their ability to achieve goals. If this initiative is not encouraged, if it is
restricted by parents or teacher, then the child begins to feel inferior, doubting his own
abilities and therefore may not reach his or her potential.
If the child cannot develop the specific skill they feel society is demanding (e.g. being
athletic) then they may develop a sense of inferiority. Some failure may be necessary so
that the child can develop some modesty. Yet again, a balance between competence and
modesty is necessary. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of competence.
Expressions of industry
1. wonders how things work
2. finishes what starts
3. likes ‘projects’
4. enjoys learning
5. like to experiment
IV. Expressions of inferiority

1. Timid, somewhat withdrawn
2. Overly obedient
3. Procrastinates often
4. an observer, not a producer
5. questions own ability
5. Identity vs. Role Confusion
26
During adolescence (age 12 to 18 yrs.), the transition from childhood to adulthood is most
important. Children are becoming more independent, and begin to look at the future in terms
of career, relationships, families, housing, etc. The individual wants to belong to a society
and fit in.
This is a major stage in development where the child has to learn the roles he will occupy
as an adult. It is during this stage that the adolescent will re-examine his identity and try to
find out exactly who he or she is. Erikson suggests that two identities are involved: the
sexual and the occupational.
According to Bee (1992), what should happen at the end of this stage is “a reintegrated
sense of self, of what one wants to do or be, and of one’s appropriate sex role”. During this
stage the body image of the adolescent changes.
Erikson claims that the adolescent may feel uncomfortable about their body for a while until
they can adapt and “grow into” the changes. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of
fidelity.
Fidelity involves being able to commit one's self to others on the basis of accepting others,
even when there may be ideological differences.
During this period, they explore possibilities and begin to form their own identity based upon
the outcome of their explorations. Failure to establish a sense of identity within society ("I
don’t know what I want to be when I grow up") can lead to role confusion. Role confusion
involves the individual not being sure about themselves or their place in society.
In response to role confusion or identity crisis an adolescent may begin to experiment with
different lifestyles (e.g. work, education or political activities). Also pressuring someone into
an identity can result in rebellion in the form of establishing a negative identity, and in
addition to this feeling of unhappiness.
Expressions of identity
1. certain about sex role identity
2. active interest in opposite sex
V. Expressions of identity confusion

1. doubts about sex role identity
2. lacks confidence
3. can’t plan for future
4. challenges adult authority
5. tends to be self-accepting
6. Intimacy vs. Isolation
Occurring in young adulthood (ages 18 to 40 yrs.), we begin to share ourselves more
intimately with others. We explore relationships leading toward longer term commitments
with someone other than a family member.
Successful completion of this stage can lead to comfortable relationships and a sense of
commitment, safety, and care within a relationship. Avoiding intimacy, fearing commitment
27
and relationships can lead to isolation, loneliness, and sometimes depression. Success in
this stage will lead to the virtue of love.
Expressions of Intimacy
1. maintained friendship
2. physical and emotional intimacy
3. participation in games, groups
4. open, willing to interact
5. able to make and keep
VI. Expressions of Isolation
1. sabotage relationship
2. withdraws
3. avoidance, defensive
4. self-defeating behaviour
5. maintaining isolation
6. questions job performance
7. Generativity vs. Stagnation

During middle adulthood (ages 40 to 65 yrs.), we establish our careers, settle down within
a relationship, begin our own families and develop a sense of being a part of the bigger
picture.
We give back to society through raising our children, being productive at work, and
becoming involved in community activities and organizations.
By failing to achieve these objectives, we become stagnant and feel unproductive.
Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of care.
Expressions of Generativity
1. confident
3. productive work
4. believe in themselves
5. willingness to invest in the next generation
6. achievement goals
7. willing to risk, explore, produce, and take charge of attitude.
VII. Expressions of Stagnation

1. stagnation
2. watching
3. complaining, blaming
4. withdraws
5. obesity
6. fatalist attitude
7. dissatisfaction with self, job, life, mate
8. resentful
28
8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair

As we grow older (65+ yrs.) and become senior citizens, we tend to slow down our
productivity, and explore life as a retired person. It is during this time that we contemplate
our accomplishments and are able to develop integrity if we see ourselves as leading a
successful life.
Erik Erikson believed if we see our lives as unproductive, feel guilty about our past, or feel
that we did not accomplish our life goals, we become dissatisfied with life and develop
despair, often leading to depression and hopelessness.
Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of wisdom. Wisdom enables a person to look
back on their life with a sense of closure and completeness, and also accept death without
fear.
Expressions of Integrity
1. proud, content with self and life

2. still actively thinking about the future
3. healthy interaction with self
4. self-approving
5. comfortable giving and sharing with others
6. likes being an example to others
7. accepts aging process gracefully and death as part of life cycle
VIII. Expressions of Despair and Distrust

1. hopelessness
2. deep resentment
3. nothing left uselessness
4. low self esteem
5. anger at self, other, world, society
6. closed to others
7. complaints, irritable
8. anger at aging, feels cheated.
Critical Evaluation
Erikson is rather vague about the causes of development. What kinds of experiences must
people have in order to successfully resolve various psychosocial conflicts and move from
one stage to another? The theory does not have a universal mechanism for crisis resolution.
Indeed, Erikson (1964) acknowledges his theory is more a descriptive overview of human
social and emotional development that does not adequately explain how or why this
development occurs. For example, Erikson does not explicitly explain how the outcome of
one psychosocial stage influences personality at a later stage.
One of the strengths of Erikson's theory is its ability to tie together important psychosocial
development across the entire lifespan.
29
Cognitive Approaches
JEAN PIAGET
Before Piaget’s work, the common assumption in psychology was that children are merely
less competent thinkers than adults. Piaget showed that young children think in strikingly
different ways compared to adults. His primary interest was in biological influences on how
we come to know, and the developmental stages we move through as we acquire this ability.
Piaget (1973) believed that the child plays an active role in the growth of intelligence and
learns by doing. Piaget observed and studied his own three children through each stage of
their cognitive development. Piaget believed that cognitive development is cumulative; that
is, understanding a new experience grows out of a previous learning experience.
• Piaget (1936) was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive
development.
• His contributions include a theory of cognitive child development, detailed

observational studies of cognition in children, and a series of simple but ingenious
tests to reveal different cognitive abilities.
• From his observation of children, Piaget understood that children were creating
ideas. They were not limited to receiving knowledge from parents or teachers; they
actively constructed their own knowledge.
• In studying the cognitive development of children and adolescents, Piaget identified

four major stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal
operational.
• Piaget believed all children pass through these phases to advance to the next level
of cognitive development. In each stage, children demonstrate new intellectual
abilities and increasingly complex understanding of the world. Stages cannot be
"skipped"; intellectual development always follows this sequence.
Stages of Cognitive Development
30
The first stage, sensorimotor, begins at birth and lasts until 18 months-2 years of age.
This stage involves the use of motor activity without the use of symbols. Knowledge is
limited in this stage, because it is based on physical interactions and experiences. Infants
cannot predict reaction, and therefore must constantly experiment and learn through trial
and error. Such exploration might include shaking a rattle or putting objects in the mouth.
As they become more mobile, infants' ability to develop cognitively increases. Early
language development begins during this stage. Object permanence occurs at 7-9
months, demonstrating that memory is developing. Infants realize that an object exists
after it can no longer be seen.
The preoperational stage usually occurs during the period between toddlerhood
(1824months) and early childhood (7 years). During this stage children begin to use
language; memory and imagination also develop. In the preoperational stage, children
engage in make believe and can understand and express relationships between the past
and the future. More complex concepts, such as cause and effect relationships, have not
been learned. Intelligence is egocentric and intuitive, not logical.
The concrete operational stage typically develops between the ages of 7-11 years.
Intellectual development in this stage is demonstrated through the use of logical and
systematic manipulation of symbols, which are related to concrete objects. Thinking
31
becomes less egocentric with increased awareness of external events, and involves
concrete references.
The period from adolescence through adulthood is the formal operational stage.
Adolescents and adults use symbols related to abstract concepts. Adolescents can think
about multiple variables in systematic ways, can formulate hypotheses, and think about
abstract relationships and concepts.
Piaget believed that intellectual development was a lifelong process, but that when formal
operational thought was attained, no new structures were needed. Intellectual
development in adults involves developing more complex schema through the addition of
knowledge.
The four processes that enable the transition from one cognitive stage to another are
assimilation, accommodation, disequilibrium, and equilibration.
32
VYGOTSKY’S SOCIO CULTURAL THEORY
Levi Vygotsky was a Russian by origin. His theory is a non-stage one. He stresses the
importance of socio – cultural factor in cognitive development. The major theme of his theory
is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition.
Vygotsky (1978) states that every function in the child’s cultural development appears twice.
First on the social level and later on the individual level. Socio –cultural theory tries to explain
cognitive development in the terms of guidance, support and structure provided by the
culture. The factors that best distinguish a socio cultural perspective from others is that
learning and cognitive development can be 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 take may vary. What is considered
intelligent behaviour in one setting may not be viewed as intelligent in another as it may not
have the same survival value? Vygotsky is the complimentary to the work of Bandura on
social learning.
33
KEY TERMS IN VYGOTSKY’S THEORY.
• Observation (borrowed from Bandura).

