Summary Educational Psychology
Lecture 0: Pre-teaching lecture
There are 3 big theories: behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism.
Behaviorism:
Behaviorism is a theory about how people learn where behavior can be molded
by surroundings, stimuli, and rewards.
- Classic conditioning: (un)conditioned stimuli/response (Pavlov)
- Operant conditioning: positive/ negative reinforcement or punishment
Shaping = giving rewards for gradually more specific behavior
Chaining = step by step learning of elements of a certain behavior->
you learn it backwards!
Social learning: humans are able to learn by observing the effects of
other's behavior.
Nurture: everything that is learned, is being taught. We're born as a blank slate
=Tabula rasa
Behaviorism is learning shaped by environment. The mind is a black box.
Conditioning forms habits. Rewards reinforce, punishments deter.
Behaviorism views the mind as a “black box,” focusing only on observable
behavior shaped by environmental stimuli and responses. It assumes humans are
born as blank slates (tabula rasa) and learning occurs through conditioning.
Classical conditioning (Pavlov) links a neutral stimulus with a natural one to
create a learned response (e.g., bell → salivation). Operant conditioning
(Thorndike, Skinner) emphasizes consequences: behavior increases with
reinforcement (positive or negative) and decreases with punishment (positive or
negative). Techniques include shaping (rewarding successive steps), chaining
(learning sequences of actions), and token economies (small rewards collected
for larger ones). The law of effect states that rewarded behaviors are repeated,
while punished behaviors decline. Behaviorism explains learning with minimal
rules, though it has limits, since not all human responses can be conditioned.
Cognitivism:
Cognitivism is about opening the ‘black box’ and trying to understand the mental
processes.
There are different types of knowledge: declarative (facts and laws), procedural
(using declarative, is more about how we can do something), meta-cognitive
(thinking about thinking/learning).
Cognitive load theory (Sweller):
- Working memory is very limited. We can see our working memory as
the spamfolder of the brain.
- Intrinsic and extraneous (not necessarily connected to learning but will
inhibit learning) load.
- Schema’s, mindmaps, direct instruction
Social constructivism:
Social constructivism is about constructing your own knowledge. This is a social
process (constructing together). Prior knowledge is important and something we
build upon. Learning is based on motivation, collaboration and sharing. Learning
is also cumulative.
,Learning happens in different contexts. The teacher is the facilitator, but the pupil
controls the learning process.
It is important to understand that people don't ‘see’ the same thing; We construct
our own information. Learning is an active process, based on intrinsic motivation.
Goal directed and based on prior knowledge.
With constructivism you’re responsible for your own learning. Teacher facilitates,
which means that’s he of she creates a enriching learning environment allowing
for learning opportunities. Prior knowledge taken into account, need for meta-
cognition, learning in real life context. Learning happens in the real world
Lecture 1: Introduction to human learning
Educational Psychology: Branch of psychology concerned with studying human
learning.
We do research about learning processes from many different perspectives to
allow us to understand (individual) differences in intelligence, cognitive
development, affect, motivation, self-regulation and self-concept.
- When we talk about learning:
- Who is learning: Age, personality, motivation, background
- What are we learning: Domain, prior knowledge, ability
- How are they learning it: Study methods, alone or group, technology
- What is the effect of learning: Effectiveness, transfer
Problem: Why is learning so hard?
A lot of learning just happens to us, for example to speak your native language.
There is a huge difference between ‘innate’ learning and ‘formal’ learning. Innate
learning is the learning which we do automatically. Maybe we get feedback from
our parents, but we don’t do it intentional. For example: Standing up and falling
down. Formal learning is the learning we do for example in school.
Misunderstanding of this difference has led to all sorts of misconceptions about
effective learning. We don’t learn from making mistakes, but from feedback.
The brain:
Brain research methodes:
- Dead organisms
- Brain damage, lesions
- Scanning and imaging
(EEG, FMRI, PET)
- Transcranial magnetic
stimulations
The brain has two halves, they
are connected to each other.
The left hemisphere controls
the right side of the body and
visa versa.
,There are different parts that
control different functions. All the
basic functions come from the
brainstem. Some parts of the brain
can be damaged, but you are still
able to function. Certain areas can
cover for other areas.
We don’t know all the different types of neurons. The picture in the book is a
oversimplified picture of how neurons look and what they do.
Learning in this sense means…
- Neurons: Change connections
between neurons. Create new
connections, delete existing
connections
- Synapses: Change amount of
neurotransmitters that they
product
Pruning means taking out bits of
neurons. The less important bitts. In
the first two years of a life the density
of neurons increases and then in it decreases. Which is great. Pruning means that
non-working and dead-connections are removed. The brain become more
efficient in that way.
Brain development
Environmental stimulation: Critical and sensitive periods
Difference between basis abilities and school learning.
