| Summary: | "We know that certain basic psychological principles underlie the learning process. And we know that if these principles are imaginatively applied in the classroom they will produce positive results. I have drawn upon two rich sources of information. First there are the reports of hundreds of psychologists who, during the past half century, have done a vast amount of research in the broad field of learning. Then there are the published or firsthand reports of many teachers who have had practical experience in guiding the learning of children and youth. Without oversimplifying the subject, I have sought to present those insights which teachers need in order to understand the psychological principles of learning and apply them in their teaching. The concepts of educational psychology are organized around the major functions of teaching and the conditions that have been found essential to effective learning. The first major function of teaching is to set up educational goals. In Part 1, we have an overview of what children learn in a modern school and how they learn it. The major theories of learning are considered in Chapter 2. Part 2 introduces the children we teach and the marked individual differences among them. In Chapter 3 we learn that appropriate readiness is an essential preliminary condition of effective learning. In Part 3, comprised of Chapters 6 through 11, we deal directly with the dynamic processes of learning--with motivation, structuring approaches to problems, the trial-and-check process in learning, efficient mastery of concepts and skills, sustained retention--and adaptive applications of them. Part 4 considers the teacher's role in fostering healthy emotional and social development"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
|
|---|