• Zone of proximal development.
• Scaffolding.
• Socio- cultural.
• Interaction.
• Play.
• Language.
The role of language.
Language is used as a thinking tool. Vygotsky believed that universally the most
important learning tool is the specific language of each society because language
provides a powerful means of learning through social interaction. Vygotsky argued that
with the mastery of language children’s thinking acquires unique potential enabling them
to express their thoughts and ideas to social partners and in turn absorbs the ideas of
others and culture at large into their own thinking. The most important function of
language is to carry messages from the inter-psychological plane to the intra-
psychological plane. The child uses self-talk or silent speech .Children with highly
developed language skills can perform complex tasks .As language ability develops
learners become better able to communicate with a wide variety of listeners in a variety
of social contexts.
Role of play.
According to Vygotsky play is a process whereby children practise their future social
roles in their culture. Play is a child’s method of practising, consolidating and elaborating
what they know thereby understanding his or her world better. Children also develop
cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally during play. They also learn a variety of
ideas, skills and attitudes through play. Play provides base for interpersonal
relationships among children.
The zone of proximal development (ZPD).

34
Snowman et.al (2009) define zone of proximal development as the difference between
what a child can do on his own and what can be accomplished with some assistance.
It is the distance between a child’s actual problem solving and higher level of potential
development as determined by problem solving under adult guidance or collaboration
with more capable peers. ZPD’s full development depends upon full social interaction.
Novak and Pelaz (2004) noted that ZPD implicitly recognises that there are hidden
component skills that are more likely to be displayed with the support of others.
Scaffolding.
Snowman et.al (2009) noted that scaffolding is helping students answer difficult
questions or solve problems by giving them hints or asking leading questions. Novak
and Pelaz (2002) suggested that parent, teachers and more competent peers provide
support. Eggen (2010) also noted that scaffolding is the assistance given to a child to
accomplish a task when they are unable to complete on their own.
35
Critique.
The theory overlooks developmental processes that are primarily not social. It has been
viewed as neglecting the role of biological maturation. The theory lacks intrinsic incentives
for development. It overlooks how much children affect the context of their own development
for instance choosing their own mentors, activities and settings for learning or sometimes
by refusing the guidance assistance of others when mastering new skills.
The role of culture and social relationship.
Snowman et.al (2009) highlighted that this theory is referred to as a socio cultural in the
sense that it maintains that the way we think is a function of both the social and cultural
forces. Typically, parents and school shape children’s thought processes to reflect that
which the culture values. Murray and Arroyo (2002) asserted that t learners are surrounded
by parents, siblings, relatives, friends, teachers and fellow students. These communicate
with one another, stimulate one another and learn from one another. Parents and teachers
are more knowledgeable and skilled than learners and promote their development. Vygotsky
believed that children gain significantly from the knowledge and conceptual tools handed to
them by those who are more advanced. Snowman (2011) believed that cognitive
development occurs through the child’s conversations and instructions with more capable
members of their culture, adults and more able peers. Thus to him cognitive development
is a social process facilitated by adults and more capable members of the society
Educational implications.
 Teacher should promote acquisition of skills by providing scaffolds e.g. guiding

questions, probes, clues, hints, guidelines and sketches.
 Use of demonstrations and observation.

 Interactive methods e.g. group work.
 Pupils learn from known to unknown.
 Use of language: teachers should make use of the language known by their
students. n
 Teachers should not violate the societal norms and values of their students.
36
 Teachers should implement the concept of guided participation.
BRUNER
Bruner was born in New York in 1915 of Jewish emigrants. His theory is a critic to
behaviourist thought. He emphasised programmed instruction. He was interested in the
teaching and learning of Mathematics. He differed with Piaget in that:
 he believed that the learning situations should be structured to enable a child to

learn on his or her own.
 Development is a continuous process – not a series of stages.

 The development of language is a cause not a consequence of cognitive
development.
 You can speed-up cognitive development. You don’t have to wait for the child to
be ready.
 The involvement of adults and more knowledgeable peers makes a big difference
Vital concepts in Bruner’s theory
Any child can be taught any subject in some intellectual way at any stage of development
provided the information is reduced to the level of development of that child. The
development of the mind is dependent of mastery techniques embedded in one’s culture.
Brunner views cognitive development as a result of internal push and external pull.
Internal push is the inborn will to learn, curiosity to learn or intrinsic motivation i.e.
stimulation about one’s environment.
External pull –stimulation from the environment, culture i.e. extrinsic motivation.
Cognitive growth- is facilitated by the process of learning e.g. takin information from the
environment, matching newer information to past experiences. Storage of relevant
37
knowledge in mental files and forming network. The outcome of cognitive development is
thinking. The aim of education should be to create autonomous learners (i.e., learning to
learn).
Children develop three modes or systems of presenting knowledge namely
• Enactive representation (action-based)

• Iconic representation (image-based)
• Symbolic representation (language-based).
Enactive
(0 - 1 year)
This appears first. It involves encoding action based information and storing it in our
memory. For example, in the form of movement as a muscle memory, a baby might
remember the action of shaking a rattle.
The child represents past events through motor responses, i.e. an infant will “shake a rattle”
which has just been removed or dropped, as if the movements themselves are expected to
produce the accustomed sound. And this is not just limited to children.
Many adults can perform a variety of motor tasks (typing, sewing a shirt, operating a lawn
mower) that they would find difficult to describe in iconic (picture) or symbolic (word) form.
Iconic
(1 - 6 years)
This is where information is stored visually in the form of images (a mental picture in the
mind’s eye). For some, this is conscious; others say they don’t experience it. This may
explain why, when we are learning a new subject, it is often helpful to have diagrams or
illustrations to accompany verbal information.
Symbolic
(7 years onwards)
38
This develops last. This is where information is stored in the form of a code or symbol, such
as language. This is the most adaptable form of representation, for actions & images have
a fixed relation to that which they represent. Dog is a symbolic representation of a single
class.
Symbols are flexible in that they can be manipulated, ordered, classified etc., so the user
isn’t constrained by actions or images. In the symbolic stage, knowledge is stored primarily
as words, mathematical symbols, or in other symbol systems.
Bruner's constructivist theory suggests it is effective when faced with new material to follow
a progression from enactive to iconic to symbolic representation; this holds true even for
adult learners. A true instructional designer, Bruner's work also suggests that a learner even
of a very young age is capable of learning any material so long as the instruction is
organized appropriately, in sharp contrast to the beliefs of Piaget and other stage theorists.
The Importance of Language
Language is important for the increased ability to deal with abstract concepts.
It is fully developed around the age of seven.
Bruner argues that language can code stimuli and free an individual from the constraints of
dealing only with appearances, to provide a more complex yet flexible cognition.
The use of words can aid the development of the concepts they represent and can remove
the constraints of the “here & now” concept. Basically, he sees the infant as an intelligent &
active problem solver from birth, with intellectual abilities basically similar to those of the
mature adult.
Educational Implications
The teacher should make use of concrete objects to facilitate effective teaching and
learning.
39
The purpose of education is not to impart knowledge, but instead to facilitate a child's
thinking and problem solving skills which can then be transferred to a range of situations.
students are active learners who construct their own knowledge.
Bruner (1960) opposed Piaget's notion of readiness. He argued that schools waste time
trying to match the complexity of subject material to a child's cognitive stage of development.
This means students are held back by teachers as certain topics are deemed too difficult to
understand and must be taught when the teacher believes the child has reached the
appropriate state of cognitive maturity.
Bruner (1960) adopts a different view and believes a child (of any age) is capable of
understanding complex information:
Spiral curriculum refers to principles of a subject to be taught must be understood at

particular sophisticated levels i.e. teaching from simplex to complex.
The role of the teacher should not be to teach information by rote learning, but instead to
facilitate the learning process. This means that a good teacher will design lessons that help
studen00t discover the relationship between bits of information. To do this a teacher must
give students the information they need, but without organizing for them.
TRANSFER OF LEARNING
Transfer of learning is the application of skills, knowledge, and/or attitudes that were
learned in one situation to another learning situation. This increases the speed of learning.
Transfer of Learning is the ability to take information learned in one situation and apply that
40
to another and different situation. Simply it’s the influence of previous experience on
performing a skill in a new context.
• when learning in one context enhances (or undermines) a related performance in

another context.
• the process of using knowledge or skills acquired in one context in a new or varied
context.
the ability to extend what has been learned in one context to new contexts. One example
of this is being able to take mathematic techniques and procedures learned in a classroom
and applying these to a practical situation, i.e. going to the grocery store and using
multiplication or division to determine the price per kg or per litre. For instance yesterday I
passed through pick and pay to buy lemon juice. 2OOML was $1.19 and 1L was $2, 29 so
I ended up buying the 1l because it was economically cheaper.

Transfer refers to how previous learning influences current and future learning, and how
past or current learning is applied or adapted to similar or novel situations. Transfer, then,
isn’t so much an instructional and learning technique as a way of thinking, perceiving, and
processing information.
Therefore it’s fundamental to all learning. Without it we couldn’t engage in our everyday
thinking and reasoning nor even acquire the most basic of motor skills; transfer is
responsible for the simplest of ideas and for the highest achievements of humankind.
Transfer is a deceptively simple concept. The simple aspect of transfer of learning is
exemplified whenever we say, for example, it’s like . . . it’s equivalent to . . . for example . .
. it’s akin to . . . for instance . . . it’s the same as . . . by the same token . . . similarly . . . in
the same way . . . it reminds me of . . . it resembles . . . it’s comparable
to . . . or, it’s analogous to . . . . In both a trivial and a profound sense—as no situation is

ever exactly the same—all learning is transfer of learning. In short, virtually all learning
involves carrying over previous learning to new situations. Failure to carry over previous
learning all too frequently leads to rigid patterns of behavior and thinking. In psychology we
use the term functional fixedness to describe such rigid patterns. For example, when you’re
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in a hotel room and you need to tighten a screw on your computer case but you don’t have
a screwdriver, many of us wouldn’t think of using (or ‘seeing’) a dime, or a fingernail file or
a credit card as a screwdriver.
We constantly transfer our previous learning and experience in order to more quickly and
efficiently learn a new skill. A person who plays the piano, for example, will learn to play an
accordion more quickly and efficiently than a person who has no experience with the piano.
Similarly, experience with ice skating can decrease the learning time of a person learning
roller skating. There’s a game called Short Tennis for children. It’s a mini version of regular
tennis and is constructed to retain most of the movement elements of regular tennis. It has
a smaller court, smaller rackets, and lower net height, and a foam rubber ball. Recent
research demonstrates that skills and movements learned by children in Short Tennis later
transfer to Lawn Tennis.2 A fundamental transfer-of-learning task confronting education
today is the need to improve computer competency. Thus the challenge facing all computer
instruction is to teach not merely the keystrokes (training) necessary to perform program
tasks but to develop mental models of the underlying structure (learning) of the different
user interfaces. complicating this issue is the problem of having to deal with multiple
hardware architectures, operating systems, and user interfaces. But with the trend of moving
toward common user interfaces based on graphics such as Microsoft Windows, transfer of
learning is accelerated. Just as many countries have been changing language- based road
signs to include icons (i.e., signs with the word Food are paired with a picture of a dinner
plate, connoting a restaurant), to make the
A GENERAL SCHEME FOR UNDERSTANDING THE LEVELS AND KINDS OF

