Allama Iqbal open university, Islamabad (AIOU)
Name: Numan Nisar
Father Name:
Roll no:
Reg.no:
Subject: Educational
psychology
Course code: 840
Assignment: 02
Semester:
Tutor:Niaz Muhammad
Course: Educational Psychology 840
Semester: Fall 2019
Assignment: 02
Q.1 Discuss educational implications of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Also
differentiate between primary and secondary needs.
Maslow's theory of the hierarchy of needs has great implications for the practice of education. It
suggests that people cannot reach the level of self-actualization if they do not have basic needs
met, including physiological needs and needs related to safety. This means that children who are
not given sufficient food or healthcare are not ready or able to learn until their needs are attended
to. It also explains the importance of programs such as Head Start, good public healthcare for
children, and free school meals. Without these programs, children simply cannot learn. In addition,
children must feel safe in their schools, with each other, and with their teachers if they are going
to learn. The next two levels of the hierarchy, love/belonging and self-esteem, mean that students
must feel a sense of connection and love from their school. They must sense that their school
administrators and teachers care for them. In addition, they must develop a healthy sense of selfregard, fostered by their schools and parents. Only if all of these elements are in place will they be
able to move to the level of self-actualization or realizing their potential.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a popular motivation theory that is widely referred to in
educational circles. In this theory, Abraham Maslow suggested that before individuals meet their
full potential, they need to satisfy a series of needs. It's important to note that Maslow based his
theory more on philosophy than on scientific evidence. If interested, you can find limitations of
this theory here. However, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs can provide teachers a reminder and
framework that our students are less likely to perform at their full potential if their basic needs are
unmet.
At times it can be confusing to apply theory into the practical realities of a classroom. So let's talk
specifics. We may have a limited influence on the home lives of our students. Though once they
enter our school, we have the opportunity to assess student needs and then work to adapt our
instruction to meet their needs. Below are the general stages in order and descriptions of Maslow's
Hierarchy of Needs:
Are any students entering our classroom without their Physiological needs met? Is this student
getting all of their basic physical needs met? These basic needs include food, water, sleep, oxygen,
and warmth. If all students have these needs met, the next stage is Safety. How safe and secure
does this student feel in their home? What about in our school, and specifically in our classroom?
Do all students have a feeling of Love & Belonging in our classroom? Does each student feel that
they belong to a group? Do they have strong relationships with their peers? The next stage is
Esteem. Do all students feel good about themselves? Are we giving powerful verbal feedback to
support their self-esteem? Do they believe that their peers think positively about them?
Maslow's final stage is Self-Actualization. In theory, if students have all of the previous stages
met, they can achieve and create at their full potential. Do we automatically assume that all students
should be achieving at their full potential once they enter the classroom? We know that
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this is not a reality, we just need to look at ourselves when we're impacted by any of the
characteristics noted above.
To support our students' physiological needs, we can ensure that all students have access to water
in their rooms. Water bottles are a simple solution and research shows the many benefits of
hydrated students.
To support our students physiological needs, we can ensure that we have nutritious snacks
available. Foods with slow-burning complex carbohydrates (such as granola bars) can help
students sustain energy levels throughout the morning or afternoon.
To support our students physiological needs, we can ensure that if a student is in desperate need
of sleep, they are allowed to take a short nap at school. If not, research indicates that sleepdeprived students learn less and may even disrupt the learning of others.
To support our students' safety needs, we can continuously equip students and monitor the climate
of our classroom to decrease bullying.
To support our students' love and belonging needs, would all students feel like our classroom has
a family or close-knit feel? Are we actively making sitting arrangements and putting students in
groups where they feel supported?
To support our students' esteem needs, we need to provide affirmative, concrete, and transparent
feedback so that students know their specific strengths and can articulate when they've used them
to succeed in our classrooms. Do we create opportunity for peers to share specific positive
feedback with each other?
In theory, when we support students in all of those stages noted, students can perform at their
fullest potential, which is the self-actualization stage.
Primary needs: The primary needs are the basic requirements according to biological demands like
oxygen for breathing, water for overcoming thirst, food for living and shelter. The humans cannot
live without primary needs.
Secondary needs: The secondary needs are the needs that remain even after the primary needs are
satisfied. The secondary needs are required for nurturing like need for security, etc. The secondary
needs also include activities and entertainment. The human cannot function normally without the
secondary need.
