Africa Virtual University - AVU

Mode of Delivery:

1. Rationale

The study of General Psychology, Module One is considered important for teacher educators, educators and teachers for a number of reasons. Firstly is because of the need to understanding fully its influence on educational process in a number of ways. Secondly is to equip teacher educators, educators and prospectus teachers with skills and competences in the art of teaching and managing in educational activities effectively, especially dealing effectively with teaching-learning problems that arise every now and then. Thirdly is to mould the classroom teacher into an all-round person who understands himself/herself and be able to relate with others in the school and community. Fourthly is to enable the classroom teacher to understand the origin of individual differences among learners, their implications and how best each learner can be made to benefit fully from schooling. The above points are important and relevant to you as an upcoming teacher when they are reflected within the context of teaching-learning and/or educational process. This is where Educational Psychology comes. It is therefore paramount that you acquaint yourself with the basic ideas of Educational Psychology and possible areas where its principles can be applied.

Briefly stated, Educational Psychology is an area of study that deals with how humans learn in education setting, the effectiveness of educational intervention, the psychology of teaching, and social psychology of the school as an organization. It is also concerned with the process of educational attainment among children who go to school, such as the gifted, the underachievers, and those with specific disabilities. Educational Psychology informs wide range of guidelines with educational studies e.g. instructional strategies and designs, educational technology, curriculum development, organizational learning, special education and class management. It also draws from and contributes to cognitive science and learning science.

It is therefore important that you study the subject diligently, see the implications to you as a teacher and how best the subject can be used to the benefits of the children under your instruction and care. Additional references have been included in the module for your perusal. Make all efforts to read them.

2. Prerequisite or knowledge

You are now beginning a journey into the field of General Psychology, more specifically,
Educational Psychology. You need to build strong interest in the subject and try also to see how you can make use of the subject matter in real teaching/learning situations. You need to have some elementary knowledge in Learning Theories, the different kinds of learning e.g. Signal learning, Chain learning, Verbal associate learning, Problem solving, learning principles. Also needed is some basic knowledge on the classification of theories of learning, knowledge of the importance of motivation in teaching-learning situation, the roles of rewards and punishment in teaching and learning process. Factors that facilitate learning, human growth and development and different stages that children go through in relation to teaching and learning. The knowledge on the importance of testing in promoting effective learning by children and how best teachers can utilize tests to the maximum benefits of the children they teach. You also need to have sound
knowledge about individual differences among learners in teaching-learning situations and how you can play positive roles in bridging the gaps that may be noticed among the learners. Of extreme importance is for you as a teacher to know some knowledge about children with disabilities and how best their interests can be catered for in your class.

Point to note: As you go through this module, you need to build positive attitude about this and make efforts to follow instructions given in the module.

3. General objectives

The following are the general objectives that have been identified:

4. Time

To make you benefit from the course, it is important the time be allotted for each of the four units. A total of 120 hours is required for you to complete these units. Each unit has been given the number of hours needed to go through successfully. You are advised to make all efforts to complete the unit within the stipulated hours.

Unit 1: 30 hours
Unit 2: 40 hours
Unit 3: 20 hours
Unit 4: 30 hours

5. Materials

Access to the following materials is considered important for successful completion of this module.