TRANSFER
An important ingredient in understanding something is to know where it belongs in a larger
scheme and to become familiar with its parts. Knowing what kinds of tools are available for
a particular kind of job, for example, not only allows us to select the tool that will do the best
job, but it provides us with a framework and a plan for how to do the job. It follows that tools
create (and limit) the possibilities for what and how a job can be done. The same is true for
the concepts and words that we describe tools with. The more extensive vocabulary we
have, the more ways we have for seeing, describing, and doing something. It is now time to
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spell out what I see as the six levels of transfer. They comprise a kind of simple taxonomy
(taxonomy is a system of classification.
Levels ls of transfer of learning

Each level of transfer just described is based on judgments of similarity.
But just how similar something is to another thing is largely a subjective matter, and there is
no simple way to determine how quantitatively similar something X is to another something
Y. This is, after all, the very problem of transfer: what do we mean when we say something
is similar to something, or is like something else? There is no simple way to say if something
is a case of near transfer or far transfer.
Level 1: Nonspecific transfer. Because all learning depends on some connection to past
learning, all learning in this sense is transfer of learning. Although this is true and profoundly
necessary, it’s also somewhat trivial in terms of our everyday experience of transfer.
Level 2: Application transfer. This refers to applying what one has learned to a specific
situation. For example, after having learnt about how to use a nokia phone, one is then able
to apply the learning to operate a smart phone. This may seem to be an outrageously
condescending example, but I assure you that this level of transfer is a problem in the
learning of many tasks.
Level 3: Context transfer. This level refers to applying what one has learned in a slightly
different situation. Often a change in context, though the learned task is exactly the same,
may result in lack of transfer. An analogy to a change in context interfering with transfer is
“place learning” in psychology. Sometimes what is learned is welded to the place where it
is learned, because the physical place provides the cues necessary for retrieving the
learning. Most people have had the experience of not recognizing someone even though
they are looking right at them. This often happens when we have no experience of or
expectation for the person being in a particular place.
Level 4: Near transfer. This refers to when previous knowledge is transferred to new
situations that are closely similar but not identical to previous situations. A person’s
experience in roller skating when transferred to ice skating is an example of near procedural
transfer. Learning to calculate the amount of floor tile needed for a living room using your
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prior classroom experience in figuring the area of rectangles is another example. As obvious
as this may seem, many of us don’t even make this simple kind of transfer either.
Level 5: Far transfer. This refers to applying learning to situations that are quite dissimilar
to the original learning. Examples like seeing lightning as a big spark and other similar
transfers often involved in invention and productdevelopment.8 What we ordinarily call
analogical reasoning is clearly evident in this level of transfer thinking.
Level 6: Displacement or creative transfer. This refers to transferring learning in a way

that leads to more than the insight of “that is like this.” In the interaction of the newly
discovered similarity between the old and the new, a new concept is created.
THE ECOLOGICAL THEORY
URIE BRONFENBRENNER
Urie Bronfenbrenner was born in Moscow in 1917 and developed his ideas regarding
ecological theory during the late 1970s and 1980s.
The ecology of human development encompasses those forces in a person’s environment

that affect and influence behaviour.
Ecological theory is the view that explains child development in terms of the reciprocal
influences between children and the settings that make up their environment. For example,
peers are an important part of a child's environment. The way the child is treated or viewed
by his/her peers (acceptance/rejection; is the child shy or outgoing) has an effect on the
child and elicits a reciprocal response that affects the peer relationship.
The way parents treat the child, how the parent handles conflicts that arise with the child,
parent behavior toward siblings in the family, the parent's own personality, views of
discipline, etc. are of primary importance to the child and are a strong influence on the child's
development.
Parents, for example, who are nurturing, affectionate, discipline effectively and
appropriately and who are genuinely interested in their child’s well-being create a very
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different environment for their child than parents who are neglectful and don’t interact much
with their child.
Ecological theory encourages young people (students) to help care for children of working
parents, help families during times of crisis, and visit the sick or elderly.
The ecosystems model focuses on the interaction between subjects of the environment
as they affect each other. Human beings are very helpless in the first years of life, they
depend on the mother for survival in most families.He identified five ststems namely:
microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and chronosystem
45
Microsystem - This involves the interactions of the child and other people in the immediate
setting, such as the home, school, or peer group. Initially, the microsystem is small,
involving care-giving interactions with parents, usually at home. The most important human
life is the first four years. As children get older they interact with more people in more places.
As children move from the household arena to the neighborhood and community, their
interactions with others increase quite a lot. The child who starts elementary school now
has a larger network of friends and playmates to interact with. When the child visits a friend
at the friend’s house, he may come in contact with the friend’s mother, siblings, and visitors
to the house. Thus the microsystem may consist of the child’s nuclear family, but may also
expand to include those others with whom the child interacts.
Mesosystem – This refers to the relationship between parts of the microsystems and how
they work together for the good of the child. This involves the interactions of the various
settings within the microsystem. For instance, the home and school interact during parent-
teacher conferences. The school and the larger community interact when children are taken
out on field trips or when the school system is trying to pass a school levy. The ecological
approach addresses the joint impact of two or more settings on the child (and by extension
on the parent-child relationship).The positive involvement of a parent or a career in the
school environment or external activity such as sports days can play a positive role in the
child’s overall growth. Where perhaps a step mother and daddy have conflicting opinions
on how best to raise the child this can hinder the child’s development in various channels
because of mixed messages the child receives.
Exosystem - This involves the institutions in which the child does not directly participate, but
which have an indirect influence on the child. For example, the school board is part of the
child’s exosystem in that board members construct curricula for the child’s education,
determines what books will be in the school library (or on class reading lists) and determines
the subjects for the students. The parents’ workplaces and economic situations determine
the hours that they will be available to the child, Parents may want to spend more time with
their children, but because of work constraints are not able to. For whatever reasons, some
parents’ commitment indicates that work was more of a priority than time with family. Thus,
the institution
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(his workplace) was a place that his children didn’t have direct participation in, but it did have
a large impact on their lives. For example, poverty and unemployment cause psychological
distress in parents, which in turn decreases their capacity for supportive, consistent and
involved parenting. The children, as a result, may experience adjustment problems both at
home and at school. Studies that address the effects of housing, health care, television
programs, church attendance, government agencies on children, are all examining the
interactions of the exosystem with the child.
Macro system - It deals with the largest and most remote people and things that have an
influence over a child’s life and these are national government, the economy, wars, cultural
values and relative freedoms they provide. All these play their part in this system. This
involves the interaction of children with the beliefs, values, expectations and lifestyles of
their cultural settings. There is a positive and negative influence on the child from the macro
system. For example, in the traditional household, the mother probably takes on most of
the household chores, such as cooking meals, cleaning, scheduling pediatrician
appointments, carpooling, etc., while the father goes out to work each day and has as his
primary responsibility the financial support of his family. In this type of family, a family value
may be for children to be very involved in extracurricular activities (son plays basketball,
family is at every game; daughter takes dancing lessons, parents are there for recitals). In
the single parent mom family, children may be more expected to pitch in and carry more of
the load of household chores. Children in this type of family may not be as encouraged to
participate in extra activities, but may be expected to take an after-school job to help out
with household expenses. Different types of families, different types of parenting, different
needs and expectations. Bronfenbrenner - Chronosystem:
The ecological theory emphasises environmental factors as playing a major role in human
development although the theory does vary from culture to culture. Divorce is one of the
environmental influence a child’s developments. The theory recently has been expanded to
“Bio-Ecological System” because more attention has been placed on the person’s biological
make up. Next to the upper level is the primary social network of religious centers and clubs,
friend and relatives and immediate family.
Ecological theory has encouraged some practical applications:

Parents play a pivotal role in the upbringing of their children.
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The more opportunities a child is exposed to the more fully the child can develop all his/her
potential.
As a result the child will grow up to be a caring, contributing, responsible adult.
INFORMATION PROCESSING
Educators are very interested in the study of how humans learn. This is because
how one learns, acquires new information, and retains previous information guides
selection of long-term learning objectives and methods of effective instruction. To this end,
cognition as a psychological area of study goes far beyond simply the taking in and
retrieving information. It is a broad field dedicated to the study of the mind holistically.
Information processing is also defined as the study of how people encode, structure, store,
retrieve, use or otherwise learn knowledge. Cognitive psychologists hypothesize an
intervening variable or set of variables between environment and behavior—which
contrasts it with behavioral theories.
Information processing focus on how people attend to environmental events, encode

information to be learned and relate it to knowledge in memory, store new knowledge in
memory, and retrieve it as needed. Humans are processors of information.
The mind is an information-processing system. Information processing is not the name of

single theory; it is a generic name applied to theoretical perspectives dealing with the
sequence and execution of cognitive events. Information processing theories differ in their
views on which cognitive processes are important and how they operate, but they share
some common assumptions. One is that information processing occurs in stages that
intervene between receiving a stimulus and producing a response. A corollary is that the
form of information, or how it is represented mentally, differs depending on the stage. The
stages are qualitatively different from one another. Another assumption is that information
processing is analogous to computer processing, at least metaphorically. The human
system functions similar to a computer: It receives information, stores it in memory, and
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retrieves it as necessary. Cognitive processing is remarkably efficient; there is little waste

or overlap. Information processing is involved in all cognitive activities: such as perceiving,
rehearsing, thinking, problem solving, remembering, forgetting, and imaging. The sensory
register transfers information to short-term memory (STM). STM is a working memory (WM)
and corresponds roughly to awareness, or what one is conscious of at a given moment. WM
is limited in capacity. WM also is limited in duration; for units to be retained in WM they must
be rehearsed (repeated). Without rehearsal, information is lost after a few seconds. While
information is in WM, related knowledge in long-term memory (LTM), or permanent memory,
is activated and placed in WM to be integrated with the new information.
Information Processing is one of the primary areas of cognition studied by researches of

memory. There are many hypotheses and suggestions as to how this integration occurs,
and many new theories have built upon established beliefs in this area. Currently, there is
widespread consensus on several aspects of information processing; however, there are
many dissentions in reference to specifics on how the brain actually codes or manipulates
information as it is stored in memory. Schacter and Tulving (as cited in Driscoll, 2001)state
that “a memory system is defined in terms of its brain mechanisms, the kind of information
it processes, and the principles of its operation” (p. 283). This suggests that memory is the
combined total of all mental experiences. In this light, memory is a built store that must be
accessed in some way in order for effective recall or retrieval to occur. It is premised on the
belief that memory is a multi-faceted, if not multi-staged, system of connections and
representations that encompass a lifetime’s accumulation of perceptions. Eliasmith (2001)
defines memory as the “general ability, or faculty that enables us to interpret the perceptual
world to help organize responses to changes that take place in the world” (p. 1). It is implied
by this definition that there must be a tangible structure in which to incorporate new stimuli
into memory. The form of this structure has been the source of much debate, and there
seems to be no absolute agreement on what shape a memory structure actually takes, but
there are many theories on what constitutes both the memory structure and the knowledge
unit. Winn and Snyder (2001) attribute the idea that memory is organized into structures to
the work of Sir Frederick Charles Bartlett. Bartlett’s work established two consistent patterns
regarding recall. First, memory is inaccurate. This finding is not surprising or novel today,
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but its implications will be discussed later in this paper. His second finding, though, brought
about somewhat of a revolution in traditional thinking about memory. Bartlett suggested that
the inaccuracy of memory is systematic. A systematic difference makes allowable the
scientific study of inaccuracy, and this suggestion led to an entirely new mode of thought on
memory. What accounted for systematic inaccuracies in memory were the intervening
influences of previous information and the experiences of the person. This demonstrates
that knowledge units are not simply stored and then left alone, but that they are retained,
manipulated, and changed as new knowledge is acquired. Despite disagreement on many
levels, there is general agreement among most cognitive
Psychologists on some basic principles of the information processing system Huitt (2000).
First, there is the “assumption of a limited capacity.” Depending on the theory, these
limitations occur at different points in information processing, but it is widely held in all
models that there are limitations as to how much and at what rate new information can be
encoded, stored and retrieved (e.g., Broadbent, 1975; Case, 1978) Most cognitive
psychologists also agree that there exists some type of control system for dealing with
stimuli (e.g., Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1971). Again, exactly how and where the controls operate
is a question of some debate, but the actuality of some type of system that requires some
processing capacity is generally accepted.
The belief in the interaction of new information with stored information is a third key point of
cognitive study. This is usually demonstrated with a bottom-up or top-down system or a
combination of the two. A bottom-up system is predicated on the belief that new information
is seen as an initiator which the brain attempts to match with existing concepts in order to
break down characteristics or defining attributes (e.g., Gibson, 1979). A topdown system
seems to suggest an opposite approach. The existing information is the initiator and memory
representations are evaluated, and then matched to the stimuli. Finally, there is also
agreement that humans have specific genetic traits that dictate the method by which they
gain new information. For example, all human infants make the same vocalizations during
the first six months, regardless of the language spoken around them (Favell, Miller, & Miller,
2002). After that, infants begin to vocalize the sounds of the mother tongue and omit sounds
not found in that language It has also been discovered that infants begin to lose the ability
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to discriminate sounds not in the mother tongue at about six to seven months of age All of
these factors play a significant role in the development and understanding of how the mind
operates, but they are only the starting point, or maybe more accurately the dividing point,
for more in depth models for information processing.
The Stage Model

Traditionally, the most widely used model of information processing is the stage theory
model, based on the work of Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). The key elements of this model
are that it views learning and memory as discontinuous and multi-staged. It is hypothesized
that as new information is taken in, it is in some way manipulated before it is stored. The
stage theory model recognizes three types or stages of memory: sensory memory, short-
term or working memory, and long-term memory.
Sensory memory.
Sensory memory represents the initial stage of stimuli perception. It is associated with the
senses, and there seems to be a separate section for each type of sensual perception, each
with its own limitations and devices. Obviously, stimuli that are not sensed cannot be further
processed and will never become part of the memory store. This is not to say that only
stimuli that are consciously perceived are stored; on the contrary, everyone takes in and
perceives stimuli almost continuously. It is hypothesized, though, that perceptions that are
not transferred into a higher stage will not be incorporated into memory that can be recalled.
The transfer of new information quickly to the next stage of processing is of critical
importance, and sensory memory acts as a portal for all information that is to become part
of memory. This stage of memory is temporally limited which means that information stored
here begins to decay rapidly if not transferred to the next stage. This occurs in as little as ½
second for visual stimuli and three seconds for auditory stimuli. There are many ways to
ensure transfer and many methods for facilitating that transfer. To this end, attention and
automaticity are the two major influences on sensory memory, and much work has been
done to understand the impact of each on information processing. Attention involves
limitations in our perceptual processing and response generation: to attend to one this is to
not attend to others. To attend to a stimulus is to focus on it while consciously attempting to
ignore other stimuli, but it is not totally exclusive of these competing others. Treisman (as
cited in Driscoll, 2001) “showed, however, that attention is not an all-or-nothing proposition
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and suggested that it serves to attenuate, or tune out, stimulation” (p. 81). Attention does
facilitate the integration and transfer of the information being attended, but it is impacted by
many factors including the meaningfulness of the new stimulus to the learner, the similarity
between competing ideas or stimuli, the complexity of the new information, and the physical
ability of the person to attend.
Automaticity is almost the exact opposite of attention. Driscoll (2001) says that “When tasks
are over learnt or sources of information become habitual, to the extent that their attention
requirements are minimal, automaticity has occurred” (p. 82). Automaticity allows attention
to be redirected to other information or stimuli and allows for the ability of multitasking
without distracting totally from the acquisition of new information. There are several
suggested models of how new stimuli are recognized in sensory memory, and each deals
with pattern recognition. The matching of new stimuli to existing memory structures is a
crucial factor in the acquisition of new knowledge. If new information is not brought into
memory in a meaningful way, it will not be stored as memory. Therefore, the understanding
of the patterns by which this information is represented is critical to the proper introduction
of new information. Driscoll (2001) says that pattern recognition is “the process whereby
environmental stimuli are recognized as exemplars of concepts and principles already in
memory” (p. 84). She discusses three models of pattern recognition: template matching, the
prototype model, and feature analysis. The template matching model holds that there are
exact representations of previous stimuli trapped in the mind. Pattern recognition, then,
occurs by matching input with a specific, perfect specimen stored in memory. This model
seems to fall short because of the vast numbers of templates that would have to exist in
memory for any one type of entity and because it does not account for imperfect stimuli or
imperfect templates. The second pattern recognition model is the prototype. This model
suggests that the stored unit is a generalized or abstracted form of the knowledge unit, and
pattern recognition is based on a comparison of the input to the prototype. If a close match
is established, new information can be accepted as the existing class. These two models
are very similar in that they each attempt to match incoming information with a whole picture
stored in memory. This holistic comparison differentiates them from the third model, feature
analysis. In this system, incoming information is judged based on characteristics rather than
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a whole idea. Individual characteristics are picked out and then grouped to label the new
stimulus as an
“X”. The major difference, simply put, is that these two models seem to work in opposite
directions.
Short-term or working memory.
The second stage of information processing is the working or short-term memory. This stage
is often viewed as active or conscious memory because it is the part of memory that is being
actively processed while new information is being taken in. Short-term memory has a very
limited capacity and unrehearsed information will begin to be lost from it within 15-30
seconds if other action is not taken. There are two main ways that are effective in processing
information while it is in short-term memory. Rote or maintenance rehearsal is the first but
less desirable of these methods. This type of rehearsal is intended only to keep information
until it can be processed further. It consists mainly of some sort of repetition of the new
information, and if it is not processed further will be lost. Infact, studies on the limitations of
working memory have revealed a specific number of units that the mind can process at any
given time, and it is now generally accepted that 5 +2 is the maximum number of stimuli that
can be processed at once. There are several types of activities that one can perform to
encode new information, but the importance of encoding cannot be overstated.
Maintenance rehearsal schemes can be employed to keep information in short-term