Q.2 Discuss the educational implications of Thorndike's laws of learning. How
you will apply these laws to enhance students' learning?
1)
Law of Readiness:First primary law of learning, according to him, is the ‘Law of Readiness’ or the ‘Law of Action
Tendency’, which means that learning takes place when an action tendency is aroused through
preparatory adjustment, set or attitude. Readiness means a preparation of action. If one is not
prepared to learn, learning cannot be automatically instilled in him, for example, unless the typist,
in order to learn typing prepares himself to start, he would not make much progress in a lethargic
& unprepared manner.
2)
Law of Exercise:-
The second law of learning is the ‘Law of Exercise’, which means that drill or practice helps in
increasing efficiency and durability of learning and according to Throndike’s S-R Bond Theory,
the connections are strengthened with trail or practice and the connections are weakened when trial
or practice is discontinued. The ‘law of exercise’, therefore, is also understood as the ‘law of use
and disuse’ in which case connections or bonds made in the brain cortex are weakened or loosened.
Many examples of this case are found in case of human learning. Learning to drive a motor-car,
typewriting, singing or memorizing a poem or a mathematical table, and music etc. need exercise
and repetition of various movements and actions many times.
3)
Law of Effect:The third law is the ‘Law of Effect’, according to which the trial or steps leading to satisfaction
stamps in the bond or connection. Satisfying states lead to consolidation and strengthening of the
connection, whereas dis-satisfaction, annoyance or pain lead to the weakening or stamping out of
the connection. In fact, the ‘law of effect’ signifies that if the response satisfy the subject, they are
learnt and selected, while those which are not satisfying are eliminated. Teaching, therefore, must
be pleasing. The educator must obey the tastes and interests of his pupils. In other words, greater
the satisfaction stronger will be the motive to learn. Thus, intensity is an important condition of
‘law of effect’. Besides these three basic laws, Throndike also refer to five subordinate laws which
further help to explain the learning process. These are4)
Law of Multiple – ResponseAccording to it the organism varies or changes its response till an appropriate behaviour is hit
upon. Without varying the responses, the correspondence for the solution might never be elicited.
If the individual wants to solve a puzzle, he is to try in different ways rather than mechanically
persisting in the same way. Throndike’s cat in the puzzle box moved about and tried many ways
to come out till finally it hit the latch with her paw which opened the door and it jumped out.
5)
The Law of Set or AttitudeLearning is guided by a total set or attitude of the organism, which determines not only what the
person will do but what will satisfy or annoy him. For instance, unless the cricketer sets himself to
make a century, he will not be able to score more runs. A student, similarly, unless he sets to get
first position and has the attitude of being at the top, would while away the time and would not
learn much. Hence, learning is affected more in the individual if he is set to learn more or to excel.
6)
Pre- potency of Elements:According to this law, the learner reacts selectively to the important or essential in the situation
and neglects the other features or elements which may be irrelevant or non- essential. The ability
to deal with the essential or the relevant part of the situation, makes analytical and insightful
learning possible. In this law of pre-potency of elements, Thorndike is really anticipating insight
in learning which was more emphasized by the Gestaltions.
7)
Law of Response by AnalogyAccording to this law, the individual makes use of old experiences or acquisitions while learning
a new situation. There is a tendency to utilise common elements in the new situation as existed in
a similar past situation. The learning of driving a car, for instance, is facilitated by the earlier
acquired skill of driving a motor cycle or even riding a bicycle because the perspective or
maintaining a balance and controlling the handle helps in stearing the car.
8)
The Law of Associative ShiftingAccording to this law we may get an response, of which a learner is capable, associated with any
other situation to which he is sensitive. Thorndike illustrated this by the act of teaching a cat to
stand up at a command. A fish was dangled before the cat while he said ‘ stand up’. After a number
trails by presenting the fish after uttering the command ‘stand up’, he later ousted the fish and the
over all command of ‘stand up’ was found sufficient to evoke the response in the cat by standing
up or her hind legs.
In brief implications of the Theory are1)
According to this theory the task can be started from the easier aspect towards its difficult side.
This approach will benefit the weaker and backward children.
2)
A small child learns some skills through trial and error method only such as sitting, standing,
walking, running etc. In teaching also the child rectifies the writing after commiting mistakes.
3)
In this theory more emphasis has been laid on motivation. Thus, before starting teaching in the
classroom the students should be properly motivated.
4)
Practice leads a man towards maturity. Practice is the main feature of trial and error method.
