Reading material for Lesson 2.1 Educational Psychology and Teaching
5. Advantages of Educational Psychology for a teacher/trainer
The inclusion of educational psychology in a professional pre-preparation programmes for the teachers has a very wide utility. It helps them to grow properly in their profession.
To know the learner
Educational psychology equips the teacher/trainer for understanding the learner in the following different ways:-
• His interests, attitudes, aptitudes and the other acquired or innate capacities and abilities etc.
• The stage of development linked with his social,emotional, intellectual, physical and aesthetic needs.
• His level of aspiration
• His conscious and unconscious behaviour
• His motivational behaviour
• The aspect of his group behaviour
• His conflicts, desires and other aspects of his mental health.
To select and organise the subject-matter or learning experiences.
After knowing the learner, when the stage is ready for educating the learner the following questions come in the way:-
What type of learning experiences or learning materials are to be provided?
How should we organise or grade the materials or learning experiences?
To answer these types of questions which along to the area of ‘curriculum construction’ one needs the knowledge of the characteristics of the learner at each stage of his/ her development, the nature and laws of learning etc which come under the domain of educational psychology.
To suggest art and techniques of learning as well as teaching.
After deciding about the learner and the learning material the next problem “how to teach” is also solved with the help of educational psychology. It explains the process of learning and suggests the means for effective and enduring learning. It reveals how to maintain interest in the learning process. It also suggests that not a single method or technique is suitable for all kinds of learners in all circumstances. A teacher/trainer should select a proper device or method according to the learning situations, he/she faces.
To arrange learning situations or environment.
The study of the impact of the learning environment (including equipment facilities and teaching/training aid material etc.) on the teaching learning process equips the teacher/ trainer for taking care of the apparopriate learning situations or environment.
To acquaint him with the mechanism of heredity and environment. The knowledge of the role played by heredity and environment in the process of growth and development of the child, is very essential for the teacher.
Helping in maintaining discipline. Knowledge of educational psychology helps the teacher/trainer to have a creative type of discipline as it acquaints him with the nature of the learner, his strength and weakness, his interests and aptitudes etc on the one hand and with art and techniques of teaching and learning on the other hand.
Rending guidance services. The knowledge of educational psychology helps the teacher/trainer in rendering guidance services to the learners. He/She is the person who can know the learner better, even more, than their parents. With the knowledge of educational psychology at his command, he/she is in touch with the methods of behavioural assessment and appraisal. He/ she can better diagnose the abilities, interests and aptitudes of his learners and consequently have an idea of the direction and speed of their development. In this way with the help of educational psychology the teacher/ trainer can show the right direction to his learners for the their total development
Helping in evaluation and assessment. After giving learning experiences to the learner the behavioural changes occured in him are required to be examined and also in the beginning the potentialities are to be known. In educational psychology, as applied behavioural science, evaluation, measurement and appraisal find its place which make the teacher/trainer well equipped in the task of evalution with proper professional skills.
Solving class room problems. There are innumerable problems like backwardness, absenteecism, bullying, cheating in the class room situations which are to be faced by a teacher/trainer. The study of the characteristics of the problem learner, the dynamics of the group, behavioural characteristics and ajustment etc. equip the teacher/trainer to solve the actual class-room problems.
Knowing about himself. Knowlege of educational psychology helps the teacher/trainer to know about themself. The own behaviour pattern personality characteristics, likes and dislikes, motivation, anxiety conflicts, adjustment etc are all revealed to him.
Teachers/trainers needs and problems are to many and have so many aspects. Educational psychology being a science and technology of education helps the teacher/ trainer in all the phases of teaching and learning whether informal or formal, curricular or co-curricular. It does not only equip for the class-room instruction but also for the other duties assigned like construction of time-table organisation of co-curricular activities, to seek parental co-operation etc.
In this we can see that educational psychology is a subject which is very essential for the proper professional growth of the teachers and that is why it is an indispensable subject in the teacher/trainer training programmes of all stages.