memory, but more complex elaboration is necessary to make the transfer to long-term
memory. It is absolutely necessary for new information to somehow be incorporated into
the memory structure in order for it to be retained. There are many suggested models for
encoding, but there are basically three ways in which retention occurs. A stimulus can be
an almost exact match with existing structures in which case it would be simply added to
the mental representation and no change would be made to the structure except its addition.
If the new stimulus does not exactly match the existing structure, the structure itself would
be adapted to allow for additional characteristics or definitions in which case there would be
a fundamental change to the existing structure, which would broaden the defining structures.
Finally, if the new stimulus were vastly different from any existing structure, a totally new
one would be created in memory. This new structure could in some way be linked to relevant
structures, but it would stand alone as a new unit. At any rate, the incoming information
53
must be acted on and through existing structures and incorporated into those systems in
some way for acquisition to occur. The processing of this new stimulus takes place in short-
term memory, and the body with which the information is worked is the long-term memory.
The implications of this research are clear.
If learning—relatively permanently change—is to take place, new information must be
transferred into long-term memory. Therefore, repetition and maintenance rehearsal are not
sufficient to produce a lasting effect. This has great relevance to instruction and teaching,
for if the aim of education is learning, information must be presented in such a way that it
can be incorporated into the memory structure.
Long-term memory.
As discussed with short-term memory, long-term memory houses all previous perceptions,
knowledge, and information learned by an individual, but it is not a static file system that is
used only for information retrieval. Abbot (2002) suggests that long-term memory “is that
more permanent store in which information can reside in a dormant state – out of mind and
unused – until you fetch it back into consciousness” (p. 1). In order to incorporate new
information, long-term memory must be in communication with short-term memory and must
be dynamic. There are several categories of long-term memory, and there are many
suggestions as to how memory units are represented in the mind. While it seems that it
might be sufficient to understand simply that there are individual units and structures that
exist in long-term memory, the specific way or ways that information is stored offers
extremely important information. If the knowledge unit is pictorial rather than verbal, for
example, it would seem to make sense that images would be more easily and readily stored
in memory. If the reverse were true, information should be presented in verbal constructs.
This oversimplifies the problem, but it is this question that is at the core of the controversy
over memory storage structures. There are two divisions at issue in the discussion of long-
term memory: the types of long-term memory and the type of knowledge unit stored in long-
term memory.
Organizations of long-term memory.

Today cognitive psychologists believe that there are at least different types of information
stored in long-term memory. Each of the memory structures is distinct and serves a different
operational function. However, it is evident that some type of very specialized categorization
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system exists within the human mind. One of the first to make this idea explicit was Bruner
(as cited in Anderson,1998b). “Based upon the idea of categorization, Bruner’s theory states
‘To perceive is to categorize, to conceptualize is to categorize, to learn is to form categories,
to make decisions is to categorize’” (p. 1).Tulving (1972) was the first to distinguish between
episodic and semantic memory, and all discussions recognize these two distinct types. Most
researchers now combine these two in a broader category labelled declarative. Other
researchers have identified additional organizational types. For example, Abbott lists
declarative and procedural while Huitt (2000), citing the work of Paivio (1971, 1986) adds
imagery to this list. However, Pylyshyn (2002) states that imagery is not a distinct
organizational structure, but follows the rules that apply to semantic and episodic memory.
Both Abbott (2002) and Huitt (2000) define declarative memory in similar terms. Both refer
to declarative memory as that which can be talked about or verbalized. It is, then, the sum
of stored information that can be readily retrieved and put into words unconscious thought
and sharing. As previously stated, declarative memory can be subdivided into both semantic
and episodic memories. These two subtypes are radically different although they can each
be fairly easily recalled and manipulated. Episodic memory’s store is centred on personal
experience and specific events. It is entirely circumstantial and it is not generally used for
the processing of new information except as a sort of backdrop. “Episodic memories are
those which give a subject the sense of remembering the actual situation, or event”
(Eliasmith, 2001). This type of memory is somewhat like a personal video of a specific
significant day or event, and its parts are not easily disseminated to characteristics or
concepts. Semantic memory, in contrast, deals with general, abstract information and can
be recalled independently of how it was learned. It is semantic memory that is the central
focus of most current study because it houses the concepts, strategies and other structures
that are typically used for encoding new information.
Procedural memory can be thought of as “how to” knowledge (Huitt, 2000 p. 4). It is the type
of long-term memory sometimes associated with information that has reached a state of
automaticity, but it not limited to this. This type of memory is defined in terms of learned
skills and the ability to recall instruction-like memory. Imagery is described as the memory
structure for collecting and storing information related to pictures. It captures information
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much like a photograph and can be extremely useful for context and visual presentation of
information.
Memory storage and representation in stage theory model

Theories on the representation and storage of memory units provide the foundation for
current trends and beliefs in cognitive psychology and must be examined in order for the
more recent models to have a solid foundation. It is not that the models to be discussed
here have been dismissed or discounted; some aspects of each have been integrated,
broadened or narrowed, but each has contributed its own part to cognitive psychology’s
development. The first model that became widely accepted and discussed was the network
model. It is assumed that there are nodes or tabs in memory that store information in
sections much like a notebook filing system. When stimuli are introduced, this model
suggests that the mind references the incoming data to a chapter or node in memory. One
advantage of this model is that it accounts for individual differences in its comprehension
and filing system. Each person’s nodes would be individualized by the experiences and
knowledge that person had gained throughout his or her lifetime. Because this suggests a
hierarchical system at work in the mind, integration of new information is shown as a process
of moving from stimulus to tab to separate pieces filed behind the tab, a very linear
progression. This linear progression later became the centre of a bit of controversy and led
to new models as this network system began to meet with competition.
Structuring and Organizing

Structuring and organizing information occur as the learner processes and stores
information. The learner’s ability changes over time as a result of both maturation and
experience.
When presented with information they are asked to remember, younger children do not
rehearse information in order to remember it. As they get into school, they begin to develop
or are taught various strategies. At first this strategy are only used when prompted by
someone else, but as the child becomes more competent in their use and uses them more
frequently, the child will increasingly use the strategies spontaneously. One of the most
important information processing capacities a child develops is the ability to organize
information; this is, in turn, influenced by the child’s ability to categorize. As is the case with
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other information-processing capacities, this ability changes with both maturation and
experience.
Storage and Retrieval

How much information can be stored and retrieved relative to a stimulus or event also
changes over time. For example, prior to about age 7 months an infant will not seek an
object that has been shown and then removed from view. The infant has encoded the object
(such as a rattle) and will reach for it, but seems to lose interest as soon as it is no longer in
view. At about 7 months attains what is called “objects permanence” and will begin to seek
the object if it is removed from view s increasing a child’s ability to perform simple multiple-
act sequences. By age 13 months infants can reproduce three-act sequences; by age 24
months this has increased to five-act sequences; and by age 30 months to eight separate
actions. As children gain language skills, their ability to store and recall more complex events
increases. This is shown first in autobiographical accounts of daily activities and then to
events they may have witnessed or heard about.
Designing Instruction that Incorporates Best Practices for Information Processing

The understanding of how the mind processes and stores information is invaluable to
educators as they plan for instruction. If there is little to no understanding of the information
processing skills of the students with whom one is working, it would be almost impossible
to design instruction that contributes to high levels of learning and achievement. However,
attempting to understand the myriad theories of information processing and cognitive
development can be overwhelming and contradictory. There are means of structuring
instruction, though that can incorporate the best of all of these ideas, and in order to help
students reach higher-level thinking and learning skills, educators must draw from all of
these theories.
Information Processing and Memory

If learning is to occur, educators must ensure that new information is processed in such a
way that it can be retained in long-term memory. As previously discussed, in order to
achieve this, elaboration and connection must occur between previously learned memory
and new information. It has been established that the more deeply information is processed
and the more connections that can be made between new information and existing memory
structures, the
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58
TDEFS 201 CHINGOMBE SHAMMIE JUNE 2019
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
The study of individual difference is concerned with scrutinising and acknowledging

how each person uniquely stands out in various aspect of human development.
According to trait theorists, human beings differ in characteristics so much that no two
people are exactly identical. People can differ emotionally, morally, intellectually {show
learners, average learners and gifted learners}, physically (height, complexion, mass,
hair colour, eye colour), culturally, socially, spiritually and in terms of personality.
Consequently, people manifest differences in skills, motivation, aptitude, knowledge,
perception and information processing.
REASONS FOR INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Individual differences in human beings can be attributed to the joint impact of nature
and nurture, that is, while the genetic factors are responsible for a variety of individual
differences and the environment for others, they interact to generate many
characteristics. The genetic composition of an individual accounts for a wide range of
individual differences in areas such as eye colour, hair colour, sex, intelligence, height,
mass and colour blindness as well as some hereditary diseases. Some individual
characteristics can be attributed to environmental factors; for example, availability of
food, entertainment and recreational facilities, role models, reinforcement and so on
can lead to individual differences as a result of differences in life styles.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING SITUATIONS
Upon entering the classroom, the teacher is faced with a mammoth task of catering for
the individual learning needs of the various learners who have different intellectual
capabilities. This implies that classroom practitioners need to be familiar with the
various cognitive learning styles. According to Feldman (29:2005), “Learning styles
are characteristic ways of approaching learning based on a person’s cultural
background and unique pattern of abilities”.
A cognitive style (cognitive/learning style) is a set of consistent ways in which

individuals responded to a wide range of intellectual and perceptual stimuli .A learning
style can be viewed as a set of ways in which a person characteristically acquires,
retains and retrieves information. Learning styles are means by which people process
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information and think about what they learn. Examples of bipolar learning styles are
serialists versus holists, impulsive versus reflective learners, convergent versus
divergent learners, syllabus free versus syllabus bound learners, field independence
versus field dependent learners, active versus passive learners, introverts versus
extroverts, visual versus verbal learner, inductive versus deductive learners. It is
important to note that there are many other learning styles apart from the above stated
ones.
1. IMPULSIVE VERSUS REFLECTIVE LEARNERS (IMPULSIVITY VERSUS

REFLECTIVITY).
This learning style has to do with the speed and adequacy in which responses are
formed and made. Impulsive learners usually blurt out the first possible response that
crosses their minds and such answers are usually incorrect. On the other hand,
reflective learners take their time and are driven by the desire to get it right the first
time. They normally endure the pressure that is associated with long waiting.
Implications to classroom practice
Allow impulsive learners to participate and make use of their responses. In some cases
allow impulsive learners to correct their own mistakes. Use group work to allow
impulsive and reflective learners to interact. Sometimes delay passing comments
when impulsive learners blurt out answers (wrong or correct answers).
2. SERIALISTS VERSUS HOLISTS (SERIALISM VERSUS HOLISM)

Serialists are learners who absorb information and master information/concepts in
small connected chunks while holists remember and process intellectual and
perceptual content as a single entity, that is, as a whole. Holists tend to make
elaborative deductions, look further ahead, build up a picture of the whole task and
seek links with the other topics. On the other hand, serialists prefer to narrow their
focus in learning thereby concentrating on step by step learning in which they pay
attention to specific details and processes. They don’t pay attention to the broader
perspective and no effort is made to link the material being processed to other allied
topics.
Educational implications
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In a bid to cater for the needs of holists, teachers should give overviews of the topic
they intend to teach and relate them to other related topics. The content to be taught
should be properly sequenced and broken down into manageable activities to cater
for the needs of the serialists.
3. FIELD INDEPENDENT VERSUS FIELD DEPENDENT LEARNERS.