Practice helps in reducing the errors committed by the child in learning any concept.
5)
Habits are formed as a result of repeitition. With the help of this theory the wrong habits of the
children can be modified and the good habits strengthened.
6)
The effects of rewards and punishment also affect the learning of the child. Thus, the theory lays
emphasis on the use of reward and punishment in the class by the teacher.
7)
The theory may be found quite helpful in changing the behaviour of the deliquent children. The
teacher should cure such children making use of this theory.
8)
With the help of this theory the teacher can control the negative emotions of the children such
as anger, jealousy etc.
9)
The teacher can improve his teaching methods making use of this theory. He must observe the
effects of his teaching methods on the students and should not hesitate to make necessary changes
in them, if required.
10) The theory pays more emphasis on oral drill work. Thus, a teacher should conduct oral drill of
the taught contents. This help in strengthening the learning more.
Q.3 Which types of motivation techniques are helpful for a teacher to enhance
achievement of students? Discuss.
These 14 motivating techniques will help make studying more engaging for all students.
1. Let your students know your expectations, objectives and rules so they can better
understand what you’re looking for and what you’re not. It’s easy to achieve a goal when
you can define it. Students should have clear understanding of what they should do to succeed
in studying.
2. Track the way studying improves. Before reaching a final goal, it would be great to set
short-term goals. This is why it’s vitally important to track the way studying improves. If you
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do this, students can see their progress and achievements, and if you put emphasis on
improvement, it can inspire your students to work harder and earn even better results.
Give your students some democracy. For example, allow one day for activities your
students like most of all. Take a vote and let students choose the class activities they would
like to do that day.
Environment change has a magic effect. When in a new environment, people tend to work
more productively. You and your students can try this trick as well. Just have a class outside
the school or let students change their seats in the classroom.
Vary your teaching! If your lessons combine various learning styles, teaching methods and
classroom activities, there’s a greater chance that almost all students will be engaged.
Different students prefer different methods, and if you stick to one technique, that’s more
likely that more students will be bored and unmotivated.
Make sure your material is clear and understandable for all students. Examples are the
best way to illustrate your words and clear things up. Just give lots of examples. Let students
know that they are welcome to share their own ideas and ask questions. What’s more, provide
students with a chance to give their feedback on your teaching.
Set a spirit of friendly competition. Students should realize there will always be those who
study better and worse. And it’s up to them what group to join. To live in society means to
compete, and students should get used to this fact. In colleges, competition is much stronger
than in lower-grade schools. Make students prepared for this.
Be generous to your students and give rewards and praise when they deserve it. The art
of praise is complicated. Still, there are so many ways and so many reasons to praise your
students for their efforts and accomplishments to give the right motivation.
Give shy students an opportunity to share their views with the class. Some students tend
to give no responses and generally keep silent during classes. Encourage them to talk, if they
don’t mind.
Classroom jobs are good ways to develop student responsibility. These jobs vary. For
example, you can appoint somebody to moderate discussions in the class or run the class
blog. It can be both interesting and useful for everyone.
Organize group work. This method lets students socialize more with each other and find
solutions together. Every person appreciates it if he or she can freely share his or her views.
Why not allow students to produce their ideas together and launch group projects?
Learn more about your students. Get to know their names, interests, and goals. If you’re
aware of these things, you can make your teaching materials properly adjusted to each group
of students. It’s a well-known fact that people perceive information easier if it fits with their
personality types.
Set high but achievable goals. If students have easy-to-achieve goals, they won’t do their
best. Their motivation and productivity decrease fast. Set high goals and watch students work
hard, give more effort, and carry the day!
14. Give chances to improve. Everybody has bad days, and sometimes a person needs one more
chance. If you are generous enough, students definitely appreciate it and stay motivated,
because they aren’t afraid of failure.
Q.4 While developing an effective intelligence test what steps a class teacher has
to follow?
Creating the Test
With assessment season under way, you might be wondering just what it takes to create a test.
Well, we have the answer and it’s in five easy-to-understand steps:
Step 1: States Outline Academic Standards.
This is where it all begins.
States and/or groups of states outline what students should know and be able to do. Known as
academic standards, these benchmarks not only determine what a state wants its students to know
by the end of the school year—they also set the foundation for instruction in the classroom and the
assessment itself. Once the academic standards are set, the state determines which testing partner
they’d like to provide the tests for their communities. This is where Pearson may come in.
Step 2: “Item” Or Test Question Development.
