Module 2: LEARNER-CENTERED PSYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES

By the end of the lesson, you should be able to attain the following:

a. discuss the 14 Learner-Centered Psychological Principles (LCP); and

b. provide examples of the principles using real-life scenarios

Introduction to the Module

Welcome to module 2, and we are going to discuss the 14 Learner-Centered Principles from the
American Psychological Association. Let us dig into its categories and discuss each one of them.

ENGAGE:

What are your learning principles? How do you define learning in your terms? Based on your
experiences in learning topics or subjects, write down your definition of the word LEARNING.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

EXPLAIN:

LEARNER-CENTERED PSYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES

The American Psychological Association put together the Learner-Centered Psychological Principles. The
following 14 psychological principles pertain to the learner and the learning process. The 14 principles
have the following aspects (Pierce, J. W., & Kalkman, D. L.,2003):

 They concentrate on psychological variables that are essentially internal to and controllable by
the learner instead of conditioned habits or physiological variables. The principles, however,
make an effort to take into account the external environment or contextual elements that
interact with these internal components. (Lucas and Corpuz, 2020).

 The concepts are meant to address learners holistically in real-world learning scenarios. As a
result, they are best understood as a collection of related ideas; no principle should be
considered in isolation (Lucas and Corpuz, 2020).

 • The fourteen principles are classified as follows: cognitive and metacognitive, motivational and
affective, developmental and social, and individual variations affecting learners and learning.
(Lucas and Corpuz, 2020).

 Finally, the principles are designed to apply to all learners in our educational system, including
children, teachers, administrators, parents, and community members (Lucas and Corpuz, 2020).
 Figure no. 2 – Learner-Centered Psychological Principles

The 14 The Learner-Centered Psychological Principles (APA, 1997)

Cognitive and Metacognitive Factors

A. Nature of the learning process

The learning of complex subject matter is most effective when it is an intentional process of
constructing meaning from information and experience (APA, 1997).

 Several learning processes are habit development in motor learning, knowledge or

cognitive skill production, and learning techniques.
 In schools, students are encouraged to utilize purposeful processes to build meaning
from knowledge, experiences, and their views and beliefs.
 Successful learners are proactive, goal-directed, self-regulating, and are responsible
for their learning.

B. Goals of the learning process

The successful learner, over time and with support and instructional guidance, can create
meaningful, coherent representations of knowledge (APA, 1997).

 Strategic learning necessitates goal-directedness on the part of pupils.

 Students must establish and pursue individually meaningful objectives to build usable
representations of information and acquire the thinking and learning skills essential for
lifelong learning success. While students' short-term objectives and learning in a subject
area may be vague at first, their comprehension may be improved over time by filling in
gaps, correcting inconsistencies, and strengthening their grasp of the subject matter in
order to achieve longer-term goals.
 Educators can support students in developing relevant learning objectives that align
with their personal and educational aims and interests.
C. Construction of knowledge
The successful learner can link new information with existing knowledge in meaningful ways
(APA, 1997).

 As students continue to connect new information and experiences and their current
knowledge base, their knowledge broadens and develops. These connections may take
several forms, including supplementing, changing, or restructuring pre-existing
information or abilities. How these connections are established or developed varies
between topic areas and among students with various skills, interests, and abilities.
However, unless new information is integrated with the learner's past knowledge and
understanding, it stays isolated, cannot be applied successfully to new tasks, and does
not easily transfer to new settings.

 Educators can aid learners in gaining and integrating information via the use of a variety
of tactics that have been shown to be successful with learners of varied abilities, such as
idea mapping and theme organizing or categorization.

D. Strategic thinking
The successful learner can create and use a repertoire of thinking and reasoning strategies to
achieve complex learning goals (APA, 1997).

 Successful learners use strategic thinking in their approach to learning. Reasoning,

problem-solving, and concept learning.

 They understand and can use various strategies to help them reach learning and
performance goals and apply their knowledge in novel situations.

 They also continue to expand their repertoire of strategies by reflecting on the methods
they use to see which work well for them, receiving guided instruction and feedback,
and observing or interacting with appropriate models.

 Learning outcomes can be enhanced if educators assist learners in developing, applying,

and assessing their strategic learning skills.

E. Thinking about thinking

Higher-order strategies for selecting and monitoring mental operations facilitate creative and
critical thinking (APA, 1997).

 Successful learners may reflect on their thinking and learning processes, establish
realistic learning or performance objectives, choose potentially relevant learning tactics
or approaches, and track their progress towards these objectives.

 Additionally, effective learners understand what to do in the event of a difficulty. or if

they are not progressing enough or on schedule towards a goal. They can devise
 creative strategies for achieving their objective (or reassessing the appropriateness and
utility of the goal).

 Instructional techniques that emphasize assisting learners in developing these higher-

order (metacognitive) skills may help students improve their academic performance and
personal responsibility for learning.