Field independent learners are capable of overcoming the effects of distracting
elements in the environment when attempting to differentiate between relevant and
irrelevant aspects of a particular situation. The field independent learners prefer
occupations like astronomy and engineering in which there is less emphasis on
interpersonal relations. They also favour subjects such as Mathematics and Physical
Science which are impersonal and abstract. On the other hand, field dependent
learners operate in a global manner and are easily distracted by background elements.
Field dependents are learners who are particularly attentive to the social field and will
look up to others in defining their own attitudes and beliefs.
They are drawn to people; favour careers such as teaching that require involvement
with others and prefer academic subjects which are people-oriented, for example,
social sciences, arts and humanities.
4. CONVERGENT VERSUS DIVERGENT LEARNERS

In convergent thinking the information is expected to lead to the correct answer or at
least an answer which is recognised as the best or conventionally agreed one, for
example, in Mathematics and other Sciences. In divergent thinking, people think in
different directions and there is no right or wrong answer, for example, when dealing
with word dilemmas. There may be several equally acceptable answers especially in
subjects such as Divinity, Literature, and Philosophy and so on.
Implications
Where possible, classroom practitioners should accept a variety of answers given by

learners as long as they are supported by sound arguments. An understanding of
divergent and convergent thinking styles enables teachers to guide and counsel
learners in choosing subjects at higher levels (career guidance) while convergent
learners should be encouraged to pursue careers in Sciences, divergent learners
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should be encouraged to pursue studies in humanities and arts. Teachers should also
create debates that provoke open-minded thinking among learners.
5. SYLLABUS BOND VERSUS SYLLABUS FREE LEARNERS

While a syllabus bound learners are principally concerned with getting examination
grades and happy to operate within the confinement of the course outline or syllabus,
syllabus free learners have an intellectual curiosity that extends beyond the limits of
the syllabus or course outline. This means syllabus free learners have difficulties in
operating within the confinement of the syllabus or course outline. Syllabus bound
learners are somehow reserved while syllabus free learners are outgoing and
adventurous to learn concepts which are not in the syllabus.
Teachers should give learners an outline of the concepts in the syllabus well in
advance to cater for syllabus bound learners. Syllabus free learners need to be
reminded to focus on relevant content especially in an examination-oriented country
like Zimbabwe.
6. INTROVERTS VERSUS EXTROVERTS (Introversion versus Extroversion).

This is a learning dimension which was propounded by Carl Jung and was
amplified by Hans Eysenck and other trait theorists. According to Lahey
(2001:418) Jung views the tendency to be shy and direct attention inwards as
introversion. On the other hand, extroversion is the tendency to be friendly
and open to external experiences (Lahey, 2009:148). Jung emphasises that
the fundamental differences between introverts and extroverts lies in the fact
that introverts get drained and exhausted by social interaction while extroverts
get anxious when left alone. This implies that introverts get revived solitude
which extroverts get recharged through social interaction. Introverts are
normally reflective while extroverts are impulsive.
Implications for classroom practice
Teachers should to some extent accept introverts and extroverts as they are. However,
the use of cooperative learning methods can help introverts to gain openness to
experience. This is important because Jung recommended that people should not be
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radical introverts or radical extroverts but should strive to strike a balance between
introversion and extroversion.
7. VISUAL AND VERBAL LEARNERS
According to Petty (2009:149) and Saidi (2012:35) visual learners are learners who
prefer the visual medium and tend to learn best when content is presented using visual
stimuli such as maps, charts, diagrams, graphs, flow charts and so on.
On the other hand, verbal learners also called aural learners, process information
through listening to sounds or through self-talk (Saidi, 2012:35). Verbal learners thrive
on their ability to listen attentively and subsequently recall the concepts in their own
minds and reinforce them through self-talk.
Classroom practitioners should use as many teaching aids as possible to cater for
visual learners. Where possible, summarise the concepts of topic using diagrams.
Good voice projection enables the verbal learners to capture the concepts being
taught.
MOTIVATION
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Humanism is a psychological perspective which was developed in the 1950s in

reaction to the weakness of behaviourism and psychoanalysis
Basically humanists believe the goodness of the individual is his or her ability to make
choices and purposefully working towards being the best he/ she can be being a fully
functioning individual – Rogers or self-actualization (Maslow).
The two major humanists are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow.
Maslow proposed a theory of needs based on hierarchical model with the basic needs
at the bottom and higher at the top
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Maslow’s theory is popularly viewed as a theory of motivation but can also be used in
other areas apart from motivation.
People tend to satisfy their needs systematically starting with the basic Psychological
need and moving upon the hierarchy
He believed that the higher level needs can only be achieved if the lower order needs
have been satisfied first e.g. a hungry person is not likely to be motivated by
considering safety and affection until his hunger is satisfied. All of the needs in the
hierarchy are innate to humans but those higher in the hierarchy are weak. They only
direct action when all earlier needs have been satisfied. Only when people have
enough to eat and their physical safety is augured well they will be motivated by a
need to belong or a need for esteem.
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The most frequent criticism of Maslow’s theory is that the systematic movement up the
hierarchy does not seem to be uniform for various settings such as education and
industry
Physiological needs
These are basic needs which have to be satisfied first before higher level needs can
be attended to. Such needs include food shelter water
Implication
• Ensure that pupils have sufficient food for them to be motivated to learn.
• Where possible such authorities should seek external food aids from donors.
• Teachers should encourage parents to give pupils food to carry to school.
Pupils must be given enough time to eat their food at break time
Where possible school should undertake project making use of Agri products
Such authorities should encourage parent to provide their children with uniforms and
other protective clothing e.g. uniforms, shoes, jersey, umbrella, raincoats etc.
Such structures should be protective enough to ensure that leaner’s are from rain
sun’s heat and the winds
The school must have adequate water supply.
Safety needs / security needs
According to Maslow, human beings want to operate in an environment which is free

from threats and dangers of various forms.
Implications
• In the school stetting teachers must not be aggressive with the pupils.
• The use of corporal punishment should be moderate since it causes both
physical and psychological harm.
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• The classroom environment should be free of dangerous things such as

uncovered live electrical wires, loosely hanging planks and some open nails on
the benches.
• Teachers should minimize bullying among the pupils.
• Teachers be friendly to the learners school as to diffuse tension in the
classroom i.e. try to introduce a tension free classroom environment.
Love needs
Maslow believes that man beings want to love and to be beloved i.e. to belong to a
particular group and gain recognition in that group.
Failure to belong to a particular group i.e. being rejected by one’s peers is a painful
experience
Implication
• Learn and use the names of the pupils as fast as you can.
• Keep record of your pupils’ home background. Show interest in your pupils
as individuals.
• The teachers herself must be friendly to the learner so that they fell accepted
and loved at school.
• facilitate interaction among the pupils apply the principle of co-operative

learning by giving pupils group and pair work or well as drams and sporting
activities to enhance team work and team spirit
Esteem needs
An individual self-esteem is the value which he / she attach to himself or herself i.e.
one’s own worth
Maslow claims that human beings needs have a sense of self of self-worth i.e. they
need to view themselves as important.
Implication
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• Give pupils work that matches their intellectual ability.