Pearson expert’s team up with former or current teachers, professors, Ph.D. professionals and the
group puts its experience and knowledge of the subject matter to the test—literally—to create
“items.” Items can be multiple-choice questions, interactive technology items, essay prompts,
tasks, situation examples, or activities. And each one of them is geared to a state standard.
Typically, these external experts draft the initial versions of test items, then Pearson experts
shepherd the items through a rigorous development process.
Once the questions are developed, teachers, content experts, higher education faculty and state
education leaders review them to ensure the tests are fair, reliable and accurate. It is not uncommon
during this review stage that some questions are thrown out.
Step 3: Field Tests or “Trials.”
Now it’s time for a test run to ensure each question is fair for all. Field tests are a part of the process
that enables Pearson along with state partners to test items—not the kids. We are testing to see that
the questions are worthy of being used to assess skills and knowledge appropriately. Students’
scores on field-tests are only used to evaluate the questions—and give all students a level playing
field. They are in no way used to calculate a student’s score for the year. During a field test, we
can also see if gender, ethnicity or even English proficiency have an impact on a child’s ability to
successfully perform the task at hand. All of this is done to verify that each and every question is
fair. A group of teachers and education experts are involved in reviewing the results and making
decisions along the way. Quite simply put, this stage helps us assess if an item meets expectations
or not. If it doesn’t, it’s cut.
Step 4: Build The Test.
Once the questions are determined to be fair, free of bias, and that they’re assessing what they are
intended to asses, the test is put into its final form in print or digitally. Easier questions are mixed
with more challenging questions. This variety and mix of content helps us understand what a child
really knows at the end of the assessment.
Step 5: Setting Performance Standards.
In the final step, states and their educators, with expert statistical information provided by Pearson,
make decisions about how well students must perform to pass or be proficient on assessments.
Performance can be defined in many ways, but these “performance standards” provide a frame of
reference for interpreting the test scores. This feedback can help students, parents, educators,
administrators, and policymakers understand how well a student did by using a category rating.
There is a lot of time (sometimes even years) to make sure this rigorous process is followed
closely—all to ensure that tests and assessments are fair and accurate before getting to your kids
hands.
Q.5 How projective tests are used effectively by teachers to explore personality
of students? Also discuss the significance of The Rorschach's Ink Blot Test.
A projective test is a type of personality test in which you offer responses to ambiguous scenes,
words, or images. The goal of such tests is to uncover the hidden conflicts or emotions that you
project onto the test with the hope that these issues can then be addressed through
psychotherapy or other appropriate treatments. This type of test emerged from the psychoanalytic
school of thought, which suggested that people have unconscious thoughts or urges. Projective
tests are intended to uncover feelings, desires, and conflicts that are hidden from conscious
awareness. In many projective tests, you are shown an ambiguous image and then asked to give the
first response that comes to mind. The key to projective tests is the ambiguity of the stimuli.
According to the theory behind such tests, using clearly defined questions can result in answers
that are carefully crafted by the conscious mind. When you're asked a straightforward question
about a particular topic, you have to spend time consciously creating an answer. This can introduce
biases and even untruths, whether or not you're trying to deceive the test provider. For example, a
respondent might give answers that are perceived as more socially acceptable or desirable but are
perhaps not the most accurate reflection of his or her true feelings or behavior. By providing you
with a question or stimulus that is not clear, your underlying and unconscious motivations or
attitudes are revealed. The hope is that because of the ambiguous nature of the questions, people
might be less able to rely on possible hints about what they think the tester expects to see and are
less tempted to "fake good," or make themselves look good, as a result.
Types of Projective Tests
There are a number of different types of projective tests. Here are a few of the best-known
examples:
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The Rorschach Inkblot Test: This test was one of the first projective tests developed and
continues to be one of the best-known and most widely used. Developed by Swiss
psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach in 1921, the test consists of 10 different cards that depict
an ambiguous inkblot. You're shown one card at a time and asked to describe what you see
in the image. The responses are recorded verbatim by the tester. Gestures, the tone of voice,
and other reactions are also noted. The results of the test can vary depending on which of
the many existing scoring systems the examiner uses.
The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): In the TAT test, you're asked to look at a series
of ambiguous scenes and then to tell a story describing the scene, including what is
happening, how the characters are feeling, and how the story will end. The examiner then
scores the test based on the needs, motivations, and anxieties of the main character, as well
as how the story eventually turns out.