F. Context of learning
Learning is influenced by environmental factors, including culture, technology and instructional
practices (APA, 1997).

 Education does not take place in a vacuum. Teachers have a significant influence in the
interaction between the student and the learning environment.

 Cultural or group impacts on pupils may significantly impact a variety of educationally

significant characteristics, including motivation, attitude towards learning, and modes of
thought.

 Instructional technologies and techniques must suit learners' previous knowledge,

cognitive capacities, and learning and thinking processes.

 Additionally, the classroom atmosphere, especially its nurturing or non-nurturing

nature, may substantially influence student learning.

Motivational and Affective Factors

G. Motivational and emotional Influences on learning

What and how much is learned is influenced by the learner's motivation. Motivation to learn, in
turn, is influenced by the individual's emotional states, beliefs, interests and goals, and habits of
thinking (APA, 1997).

 The learner's rich internal world of ideas, beliefs, aspirations, and expectations for
success or failure may either boost or impair their ability to think and process
information.

 Students' self-perceptions as learners and the nature of learning significantly impact

motivation.

 Additionally, motivational and emotional elements affect the quality of thinking and
information processing and an individual's drive to learn.

 Positive emotions, such as curiosity, boost motivation and assist learning and
performance in general. Mild anxiety may also help students learn and perform better
by concentrating their attention on certain activities. However, significant negative
emotions (e.g., anxiety, panic, fury, insecurity) and associated thoughts (e.g., worrying
 about competence, obsessing about failure, dreading punishment, mockery, or
stigmatizing labels) often reduce motivation, obstruct learning, and lead to poor
performance.

H. Intrinsic motivation to learn.

The learner's creativity, higher-order thinking, and natural curiosity all contribute to motivation
to learn. Intrinsic motivation is stimulated by tasks of optimal novelty and difficulty, relevant to
personal interests, and providing for personal choice and control (APA, 1997).

 Curiosity, flexibility and insightful thinking, and creativity are significant signs of a

learner's intrinsic drive to study, determined mainly by addressing fundamental
demands for competence and self-control.

 Intrinsic motivation is encouraged when learners view assignments as fascinating,

personally relevant, and meaningful, complicated, and tough enough for their talents,
and on which they feel they can achieve.

 Intrinsic motivation is also enhanced when activities are analogous to real-world

circumstances and satisfy desires for choice and control.

 Educators can foster and support learners' inherent curiosity and willingness to learn by
considering their unique views of optimum novelty and difficulty, relevance, and
personal choice and control.

I. Effects of motivation on effort

Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills requires extended learner effort and guided
practice. Without learners' motivation to learn, the willingness to exert this effort is unlikely
without coercion (APA, 1997).

 Effort is another significant measure of a learner's drive to learn. Acquiring complicated

information and abilities requires a significant commitment of learner energy and
purposeful effort, as well as tenacity over time.

 Educators must be concerned with facilitating motivation through strategies that

increase learners' effort and commitment to learning and to meeting high standards of
comprehension and understanding.

 Effective strategies include purposeful learning activities, guided b practices that foster
positive emotions and intrinsic motivation to learn, and methods that increase learners'
perceptions of a task as interesting and personally relevant.

Developmental and Social Factors

J. Developmental influences on learning

As individuals develop, there are different opportunities and constraints for learning. Learning is
most effective when differential development within and across physical, intellectual,
emotional, and social domains is taken into account (APA, 1997).

 Individuals learn best when content is age-appropriate and given entertainingly and
fascinatingly.

 Accomplishment across instructional areas may differ because individual development

occurs differently across intellectual, social, emotional, and physical domains.

 An overemphasis on a single sort of developmental readiness—for example, reading

readiness—may prevent learners from displaying increased capability in other
performance areas.

 Individual learners' cognitive, emotional, and social development and their

interpretation of life events are influenced by variables such as past education, family
culture, and community.

 Early and sustained parental participation in education and the quality of linguistic
exchanges and two-way communication between adults and children may all affect
these developmental domains.

 Being aware of and recognizing developmental disparities between children who have
emotional, physical, or intellectual challenges and those who do not may aid in the
construction of appropriate learning environments.

K. Social influences on learning

Learning is influenced by social interactions, interpersonal relations and communication with

others (APA, 1997).

 Interaction and collaboration with others in educational activities may boost learning.

 Learning environments that foster social interaction and respect variety promotes
adaptability and social competency.

 Individuals have the chance for perspective-taking and reflective thinking in interactive
and collaborative educational environments, which may result in increased cognitive,
social, and moral growth and self-esteem.

 Stable, trusting, and loving personal connections may help learners develop a feeling of
belonging, self-esteem, and self-acceptance, while also creating an enabling
environment for learning.
  Family influences, positive interpersonal support, and instruction in self-motivation
strategies can help mitigate factors that impede optimal learning, such as negative
beliefs about one's competence in a particular subject, high levels of test anxiety,
negative sex-role expectations, and excessive pressure to perform well.

