PSYCHOLOGICAL

FOUNDATION OF
CURRICULUM
 Psychology provides a basis to understand the
teaching and learning process. It unifies elements
of the learning process. Questions which can be
addressed by psychological foundations of
education are: How should curriculum be
organized to enhance learning? What is the
optimal level of students’ participation in
learning the various contents of the curriculum?
We shall consider three groups of learning
theories:
• Behaviorism or association theories
• Cognitive-information processing theories
• Humanistic theories
 • He is the father of Classical
Conditioning Theory, the S-R
Theory
• The key to learning is early
years of life is to train them
what you want them to become.
• S-R Theory is a foundation of
learning practice called
indoctrination.
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936)
 • He championed the
Connectionism Theory
• He proposed the three laws of
learning:
-Law of readiness
-Law of exercise
-Law of effect
• Specific stimulus has specific
Edward Thorndike (1874-1949)
purpose
 • He proposed the
Hierarchical Learning
Theory Learning follows a
hierarchy
• Behavior is based on
prerequisite conditions
• He introduced tasking in the
formulation of objectives
Robert Gagne(1916-2002)
 • Theories of Jean Piaget
Cognitive development has stages
from birth to maturity:
1. Sensorimotor stage (0-2)
2. Preoperational stage (2-7)
3. Concrete operation stage (7-11)
4. Formal operations (11-onwards)
Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
 • Theories of Lev Vygotsky
Cultural transmission and
development:
Children could, as a result of their
interaction with society, actually
perform certain cognitive actions prior
to arriving at developmental stage
Learning precedes development

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) Sociocultural development theory

 • Gardner’s multiple intelligences
Humans have several different
ways of processing information and
these ways are relatively independent
of one another
There are eight intelligences:
linguistic, logico-mathematical,
musical, spatial, bodily/kinesthetic,
interpersonal, intrapersonal, and
Howard Gardner
naturalistic
 • Emotion contains the
power to affect action.
He called this Emotional
Quotient.

Daniel Goleman