Educational Psychology

Student Variables in Learning

Higher National Diploma in PsychologyDepartment of Developmental and Cognitive Psychology

Kumari KarandawalaBA Psychology (Hons) (US)

MSc.(MSSW) In Social Enterprise Managementand International Social Work / Development

What is Education?"Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember

from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught." - Oscar Wilde

Learning Content

• Individual learning,• Co-operative learning, • Competitive learning• The effectiveness of sex –related differences in

learning style,• The effectiveness of mastery – oriented and• Failure – avoiding styles

Individual Learning

• Students are learning and completing tasks individually on their own, autonomously*

• Rewards are individual and independent of awards earned by others

• Rewards earned constitute one’s own hard work and merit, and not limited by others’ performance

• Self-esteem is based on one’s own actions

• Less likely to involve social distractions

Individual Learning

• Does not require or provide social skills and thus may be suitable for those shy of large groups

• Individuals can employ their own learning style and work at their own pace

• Receive no emotional or intellectual support from peers

Co-Operative Learning• Students learning the same material together and completing

same tasks(s) as a group

• The rewards of learning are the same for each member group member and may depend upon the overall success of the group

• Rewards may not always reflect individual effort and be enhanced or limited by group’s performance however quality of learning may increase.

CLASSROOM LEARNING

Co-Operative Learning• Self –esteem is based on the group’s actions. May increase

liking of others• Is more likely to involve sources of social distraction group

is subject to groupthink*• Requires and provides social skills. This type of learning may

not be suitable for people shy of groups• Individuals have to compromise, and some more than

others, on their preferred style and work at the group’s pace • However receives more emotional and cognitive ** support

from peers.

Groupthink• Groupthink – a psychological phenomenon where the desire for overall

group harmony within the group enables the group to make a incorrect decision.

• In Groupthink, Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation of alternative ideas or viewpoints, and by isolating themselves from outside influences.

• Loyalty to the group requires individuals to avoid raising controversial issues or alternative solutions and there is loss of individual creativity, uniqueness and independent thinking.

• About Groupthink• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYpbStMyz_I

Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster• The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle

Challenger (mission STS-51-L) broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 EST (16:38 UTC).

• Disintegration of the entire vehicle began after an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff. The O-ring failure caused a breach in the SRB joint it sealed, allowing pressurized hot gas from within the solid rocket motor to reach the outside and impinge upon the adjacent SRB attachment hardware and external fuel tank. This led to the separation of the right-hand SRBs after attachment and the structural failure of the external tank. Aerodynamic forces promptly broke up the orbiter.

• The crew compartment and many other vehicle fragments were eventually recovered from the ocean floor after a lengthy search and recovery operation. Although the exact timing of the death of the crew is unknown, several crew members are known to have survived the initial breakup of the spacecraft. However, the shuttle had no escape system and the impact of the crew compartment with the ocean surface was too violent to be survivable.

• The disaster resulted in a 32-month hiatus in the shuttle program and the formation of the…

• …Rogers Commission, a special commission appointed by the United States President Ronald Reagan to investigate the accident. The Rogers Commission found NASA’s organizational culture and decision-making processes had been key contributing factors to the accident. NASA managers had know contractor Morton Thiokol’s design of the SRBs contained a potentially catastrophic flaw in the O-rings since 1977, but failed to address it properly. They also disregarded warnings from engineers about the dangers of launching posed by the low temperatures of that morning and had failed in adequately reporting these technical concerns to their superiors.

• What Rogers did not highlight was that the vehicle was never certified to operate in temperatures that low. The O-rings, as well as many other critical components, had no test data to support any expectation of a successful launch in such conditions. Bob Ebeling from Thiokol delivered a biting analysis: "[W]e're only qualified to 40 degrees ...'what business does anyone even have thinking about 18 degrees, we're in no man's land.'"[2]

• As a result of the disaster, the Air Force decided to cancel its plans to use the Shuttle for classified military satellite launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, deciding to use the Titan IV instead.

• Many viewed the launch live because of the presence of crew member Christa McAuliffe, the first member of the Teacher in Space Project, who would have been the first teacher in space. Media coverage of the accident was extensive: One study reported that 85 percent of Americans surveyed had heard the news within an hour of the accident. The Challenger disaster has been used as a case study in many discussions of engineering safety.