• Praise pupils who achieved in class tasks and activities.
• Assist pupils who fail in class task and activities.
• Give pupils individual assistance to pupils who are slow learners.
• Teachers must cultivate the sense of self among the learners (learners false)
use of verbal comments must encouraging.
• Teachers must give pupils manageable activities so that they can believe their
own intellectual abilities.
• Help the pupils to identify with the good achievement of their school for them
to develop a sense of self esteeming some authorities include cognitive needs
and ethic needs between the esteem needs and self-actualization
Self-actualization
This is the desire by the individual to utilize his / her potential to the fullest and try to
be the best he / she can be
While Maslow emphasize that human beings can only self-actualize when all the other
lower level needs are met he acknowledged that for some people May
selfactualization even if some lower needs are partially e.g. a musician can produce
a master piece during the war, when there is a war.
NEEDS LEVEL CLASSROOM APPLICATION

Physiological needs • Encourage pupils to bring packed lunch to school.
• Encourage pupils to dress properly for the weather
condition.
• The classroom should be well ventilated.
• Use the BEAM programme effectively to assist pupils
who cannot pay fees.
• Make the parents aware of the basic needs of pupils
with disabilities.
Safety and security • Protect pupils who may be victims of bullies.

needs • Avoid humiliating pupils in class or in front of the
peers.
• Avoid severe disciplinary measures against offending
pupils.
• Establish routine for pupils’ tasks and activities.
• Establish good teacher relationship (good rapport).
Belongings and love
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• Learn and use the names of the pupils as fast as you

can.
• Keep record of your pupils’ home background.
• Encourage group work to enhance team work and
team spirit.
• Show interest in your pupils as individuals.
Esteem needs • Give pupils work that matches their intellectual
ability.
• Praise pupils who achieved in class tasks and
activities.
• Assist pupils who fail in class task and activities.
• Give pupils individual assistance to pupils who are
slow learners.
• Encourage pupils to direct their own learning
Self-actualisation Formulate lesson objectives that are clear and
achievable. Provide clear instructions for all the
pupils’ learning activities.
• Allow pupils many and varied activities such as working of problems on field
trips or visit the library.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING
Cooperative Learning means structuring classes about small groups. These groups
work together for the achievement of success, in such a way that each group member
depends on the group. In cooperative learning different groups work in different
situations, these groups work differently but one thing is common in between the group
i.e. attainments of goal. Cooperative learning groups balance some main elements i.e.
students sit side-by-side at the same time and same table to talk with each other. In
cooperative learning there is too much involvement of each and every student like
discussing materials, helping, or sharing material with other students. In cooperative
learning, group of students are structuring in such a way that there is interdependence
among students. Co-operative learning plays a very imperative role in the educational
triumph of students in teaching learning process, so the role of a teacher should be
co-operative. Effective teaching learning process requires the conscious, effective,
cooperative and active efforts of the teacher and the student. In cooperative learning,
students work together in groups to complete a project or task. The goals are for
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students to learn how to contribute to a team, demonstrate individual responsibility,

and also share accountability for the outcomes of the group.
Cooperative Learning, sometimes called small-group learning, is an instructional

strategy in which small groups of students work together on a common task. The task
can be as simple as solving a multi-step m Cooperative Learning, sometimes called
small-group learning, is an instructional strategy in which small groups of students
work together on a common task. The task can be as simple as solving a multi-step
math problem together, or as complex as developing a design for a new kind of school.
In some cases, each group member is individually accountable for part of the task; in
other cases, group members work together without formal role assignments.
According to David Johnson and Roger Johnson (1999), there are five basic elements
that allow successful small-group learning:
• Positive interdependence: Students feel responsible for their own and the
group's effort.
• Face-to-face interaction: Students encourage and support one another; the

environment encourages discussion and eye contact.
• Individual and group accountability: Each student is responsible for doing

their part; the group is accountable for meeting its goal.
• Group behaviours: Group members gain direct instruction in the interpersonal,

social, and collaborative skills needed to work with others occurs.
• Group processing: Group members analyse their own and the group's ability
to work together.
Cooperative learning changes students' and teachers' roles in classrooms. The

ownership of teaching and learning is shared by groups of students, and is no longer
the sole responsibility of the teacher. The authority of setting goals, assessing learning,
and facilitating learning is shared by all. Students have more opportunities to actively
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participate in their learning, question and challenge each other, share and discuss their
ideas, and internalize their learning. Along with improving academic learning,
cooperative learning helps students engage in thoughtful discourse and examine
different perspectives, and it has been proven to increase students' selfesteem,
motivation, and empathy.
Some challenges of using cooperative learning include releasing the control of

learning, managing noise levels, resolving conflicts, and assessing student learning.
Carefully structured activities can help students learn the skills to work together
successfully, and structured discussion and reflection on group process can help avoid
some problems.
Benefits of Cooperative Learning
One of the main benefits of cooperative learning is that it can positively impact
academic achievement. Cooperative learning can also increase students' selfesteem
because students learn they are important to a group's success. It can also improve
their social skills by teaching students how to communicate or work through conflict.
Additionally, students engage in higher-level thinking in cooperative learning. As
students talk with others in their group, they hear differing thoughts and opinions.
Finally, cooperative learning strategies allow for more students to be actively involved
in the lesson, because each must contribute in order for the group to be successful.
Cooperative learning Techniques
Schul (2011) discusses that there are number of cooperative learning techniques
available i.e. think Pair Share, Jigsaw, Reciprocal teaching, student-
teamsachievement divisions, three-step interview, roundtable, numbered heads
together, pairs check etc. all these techniques improve skills, education, knowledge,
thinking, attitude, aptitude, interdependence and social values of the students.
Think-pair-share: As probably the best known cooperative learning exercise, the

think-pair-share structure provides students with the opportunity to reflect on the
question posed and then practice sharing and receiving potential solutions. Its
simplicity provides instructors with an easy entry into cooperative learning and it is
readily adaptable to a wide range of course constructs
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Name of How To Do It Why It Is Useful

Strategy
Think-Pair- Also called turn & talk. Teacher poses This is a useful cooperative
Share a question to the group, and each learning strategy because it
student has a minute or two to think engages all students in their
about the question. Then, they turn learning and it can be
and discuss with someone
sitting next to them, and then share done quickly during almost
with the whole class any lesson.
Jigsaw Students are placed into "home This is useful in that it helps
groups" and "expert groups" and are to get students engage with
each assigned a different topic within one another and hold them
the same general topic. Students work accountable for their
on researching their topics with others learning. It is truly
who have the same topic (their expert cooperative in that every
group) and then return back to their student needs to put work in
home group to teach them about their so that all group members
topic. Together, all the pieces come become informed on the
together to form a complete product topics. This can be used
across content areas and
with a variety of topics,
allowing students to become
the teachers.
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Numbered Students are placed into groups and This strategy is useful
Heads Together given a number in their group. Students because it allows students to
are asked a question and discuss it
discuss in small groups
with their group members. When time
is up, the teacher calls a number and before going into a whole
all students with that number stand up class discussion.
and take turns sharing what they
discussed in their groups. The students Additionally, it makes it so all
are able to build on and connect similar students have to contribute
ideas among the groups and broaden and listen to the
the conversation. conversation, so they have
something to share if their
number gets called. It helps
to get each student engaged
and involved in their
learning.
Round Robin Students are sitting with groups (3-4 This strategy is important
students), and they teacher asks them because it gives students the
a question or gives them a problem to opportunity to work together
solve. The questions or problems are to solve a goal or come to a
deliberating chosen, in that there are joint understanding. It
multiple ways to solve the problem and requires the participation of
multiple points for discussion. Students each student in the group,
in their groups take turns answer and and ensures that students
sharing their ideas with each other, are sharing their ideas.
working together to come up with an During this activity, students
answer that they all agree on work on taking turns,
supporting one another, and
sharing their ideas.
INFORMATION PROCESSING
Information Processing is one of the primary areas of cognition studied by researches

of memory. There are many hypotheses and suggestions as to how this integration
occurs, and many new theories have built upon established beliefs in this area.
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Currently, there is widespread consensus on several aspects of information

processing; however, there are many dissentions in reference to specifics on how the
brain actually codes or manipulates information as it is stored in memory.
Schacter and Tulving (as cited in Driscoll, 2001) state that “a memory system is defined
in terms of its brain mechanisms, the kind of information it processes, and the
principles of its operation” (p. 283). This suggests that memory is the combined total
of all mental experiences. In this light, memory is a built store that must be accessed
in some way in order for effective recall or retrieval to occur. It is premised on the belief
that memory is a multi-faceted, if not multi-staged, system of connections and
representations that encompass a lifetime’s accumulation of perceptions. Eliasmith
(2001) defines memory as the “general ability, or faculty that enables us to interpret
the perceptual world to help organize responses to changes that take place in the
world” (p. 1). It is implied by this definition that there must be a tangible structure in
which to incorporate new stimuli into memory. The form of this structure has been the
source of much debate, and there seems to be no absolute agreement on what shape
a memory structure actually takes, but there are many theories on what constitutes
both the memory structure and the knowledge unit. Winn and Snyder (2001) attribute
the idea that memory is organized into structures to the work of Sir Frederick Charles
Bartlett. Bartlett’s work established two consistent patterns regarding recall. First,
memory is inaccurate. His second finding, though, brought about somewhat of a
revolution in traditional thinking about memory. Bartlett suggested that the inaccuracy
of memory is systematic. A systematic difference makes allowable the scientific study
of inaccuracy, and this suggestion led to an entirely new mode of thought on memory.
What accounted for systematic inaccuracies in memory were the intervening
influences of previous information and the experiences of the person. This
demonstrates that knowledge units are not simply stored and then left alone, but that
they are retained, manipulated, and changed as new knowledge is acquired. Despite
disagreement on many levels, there is general agreement among most cognitive
psychologists on some basic principles of the information processing system .First;
there is the “assumption of a limited capacity.” Depending on the theory, these
limitations occur at different points in information processing, but it is widely held in all
models that there are limitations as to how much and at what rate new information can
be encoded, stored and retrieved (e.g., Broadbent, 1975; Case, 1978) Most cognitive
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psychologists also agree that there exists some type of control system for dealing with
stimuli (e.g., Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1971). Again, exactly how and where the controls
operate is a question of some debate, but the actuality of some type of system that
requires some processing capacity is generally accepted.
The belief in the interaction of new information with stored information is a third key
point of cognitive study. This is usually demonstrated with a bottom-up or top-down
system or a combination of the two. A bottom-up system is predicated on the belief
that new information is seen as an initiator which the brain attempts to match with
existing concepts in order to break down characteristics or defining attributes (e.g.,
Gibson, 1979). A top-down system seems to suggest an opposite approach. The

