Week 4: Perspectives on Learning

Introduction

So far in this course, you have examined the many ways in which individuals develop, and you have considered multiple influences on learning, including culture and community. Essential also to understanding the psychology of education is the study of theories of learning, which include cognitive, behavioral, and social-cognitive theories.

This week, you will begin looking at learning as a process and consider these various schools of thought as well as explore the constructivist approach, which is vital to experiential and meaningful learning.

Learning Objectives

A student will:

• Compare declarative and procedural knowledge and make connections to conditional knowledge
• Describe metacognition and how it can be used to enhance learning
• Explain and analyze constructivist principles
• Compare cognitive and behavioral views on learning
• Explain how researching and summarizing articles broadens and deepens the perspective of educational psychology  

Learning Resources

Required Resources

• Course Text: Educational Psychology
  • Chapter 7, “Behavioral Views of Learning” (pp. 243-263)
  • Chapter 8, “Cognitive Views of Learning” (pp. 280-315)
  • Chapter 9, “Complex Cognitive Processes” (pp. 316-328)
  • Chapter 10, “Social Cognitive Views of Learning and Motivation” (pp. 346-366)

Optional Resources

• Content Review
  
  
• Directions:

  • Respond to each item. Each response should be concise and between 2–3 paragraphs in length.
  • Use MS Word to write your responses, and submit your answers to all three questions in one Word document.
  • Copy and paste each question within the document, so that your instructor can see which question you are responding to.
  1. Motivating students to learn requires an understanding of individual students as well as of strategies and approaches to enhance motivation. Describe the differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, using specific examples of each. Then, explain two or more of the possible implications of using each approach.
  2. Motivation or lack of motivation is often dependent upon one’s beliefs and patterns. Compare the concepts of self-efficacy and learned helplessness, describing a specific example of each. Be sure to explain how self-efficacy and learned helplessness might affect children’s motivation to learn.
  3. As Chapter 14 of your course text states, published tests and exams, including high-stakes tests, are relatively new, as they were created in the 20th century (Woolfolk, 2013, p. 548). Explain why parents need to be knowledgeable about testing, and based on what you have been learning, summarize at least two “indicators of effectiveness” under the “Assessment of Young Children” section of the NAEYC Position Statement: Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment, and Program Evaluation that apply to assessing children of any age.