Rich experience can partly make up for ‘closed’ period: Brain plasticity. The brain
is quite flexible.
Brain plasticity:
Experience-expectant: A normal environment is sufficient for a normal brain
development. ‘Quality’ is not important, stimuli just need to be there. Bad
environmental input: Irretrievable loss. Dependent on age. Examples: Senses
(vision, hearing), language etc.
Experience dependent: Development depends on quality of environmental input.
If it is not here, or if it is a bad environmental input: Damage. But, it can be
‘remedied’. This is not dependent on age. Examples: (quality of) language, socio-
emotion development, musical skills.
Brain and (school) learning
Consolidation:
- Short term: Synaptic consolidation
- Long term: System consolidation
What does that imply? Different methods for promoting consolidation
Brain and learning
, Importance of learning when you are not learning
- Cognitive factor: Retrieval practice
- Biological factor: Sleep
Other factors: Nutrition, physical activity, circadian rhythms.
We think about learning in a specific situation (school). This is not an optimal way
of studying or learning.
Implications for human learning
- Take advantage of the brain’s sensitive periods.
- Enrich the environment
- Practice regularly
- Let students sleep
Key takeaways:
- Losing brain cells (pruning) is not a problem, even desirable
- Enrich environments enhance development
- Myths about the brain are still very persistent
Lecture 2: Behaviorism
The behaviorist perspective on learning.
Free will is a illusion. That is behaviorism. It is not just a perspective, but a
philosophy as well. This is not a popular one. Because people don’t like to know
that ‘free will’ is not a thing.
Behaviorism never went away. It is still relevant and principles of behaviorism are
still a part of our life.
Early psychology
- Strongly influence by philosophy, more speculative than scientific.
- Covered a wide range of topics but often theoretical, rarely applied.
- Focused on heavily on perception an consciousness, not behavior or
learning.
Psychology of consciousness
Edward Titchener (1867-1927)
- Aimed to analyses the structure of consciousness into basis elements
- Used introspection: Trained observers reported their own mental processes
- Offered little practical guidance for solving real-word problems e.g.
education.
This made people unhappy. One of the people who where unhappy was John
Watson. John Watson is the ‘inventor’ of behaviorism.
John Watson (1878-1958)
- Stated in 1913 that psychology should study observable behavior, not
inner consciousness.
- Saw psychology as a natural science: objective, measurable, experimental
- Set the stage for learning theories that shaped education throughout the
20th century.
Approaches to behaviorism
Lecture 0: Pre-teaching lecture
There are 3 big theories: behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism.
Behaviorism:
Behaviorism is a theory about how people learn where behavior can be molded
by surroundings, stimuli, and rewards.
- Classic conditioning: (un)conditioned stimuli/response (Pavlov)
- Operant conditioning: positive/ negative reinforcement or punishment
Shaping = giving rewards for gradually more specific behavior
Chaining = step by step learning of elements of a certain behavior->
you learn it backwards!
Social learning: humans are able to learn by observing the effects of
other's behavior.
Nurture: everything that is learned, is being taught. We're born as a blank slate
=Tabula rasa
Behaviorism is learning shaped by environment. The mind is a black box.
Conditioning forms habits. Rewards reinforce, punishments deter.
Behaviorism views the mind as a “black box,” focusing only on observable
behavior shaped by environmental stimuli and responses. It assumes humans are
born as blank slates (tabula rasa) and learning occurs through conditioning.
Classical conditioning (Pavlov) links a neutral stimulus with a natural one to
create a learned response (e.g., bell → salivation). Operant conditioning
(Thorndike, Skinner) emphasizes consequences: behavior increases with
reinforcement (positive or negative) and decreases with punishment (positive or
negative). Techniques include shaping (rewarding successive steps), chaining
(learning sequences of actions), and token economies (small rewards collected
for larger ones). The law of effect states that rewarded behaviors are repeated,
while punished behaviors decline. Behaviorism explains learning with minimal
rules, though it has limits, since not all human responses can be conditioned.
Cognitivism:
Cognitivism is about opening the ‘black box’ and trying to understand the mental
processes.
There are different types of knowledge: declarative (facts and laws), procedural
(using declarative, is more about how we can do something), meta-cognitive
(thinking about thinking/learning).
Cognitive load theory (Sweller):
- Working memory is very limited. We can see our working memory as
the spamfolder of the brain.
- Intrinsic and extraneous (not necessarily connected to learning but will
inhibit learning) load.
- Schema’s, mindmaps, direct instruction
Social constructivism:
Social constructivism is about constructing your own knowledge. This is a social
process (constructing together). Prior knowledge is important and something we
build upon. Learning is based on motivation, collaboration and sharing. Learning
is also cumulative.
,Learning happens in different contexts. The teacher is the facilitator, but the pupil
controls the learning process.