existing information is the initiator and memory representations are evaluated, and
then matched to the stimuli. Finally, there is also agreement that humans have specific
genetic traits that dictate the method by which they gain new information. For example,
all human infants make the same vocalizations during the first six months, regardless
of the language spoken around them .After that, infants begin to vocalize the sounds
of the mother tongue and omit sounds not found in that language. It has also been
discovered that infants begin to lose the ability to discriminate sounds not in the mother
tongue at about six to seven months of age .All of these factors play a significant role
in the development and understanding of how the mind operates, but they are only the
starting point, or maybe more accurately the dividing point, for more in depth models
for information processing.
The Stage Model
Traditionally, the most widely used model of information processing is the stage theory
model, based on the work of Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). The key elements of this
model are that it views learning and memory as discontinuous and multistaged. It is
hypothesized that as new information is taken in, it is in some way manipulated before
it is stored. The stage theory model recognizes three types or stages of memory:
sensory memory, short-term or working memory, and long-term memory.
Sensory memory.
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Sensory memory represents the initial stage of stimuli perception. It is associated with
the senses, and there seems to be a separate section for each type of sensual
perception, each with its own limitations and devices. Obviously, stimuli that are not
sensed cannot be further processed and will never become part of the memory store.
This is not to say that only stimuli that are consciously perceived are stored; on the
contrary, everyone takes in and perceives stimuli almost continuously. It is
hypothesized, though, that perceptions that are not transferred into a higher stage will
not be incorporated into memory that can be recalled. The transfer of new information
quickly to the next stage of processing is of critical importance, and sensory memory
acts as a portal for all information that is to become part of memory. This stage of
memory is temporally limited which means that information stored here begins to
decay rapidly if not transferred to the next stage. This occurs in as little as ½ second
for visual stimuli and three seconds for auditory stimuli. There are many ways to
ensure transfer and many methods for facilitating that transfer. To this end, attention
and automaticity are the two major influences on sensory memory, and much work
has been done to understand the impact of each on information processing. Attention
refers to limitations in our perceptual processing and response generation: to attend
to one this is to not attend to others. To attend to a stimulus is to focus on it while
consciously attempting to ignore other stimuli, but it is not totally exclusive of these
competing others. Treisman (as cited in Driscoll, 2001) “showed, however, that
attention is not an all-or-nothing proposition and suggested that it serves to attenuate,
or tune out, stimulation” (p. 81). Attention does facilitate the integration and transfer of
the information being attended, but it is impacted by many factors including the
meaningfulness of the new stimulus to the learner, the similarity between competing
ideas or stimuli, the complexity of the new information, and the physical ability of the
person to attend.
Automaticity is almost the exact opposite of attention. Driscoll (2001) says that “When
tasks are over learnt or sources of information become habitual, to the extent that
their attention requirements are minimal, automaticity has occurred” (p. 82).
Automaticity allows attention to be redirected to other information or stimuli and allows
for the ability of multi-tasking without distracting totally from the acquisition of new
information. There are several suggested models of how new stimuli are recognized
in sensory memory, and each deals with pattern recognition. The matching of new
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stimuli to existing memory structures is a crucial factor in the acquisition of new

knowledge. If new information is not brought into memory in a meaningful way, it will
not be stored as memory. Therefore, the understanding of the patterns by which this
information is represented is critical to the proper introduction of new information.
Driscoll (2001) says that pattern recognition is “the process whereby environmental
stimuli are recognized as exemplars of concepts and principles already in memory” (p.
84). She discusses three models of pattern recognition: template matching, the
prototype model, and feature analysis. The template matching model holds that there
are exact representations of previous stimuli trapped in the mind. Pattern recognition,
then, occurs by matching input with a specific, perfect specimen stored in memory.
This model seems to fall short because of the vast numbers of templates that would
have to exist in memory for any one type of entity and because it does not account for
imperfect stimuli or imperfect templates. The second pattern recognition model is the
prototype. This model suggests that the stored unit is a generalized or abstracted form
of the knowledge unit, and pattern recognition is based on a comparison of the input
to the prototype.
If a close match is established, new information can be accepted as the existing class.
These two models are very similar in that they each attempt to match incoming
information with a whole picture stored in memory. This holistic comparison
differentiates them from the third model, feature analysis. In this system, incoming
information is judged based on characteristics rather than a whole idea. Individual
characteristics are picked out and then grouped to label the new stimulus as an “X”.
The major difference, simply put, is that these two models seem to work in opposite
directions.
Short-term or working memory.
The second stage of information processing is the working or short-term memory. This
stage is often viewed as active or conscious memory because it is the part of memory
that is being actively processed while new information is being taken in. Short-term
memory has a very limited capacity and unrehearsed information will begin to be lost
from it within 15-30 seconds if other action is not taken. There are two main ways that
are effective in processing information while it is in short-term memory. Rote or
maintenance rehearsal is the first but less desirable of these methods. This type of
76
rehearsal is intended only to keep information until it can be processed further. It

consists mainly of some sort of repetition of the new information, and if it is not
processed further will be lost. Infact, studies on the limitations of working memory have
revealed a specific number of units that the mind can process at any given time, and
it is now generally accepted that 5 +2 is the maximum number of stimuli that can be
processed at once. There are several types of activities that one can perform to
encode new information, but the importance of encoding cannot be overstated.
Maintenance rehearsal schemes can be employed to keep information in short-term

memory, but more complex elaboration is necessary to make the transfer to longterm
memory. It is absolutely necessary for new information to somehow be incorporated
into the memory structure in order for it to be retained. There are many suggested
models for encoding, but there are basically three ways in which retention occurs. A
stimulus can be an almost exact match with existing structures in which case it would
be simply added to the mental representation and no change would be made to the
structure except its addition. If the new stimulus does not exactly match the existing
structure, the structure itself would be adapted to allow for additional characteristics or
definitions in which case there would be a fundamental change to the existing
structure, which would broaden the defining structures. Finally, if the new stimulus
were vastly different from any existing structure, a totally new one would be created in
memory. This new structure could in some way be linked to relevant structures, but it
would stand alone as a new unit. At any rate, the incoming information must be acted
on and through existing structures and incorporated into those systems in some way
for acquisition to occur. The processing of this new stimulus takes place in short-term
memory, and the body with which the information is worked is the long-term memory.
The implications of this research are clear. If learning—relatively permanently
change—is to take place, new information must be transferred into long-term memory.
Therefore, repetition and maintenance rehearsal are not sufficient to produce a lasting
effect. This has great relevance to instruction and teaching, for if the aim of education
is learning, information must be presented in such a way that it can be incorporated
into the memory structure.
Long-term memory.
77
As discussed with short-term memory, long-term memory houses all previous

perceptions, knowledge, and information learned by an individual, but it is not a static
file system that is used only for information retrieval. Abbot (2002) suggests that long-
term memory “is that more permanent store in which information can reside in a
dormant state – out of mind and unused – until you fetch it back into consciousness”
(p. 1). In order to incorporate new information, long-term memory must be in
communication with short-term memory and must be dynamic. There are several
categories of long-term memory, and there are many suggestions as to how memory
units are represented in the mind. While it seems that it might be sufficient to
understand simply that there are individual units and structures that exist in longterm
memory, the specific way or ways that information is stored offers extremely important
information. If the knowledge unit is pictorial rather than verbal, for example, it would
seem to make sense that images would be more easily and readily stored in memory.
If the reverse were true, information should be presented in verbal constructs. This
oversimplifies the problem, but it is this question that is at the core of the controversy
over memory storage structures. There are two divisions at issue in the discussion of
long-term memory: the types of long-term memory and the type of knowledge unit
stored in long-term memory.
78

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TDFS 111 CHINGOMBE SHAMMIE NOVEMBER 2022

Social atmosphere and physical environment in learning

The teacher's relationship with the pupils

Unfriendly teacher Friendly and Encouraging pupils'

6 The teacher who is willing 6 The teacher who allows

The influence of peers

The physical environment

OVERVIEW OF PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF LEARNING-

Behavioural Cognitivists Social cognitivists

The key proponents are Abraham Maslow and

SKINNER’S OPERANT CONDITIONING

 Reading, writing and speaking.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF OPERANT CONDITIONING

Positive reinforcement strengthens behaviour by providing a reward.

Punishment (weakens behaviour).

Reinforce each desirable response or even parties connect answers.

Teach from simple to complex / known to unknown

Rewards should not be given selectively.

Unwanted behaviour must minimised or eliminated promptly

To fully understand Pavlov’s (1927) of classical conditioning we need to understand two

Generally there are four consecutive concepts under this model.

Freud compared the mind to an iceberg

ID Freud assumed the id operated at an unconscious level according to the pleasure

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages

Anal Stage- 18 months and three years.

METHODS OF ASSOCIATION IN PSCHOANALYSIS

Through association one can establish the truth.

Hypnosis-persons are drugged and exposed to self-talk. When someone is unconscious

- Unresolved conflicts with the individuals determine the individual’s personality

- Fixation at phallic stage can be identified in in an individual trying to graduate from

- Freud’s view of free association reminds teachers of the importance of encouraging

When you get mad at your

Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development

1. Trust vs. Mistrust

2. Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

4. Industry (competence) vs. Inferiority

IV. Expressions of inferiority

V. Expressions of identity confusion

7. Generativity vs. Stagnation

VII. Expressions of Stagnation

8. Ego Integrity vs. Despair

1. proud, content with self and life

VIII. Expressions of Despair and Distrust

• His contributions include a theory of cognitive child development, detailed

• In studying the cognitive development of children and adolescents, Piaget identified

Stages of Cognitive Development

VYGOTSKY’S SOCIO CULTURAL THEORY

KEY TERMS IN VYGOTSKY’S THEORY.

• Observation (borrowed from Bandura).

The zone of proximal development (ZPD).

The role of culture and social relationship.

 Teacher should promote acquisition of skills by providing scaffolds e.g. guiding

 Use of demonstrations and observation.

 Teachers should implement the concept of guided participation.

 he believed that the learning situations should be structured to enable a child to

 Development is a continuous process – not a series of stages.

Vital concepts in Bruner’s theory