Course: Educational Psychology (840)

Semester: Autumn, 2019

Level: M. Ed
ASSIGNMENT No. 2

Q.1 Discuss educational implications of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Also

differentiate between primary and secondary needs?

Answer:

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 this is not a reality, we just need to look at ourselves when we're impacted by
any of the characteristics noted above.

Try this:

 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 sleep-deprived 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.  Do we always
expect students to perform at their best, even if they are in need of support in
lower stages?
Differentiate between primary and secondary needs:

When you have already detected the need or problem of your user you must define if it is a
primary or secondary need.

Primary Needs:

The primary needs are those that are linked to the survival of the human being: food,
clothing, footwear, housing, health, etc.

Secondary Needs:

The secondary needs are linked to the desire for pleasure and fulfillment of the human
being: furniture or designer articles, a luxury car, the newest and high-tech cell phone,
jewelry, etc.

Offering products or services to any of these two is completely valid since both the first and
the second are needs and complement the human being on a physical and psychological
level, actually defining in which of these two categories your product, company or service
are compatible, is so that you are clearer in what way the user perceives you and what is the
best strategy to present yourself to him.

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Q.2 Discuss the educational implications of Thorndike's laws of learning. How you
will apply these laws to enhance students' learning?

Answer:

Thorndike’s Laws of 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 are-

4)      Law of Multiple – Response-

According 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 Attitude-

Learning 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 Analogy-

According 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 Shifting-

According 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 are-

1)      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.

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Q.3 Which types of motivation techniques are helpful for a teacher to enhance
achievement of students? Discuss.

Answer:

Intrinsic motivators include fascination with the subject, a sense of its relevance to life and the
world, a sense of accomplishment in mastering it, and a sense of calling to it.

Students who are intrinsically motivated might say things like the following.
  “Literature interests me.”

 “Learning math enables me to think clearly.”

 “I feel good when I succeed in class.”

Advantages: Intrinsic motivation can be long-lasting and self-sustaining.  Efforts to build this

kind of motivation are also typically efforts at promoting student learning.  Such efforts often
focus on the subject rather than rewards or punishments.

Disadvantages: On the other hand, efforts at fostering intrinsic motivation can be slow to affect
behavior and can require special and lengthy preparation.  Students are individuals, so a variety
of approaches may be needed to motivate different students. It is often helpful to know what
interests one’s students in order to connect these interests with the subject matter. This requires
getting to know one’s students. Also, it helps if the instructor is interested in the subject to begin
with!

Source: Matt DeLong and Dale Winter, Learning to Teaching and Teaching to Learn Mathematics:
Resources for Professional Development, Mathematical Association of America, 2002, page 163.

Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivators include parental expectations, expectations of other trusted role models,

earning potential of a course of study, and grades (which keep scholarships coming).

Students who are extrinsically motivated might say things like the following.

 “I need a B- in statistics to get into business school.”

 “If I flunk chemistry, I will lose my scholarship.”

 “Our instructor will bring us donuts if we do well on today’s quiz.”

Advantages: Extrinsic motivators more readily produce behavior changes and typically involve
relatively little effort or preparation. Also, efforts at applying extrinsic motivators often do not
require extensive knowledge of individual students.

Disadvantages: On the other hand, extrinsic motivators can often distract students from learning
the subject at hand. It can be challenging to devise appropriate rewards and punishments for
student behaviors. Often, one needs to escalate the rewards and punishments over time to
maintain a certain effect level. Also, extrinsic motivators typically do not work over the long term.
Once the rewards or punishments are removed, students lose their motivation.

Source: Matt DeLong and Dale Winter, Learning to Teaching and Teaching to Learn Mathematics:
Resources for Professional Development, Mathematical Association of America, 2002, page 163.

Furthermore, research indicates that extrinsic rewards can have a negative impact on intrinsic
motivation. In one series of experiments, psychologist Edward Deci had two groups of college
students play with a puzzle called Soma. One group of students was paid for each puzzle they
solved; the other wasn’t. He found that the group that was paid to solve puzzles stopped solving
puzzles as soon as the experiment—and the payment—ended. However, the group that wasn’t
paid kept solving the puzzles even after the experiment was over. They had found the puzzles
intrinsically interesting. Deci argued that the group that had been paid to solve puzzles might
have found the puzzles intrinsically interesting as well, but the extrinsic, monetary reward had
reduced their intrinsic interest.

Source: Ken Bain, What the Best College Teachers Do, Harvard University Press, 2004, pages 32-33.

Effects of Motivation on Learning Styles

 Deep learners respond well to the challenge of mastering a difficult and complex subject.
These are intrinsically motivated students who are often a joy to teach!

 Strategic learners are motivated primarily by rewards. They react well to competition and
the opportunity to best others. They often make good grades but won’t engage deeply
with a subject unless there is a clear reward for doing so. They are sometimes called
“bulimic learners,” learning as much as they need to do well on a test or exam and then
promptly forgetting the material once the assessment is over.Handle strategic learners by
avoiding appeals to competition. Appeal to their intrinsic interest in the subject at hand.
Design your assignments (tests, papers, projects, etc.) so that deep engagement with the
subject is necessary for success on the assignments. Do so by requiring students to apply,
synthesize, or evaluate material instead of merely comprehending or memorizing material.

 Surface learners are often motivated by a desire to avoid failure. They typically avoid
deep learning because it they see it as inherently risky behavior. They will often do what it
takes to pass an exam or course, but they won’t choose to go beyond the minimum
 required for fear of failure. Handle surface learners by helping them gain confidence in
their abilities to learn and perform. “Scaffold” course material and assignments by
designing a series of activities or assignments that build on each other over time in
complexity and challenge. Encourage these learners often and help them reflect on what
they’ve learned and what they’ve accomplished.

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Q.4 While developing an effective intelligence test what steps a class teacher has to
follow?

Answer:

Every test starts first at the state level where legislators and officials outline what every
student should know by the end of the year.

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 experts 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.

That’s how it’s done. 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.

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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?

Answer:

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.

How Projective Tests Came About

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. By interpreting
responses to ambiguous cues, psychoanalysts hope to uncover unconscious feelings that
might be causing problems in a person's life. Despite controversy over their use, projective
tests remain quite popular and are extensively used in both clinical and forensic
settings. Recent research shows that while training in projective testing in psychology
graduate settings has rapidly declined over the past decade or so, at least one projective
test was noted as one of the top five tests used in practice for 50 percent of 28 worldwide
survey-based studies.

What Is the Unconscious?

How Projective Tests Work

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.

How Attitudes Change and Influence Behaviors

Types of Projective Tests

There are a number of different types of projective tests. Here are a few of the best-known
examples:

 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?"

Weaknesses

Projective tests are most frequently used in therapeutic settings. In many cases, therapists
use these tests to learn qualitative information about you. Some therapists may use
projective tests as a sort of icebreaker to encourage you to discuss issues or examine your
thoughts and emotions. While projective tests have some benefits, they also have a number
of weaknesses and limitations, including:

 The respondent's answers can be heavily influenced by the examiner's attitudes or

the test setting.

 Scoring projective tests is highly subjective, so interpretations of answers can vary

dramatically from one examiner to the next.
  Projective tests that do not have standard grading scales tend to lack
both validity and reliability. Validity refers to whether or not a test is measuring what
it purports to measure, while reliability refers to the consistency of the test results.

The Value of Projective Tests

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.

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