It is important to understand that people don't ‘see’ the same thing; We construct
our own information. Learning is an active process, based on intrinsic motivation.
Goal directed and based on prior knowledge.
With constructivism you’re responsible for your own learning. Teacher facilitates,
which means that’s he of she creates a enriching learning environment allowing
for learning opportunities. Prior knowledge taken into account, need for meta-
cognition, learning in real life context. Learning happens in the real world
Lecture 1: Introduction to human learning
Educational Psychology: Branch of psychology concerned with studying human
learning.
We do research about learning processes from many different perspectives to
allow us to understand (individual) differences in intelligence, cognitive
development, affect, motivation, self-regulation and self-concept.
- When we talk about learning:
- Who is learning: Age, personality, motivation, background
- What are we learning: Domain, prior knowledge, ability
- How are they learning it: Study methods, alone or group, technology
- What is the effect of learning: Effectiveness, transfer
Problem: Why is learning so hard?
A lot of learning just happens to us, for example to speak your native language.
There is a huge difference between ‘innate’ learning and ‘formal’ learning. Innate
learning is the learning which we do automatically. Maybe we get feedback from
our parents, but we don’t do it intentional. For example: Standing up and falling
down. Formal learning is the learning we do for example in school.
Misunderstanding of this difference has led to all sorts of misconceptions about
effective learning. We don’t learn from making mistakes, but from feedback.
The brain:
Brain research methodes:
- Dead organisms
- Brain damage, lesions
- Scanning and imaging
(EEG, FMRI, PET)
- Transcranial magnetic
stimulations
The brain has two halves, they
are connected to each other.
The left hemisphere controls
the right side of the body and
visa versa.
,There are different parts that
control different functions. All the
basic functions come from the
brainstem. Some parts of the brain
can be damaged, but you are still
able to function. Certain areas can
cover for other areas.
We don’t know all the different types of neurons. The picture in the book is a
oversimplified picture of how neurons look and what they do.
Learning in this sense means…
- Neurons: Change connections
between neurons. Create new
connections, delete existing
connections
- Synapses: Change amount of
neurotransmitters that they
product
Pruning means taking out bits of
neurons. The less important bitts. In
the first two years of a life the density
of neurons increases and then in it decreases. Which is great. Pruning means that
non-working and dead-connections are removed. The brain become more
efficient in that way.
Brain development
Environmental stimulation: Critical and sensitive periods
Difference between basis abilities and school learning.
Rich experience can partly make up for ‘closed’ period: Brain plasticity. The brain
is quite flexible.
Brain plasticity:
Experience-expectant: A normal environment is sufficient for a normal brain
development. ‘Quality’ is not important, stimuli just need to be there. Bad
environmental input: Irretrievable loss. Dependent on age. Examples: Senses
(vision, hearing), language etc.
Experience dependent: Development depends on quality of environmental input.
If it is not here, or if it is a bad environmental input: Damage. But, it can be
‘remedied’. This is not dependent on age. Examples: (quality of) language, socio-
emotion development, musical skills.
Brain and (school) learning
Consolidation:
- Short term: Synaptic consolidation
- Long term: System consolidation
What does that imply? Different methods for promoting consolidation
Brain and learning
, Importance of learning when you are not learning
- Cognitive factor: Retrieval practice
- Biological factor: Sleep
Other factors: Nutrition, physical activity, circadian rhythms.
We think about learning in a specific situation (school). This is not an optimal way
of studying or learning.
Implications for human learning
- Take advantage of the brain’s sensitive periods.
- Enrich the environment
- Practice regularly
- Let students sleep
Key takeaways:
- Losing brain cells (pruning) is not a problem, even desirable
- Enrich environments enhance development
- Myths about the brain are still very persistent
Lecture 2: Behaviorism
The behaviorist perspective on learning.
Free will is a illusion. That is behaviorism. It is not just a perspective, but a
philosophy as well. This is not a popular one. Because people don’t like to know
that ‘free will’ is not a thing.
Behaviorism never went away. It is still relevant and principles of behaviorism are
still a part of our life.
Early psychology
- Strongly influence by philosophy, more speculative than scientific.
- Covered a wide range of topics but often theoretical, rarely applied.
- Focused on heavily on perception an consciousness, not behavior or
learning.
Psychology of consciousness
Edward Titchener (1867-1927)
- Aimed to analyses the structure of consciousness into basis elements
- Used introspection: Trained observers reported their own mental processes
- Offered little practical guidance for solving real-word problems e.g.
education.
This made people unhappy. One of the people who where unhappy was John
Watson. John Watson is the ‘inventor’ of behaviorism.
John Watson (1878-1958)
- Stated in 1913 that psychology should study observable behavior, not
inner consciousness.
- Saw psychology as a natural science: objective, measurable, experimental
- Set the stage for learning theories that shaped education throughout the
20th century.
Approaches to behaviorism