Cooperative LearningCooperative (or collaborative) learning is also known as group work. There have been many psychologists that argue group work isessential for students development, while other argue that it is detrimental.

• PROS:• - Students learn to work with all types of people• - Variety of responses from different students• - Students learn to relate to their peers and leaders• - Develop their social skills• - Each member has a chance to contribute• - There are more opportunities for personal feedback

Co-Operative Learning

• CONS:• - Some members of the group are responsible

for other's learning• - There is no critical thinking involved• - Racial and Gender inequalities

Source: http://lmgpsychology.wikispaces.com/cooperative+learning

GROUPS IN Classrooms

• According to Gardner cooperative learning is not fair to students because during tests they are separated and can not cooperate with other students they way they do in groups.

GLOBAL TEAM CONTRIBUTIONS AND EFFORTS ON GLOBAL PROJECTS WHERE EACH MEMBER CONTRIBUTES SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE WORK OF THE ENTIRE TEAM.

Cooperative Teams – team members all contributing a valid component

Cooperative Teams

Especially relevant for International Development

Competitive Learning

• Refers to students learning on their own but with regard to other’s performance

• The rewards of learning depend on the success of the individual relative to the success of others

• Rewards may not always reflect one’s own effort and be limited by other’s performance

• Self-esteem is based on one’s own actions relative to other’s. May decrease liking of others.

Competitive Learning

• Involves some social distraction• Does not require or provide social skills, may

not suit the shy• Individuals can employ their own learning

style and but may feel pressure to work at other’s rate

• Receives little emotional and intellectual support from peers

Competitive Learning

• Competitive learning exists when one student goal is achieved, all other students fail to reach that goal. (Johnson & Johnson,1991)

• Competitive learning can be interpersonal (between individuals), where rows are most important or intergroup (between groups) where a group setting is appropriate.

• Source:

http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/DLiT/2002/environs/scott/complern.htm

Competitive Learning

• There have been many criticisms of this type of learning. These criticisms include - - Because there is only one winner, all other students must fail - May be linked to high anxiety levels, self-doubt, selfishness and aggression - May promote cheating - Interferes with the capacity to problem solve (Johnson & Johnson, 1991) In light of these criticisms teachers must identify what kinds of competitive activities would have destructive or constructive outcomes.

• Source: http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/DLiT/2002/environs/scott/complern.htm

What Learning Conditions might different students prefer?

Student Variables in Learning

What Learning/Cognitive Styles might different students prefer?

Types of Learning / Cognitive StyleLearning or cognitive styles are preferred ways of acquiring information that are characteristic of different students

They involve differences in students’ cognition, emotion, physiology, and behavior that influence how they perform and react when exposed to different methods of teaching

Students are presumed to feel more comfortable and learn and achieve better when the teacher’s method of presentation and instruction matches their preferred style

Differences in Learning/Cognitive Styles

In:• Cognitive Factors - which is the student's

typical way of processing information* • Emotional Factors - the way the student feels

about his/her own ability or different teaching and assessment methods

• Physiological factors -the differences relating to activity levels, sex, physical handicap and even body rhythms

Effectiveness of sex-related differences in learning style

Underachievement of British School boys due to average differences n their learning style.These differences are due to:• higher physiological arousal levels• competitive need for immediate feedback/

gratification• preference for visual or tactile presentation

The Effectiveness of mastery-orientated and failure-avoiding styles

• Greater academic success rather than the success experienced by failure-avoiding styles.

Why do you think this is?

Mastery-Oriented students

Are:• intrinsically motivated to improve their ability

to overcome new challenges. Failure motivates them to modify their strategies

Failure - avoiding style students

• see their ability as fixed and thus only attempt tasks that they feel that they can achieve.

• Their dependence on external assessment and motivation means failure is usually blamed on external factors and may lead to acceptance of failure

What is an example of an external factor?*

QUESTIONS?

What is Education?

• A person who is severely impaired never knows his hidden sources of strength until he is treated like a normal human being and encouraged to shape his own life.

—Helen Keller, American author, lecturer, and blind and deaf activist (1880–1968)

The End.

• THANK YOU!