educational psychology

             The big controversy in education today is the way children are taught. Many of the same arguments that are made regarding what is taught can also be made regarding how it is taught. Theories of educational psychology are attempts to describe how people behave in satisfying their physical and psychological needs. The various aspects of these have a base in child development and encompass physical growth, emotional and psychological changes, and social adjustments. This essay will discuss some of the different theories psychologists have given to learning and education and illustrate what I believe to be the most useful approaches to teaching theory.
             There are four main theoretical approaches to educational psychology, Behaviourist, Humanist, Social Cognitive Theory, and Cognitive, each have their own viable systems for creating learning environments. However discrepancies lay between the different theories about the means and methods of what should be incorporated into learning practices including the modes by which the 'best' learning should occur.
             The basis for evaluating educational psychology needs to be related to
             A theory of child and adolescent development and should reflect an attempt to relate behavioural to chronological age; that is the diverse behavioural characteristics should be related to specific stages of growth. The rules governing the transitions between these growth states also must be identified.
             The Behaviourists have emphasised environment, they almost totally deny the influence of biological variables on development. Their basic assumptions are that the mind of a newborn child is a blank slate; all behaviours are determined by environmental events; and differences among children are the result of those environmental variables. Their basis for enthusiasm and motivation is on a reinforced reaction. Behaviourists encourage experimental studies and were responsible for moving child psychology int...

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