Psychology in Learning and Psychology in Learning and InstructionInstruction

Chapters 3 and 4Chapters 3 and 4

Development and Knowledge Development and Knowledge

Psychology in Learning and Psychology in Learning and InstructionInstruction

Chapters 3 and 4Chapters 3 and 4

Development and Knowledge Development and Knowledge

LaToya Robinson & Jackie McMillanLaToya Robinson & Jackie McMillan

““I don’t think my students lack I don’t think my students lack knowledge or ability. Rather, the knowledge or ability. Rather, the

knowledge they have and use is just knowledge they have and use is just not valued outside their community.”not valued outside their community.”

Helenrose Fives

Thoughts? Do you agree? Disagree?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

•Epistemology is a study that asks two questions:

– Is knowledge individually acquired or socially constructed?

–Where is knowledge presumed to reside?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

•Where do you think knowledge comes from? – Please place a sticky note on the line

to represent your current thought.– Individually oriented? – Socially Oriented? – Or somewhere in the middle?

Yes or No?•Do you give students

specific techniques for processing information more efficiently and effectively? –For example, do you have your students summarize or outline information?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Yes or No?•Do you focus on the organization and coherence of information during instruction?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Yes or No?•Do you prime existing knowledge so that info can move quickly to long term memory?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Information-processing (IP) Theory

• “Individuals take in information from the environment and transform it into knowledge stored in the mind”

• Working memory Long term memory

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Yes or No?•Are you careful to select materials and experiences that are developmentally appropriate for your students?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Yes or No?•Do you create learning activities that complement and strengthen your students’ existing mental abilities?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Cognitive Constructivism

• “Knowledge is created or constructed by individuals or groups, knowing can not exist without human construction.”

• Piaget- “level of mental maturation has a great deal to do with the information individuals can grab from their environments”

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Yes or No?•Do you treat school content as truths that your students must accept and memorize?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Yes or No?•Are your students free to apply alternative logic?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Yes or No?•Do you believe that the reality of concepts occur in one’s mind? –Such as, gravity is only what your mind makes of it.

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Radical Constructivism

• “Educational equivalent to existentialism in philosophy”

• “Reality and purpose are meaningless beyond the individual’s perception of them.”

• I Heart HuckabeesAlexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Yes or No?

•Will you clarify an idea for your students?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Yes or No?•Classroom discussion takes place often in my classroom.

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Agree or Disagree?

•“Society and culture are essential for learning but individual cognition is important as well.”

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Social Constructivism

• Vygotsky• “How thinking and learning depend on social

interactions and reflective of cultural values”• “Individual mind does not develop in a vacuum”• “We are dependent on human-to-human

interactions”• Zone of Proximal Development- “people can

develop mentally alone and with a group or with the guidance of another with more knowledge or capability”

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

•How often do you pose a problem to the class and point them to resources to use on their own?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

•Do you use computers, internet, textbooks, videos, experts, visitors, field trips to extend your teaching often?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Situated Cognition• Focus on:

– “physical and human resources in the environment”

– “process of knowing rather than the product of knowledge”

• JJ Gibson- Research on how the environment’s resources “affords” human thinking

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

•How often do you carry out concepts in social contexts?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

•Agree or disagree: –Objects in our environment contribute to the responses we make.

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Socioculturalism

• “Groups, not individuals, construct understandings”

• “Thinking and learning are full of emotions and goals and social contact which is considered to be the essence of humanness”

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

States of Knowledge• Declarative

– “I know that…”• Procedural

– “This is how…”• Conditional

– “This is when, where and for what reason I will…”

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

States of Knowledge• Declarative

– “I know that…”

• Procedural– “This is how…”

• Conditional– “This is when, where and for what reason I will…”

• Which has the most value in learning? In assessment?

• Which do you use most often in class?• What types of learners benefit from each

type of knowledge?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Prior Knowledge and Experiences are Important!

• “Every sound, smell, taste or sight that is encountered has a chance of imprinting itself on a person’s thoughts.”

• The mind is not a “Tabula rasa” (Blank Slate) as Locke suggested.

• “We carry mental histories with us.”

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Schooled vs. Unschooled Knowledge

• Unschooled knowledge is acquired outside of the classroom. – Look for teachable moments!

• “Schooled Knowledge is purposeful and intended learning. “

• Which do you find more valuable? • Which do you think stays with students

longer?

Alexander, Patricia A. (2006). Psychology in Learning and Instruction, PEARSON Merrill-Prentice Hall.

Where do you stand on the Where do you stand on the continuum of “where does continuum of “where does

knowledge come from” knowledge come from” now??now??

Where do you stand on the Where do you stand on the continuum of “where does continuum of “where does

knowledge come from” knowledge come from” now??now??