The Draw-A-Person Test: This type of projective test involves exactly what you might
imagine: you draw a person and the image you created is then assessed by the examiner.
The test interpreter might look at factors such as the size of particular parts of the body or
features, the level of detail given to the figure, as well as the overall shape of the drawing.
Like other projective tests, the Draw-A-Person test has been criticized for its lack of
validity. While a test interpreter might suggest that certain aspects of the drawing are
indicative of particular psychological tendencies, many might argue that it simply means
that the subject has poor drawing skills. The test has been used as a measure of intelligence
in children, but research comparing scores on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale
of Intelligence to the Draw-A-Person test found a very low correlation between the two
scores.
The House-Tree-Person Test: In this type of projective test, you're asked to draw a house,
a tree, and a person. Once the drawing is complete, you're asked a series of questions about
the images you've drawn. The test was originally designed by John Buck and included a
series of 60 questions to ask the respondent, although test administrators may also come up
with their own questions or follow-up queries to further explore the subject's responses. For
example, the test administrator might ask of the house drawing: "Who lives here?,"
"Who visits the person who lives here?," and "Is the occupant happy?" Despite these
weaknesses, projective tests are still widely used by clinical psychologists and
psychiatrists. Some experts suggest that the latest versions of many projective tests have
both practical value and some validity. Projective techniques are even used in market
research to help identify deep emotions, associations, and thought processes related to
specific products and brands. Some research suggests that projective tests such as the
Rorschach may have value as supplementary assessments used in conjunction with other
diagnostic tests to identify thought disorders and disabilities. Also, projective tests may
hold value for their use as exploratory tools in psychotherapy.
The Rorschach test is a psychological test in which subjects' perceptions of inkblots are recorded
and then analyzed using psychological interpretation, complex algorithms, or both. Some
psychologists use this test to examine a person's personality characteristics and emotional
functioning. It has been employed to detect underlying thought disorder, especially in cases where
patients are reluctant to describe their thinking processes openly. The test is named after its creator,
Swiss psychologist Hermann Rorschach. In the 1960s, the Rorschach was the most widely used
projective test. Although the Exner Scoring System (developed since the 1960s) claims to have
addressed and often refuted many criticisms of the original testing system with an extensive body
of research, some researchers continue to raise questions. The areas of dispute include the
objectivity of testers, inter-rater reliability, the verifiability and general validity of the test, bias of
the test's pathology scales towards greater numbers of responses, the limited number of
psychological conditions which it accurately diagnoses, the inability to replicate the test's norms,
its use in court-ordered evaluations, and the proliferation of the ten inkblot images, potentially
invalidating the test for those who have been exposed to them. The Rorschach test is appropriate
for subjects from the age of five to adulthood. The administrator and subject typically sit next to
each other at a table, with the administrator slightly behind the subject. Side-by-side seating of the
examiner and the subject is used to reduce any effects of inadvertent cues from the examiner to the
subject. In other words, side-by-side seating mitigates the possibility that the examiner will
accidentally influence the subject's responses.[24] This is to facilitate a "relaxed but controlled
atmosphere". There are ten official inkblots, each printed on a separate white card, approximately
18 by 24 cm in size. Each of the blots has near perfect bilateral symmetry. Five inkblots are of
black ink, two are of black and red ink and three are multicolored, on a white background. After
the test subject has seen and responded to all of the inkblots (free association phase), the tester
then presents them again one at a time in a set sequence for the subject to study: the subject is
asked to note where they see what they originally saw and what makes it look like that (inquiry
phase). The subject is usually asked to hold the cards and may rotate them. Whether the cards are
rotated, and other related factors such as whether permission to rotate them is asked, may expose
personality traits and normally contributes to the assessment. As the subject is examining the
inkblots, the psychologist writes down everything the subject says or does, no matter how trivial.
Analysis of responses is recorded by the test administrator using a tabulation and scoring sheet
and, if required, a separate location chart. The general goal of the test is to provide data about
cognition and personality variables such as motivations, response tendencies, cognitive operations,
affectivity, and personal/interpersonal perceptions. The underlying assumption is that an
individual will class external stimuli based on person-specific perceptual sets, and including
needs, base motives, conflicts, and that this clustering process is representative of the process used
in real-life situations. Methods of interpretation differ. Rorschach scoring systems have been
described as a system of pegs on which to hang one's knowledge of personality. The most widely
used method in the United States is based on the work of Exner.