 Positive learning climates may also contribute to establishing an environment conducive

to healthy thinking, feeling, and acting. Such situations foster learners' confidence in
sharing ideas, participating actively in the learning process, and forming a learning
community.

Individual Differences Factors

L. Individual differences in learning

Learners have different strategies, approaches, and capabilities for learning that are a function
of prior experience and heredity (APA, 1997).

 Individuals are born with their unique potential and talents and must develop them.
Additionally, individuals have developed their preferences for how and at what speed
they want to study due to their education and social acculturation. These preferences,
however, are not necessarily beneficial in assisting learners in achieving their learning
objectives.

 Educators must assist students in examining their learning preferences and, if required,
expanding or modifying them. Another critical aspect determining learning outcomes is
the interplay between learner variations and curricular and contextual variables.

 Educators, in general, must be attentive to individual variances. They must also consider
the extent to which learners accept and adjust to these variances due to varied teaching
techniques and materials.

M. Learning and diversity

Learning is most effective when differences in learners' linguistic, cultural, and social
backgrounds are considered (APA, 1997).

 All learners share the same fundamental learning, motivation, and successful teaching
principles. Language, ethnicity, race, religion, and socioeconomic background, on the
other hand, may all affect learning. By paying close attention to these aspects in the
instructional setting, the possibility of developing and implementing effective learning
environments is increased.

 When learners believe that their unique talents, backgrounds, cultures, and experiences
are appreciated, respected, and accommodated in learning activities and circumstances,
their motivation and accomplishment levels are increased.

N. Standards and assessment.

 Setting appropriately high and challenging standards and assessing the learner as well as
learning progress including diagnostic process and outcome assessment are integral parts of the
learning process (APA, 1997).
 Assessment provides critical information to both the learner and the teacher at all
stages of the learning process.

 Effective learning occurs when learners are challenged to work towards appropriately
lofty goals; consequently, assessment of the learner's cognitive strengths and
weaknesses and current knowledge and skills is critical for selecting instructional
materials with the appropriate degree of difficulty.

 Ongoing evaluation of a learner's comprehension of curricular content may give both

students and instructors helpful feedback about progress towards learning objectives.

 Standardized assessment of learner progress and outcomes offers a single source of

information on individual performance levels that may be used to influence a variety of
programming choices.

 Additional sources of information on the achievement of learning objectives include

performance assessments.

 Self-assessment of students' learning progress may also help kids develop their self-
advocacy skills and increase their motivation and self-directed learning.

Alexander and Murphy (1998) gave a summary of the 14 principles and distilled them into five areas:

1. The knowledge base. One's existing knowledge serves as the foundation of all future
learning. The learner's previous knowledge will influence new learning, specifically how he
represents new information, makes associations, and filters new experiences.

2. Strategic processing and control. Learners can develop skills to reflect and regulate their
thoughts and behaviors to learn more effectively (metacognition).

3. Motivation and affect. Factors such as intrinsic motivation (from within), reasons for
wanting to learn, personal goals, and enjoyment of learning tasks all have a crucial role in
the learning process.

4. Development and Individual Differences. Learning is a unique journey for each person
because each learner has his unique combination of genetic and environmental factors that
influence him.

5. Situation or context. Learning happens in the context of society as well as within an

individual.
ELABORATE:

Since we discussed the 14 learner-centered principles, have you ever wondered why children learn
faster than adults? Check out this video link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bctB6Ppkg4 (Why Do
Kids Learn Faster Than Adults?). After accessing the link and watching the video, answer the following
questions:

1. Do you agree with the narrator's argument towards the pace of the children's learning? Explain.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

2. Based on what you have watched, is it important to put great importance to a child's learning
styles? Why?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

EVALUATE:

From the 14 principles discussed, choose one principle in which you could provide your real-life
example. Explain what happened and what your realizations are concerning the concept of learning.
(Content – 5pts. Relevance of Examples – 3pts. Organization of Ideas – 2pts.)

_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Further Readings:

In relation to the video link earlier, you can read more about the difference of how brains work on
children and on adults by accessing this link:

Child Brains Organized Differently Than Adult Brains - https://www.livescience.com/3616-child-brains-

organized-differently-adult-brains.html
References:

Alexander, P. A., & Murphy, P. K. (1998). Profiling the differences in students' knowledge, interest, and
strategic processing. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(3), 435–447. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-
0663.90.3.435

American Psychological Association (1997). Learner-Centered Psychological Principles: A Framework for

School Reform and Redesign. Learner-Centered Principles Work Group of the APA' Board of Educational
Affairs (BEA).

Pierce, J. W., & Kalkman, D. L. (2003). Applying Learner-Centered Principles in Teacher Education.
Theory Into Practice, 42(2), 127–132. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1477353

Thompson, A. (2009). Child Brains Organized Differently Than Adult Brains. Date Accessed: December
15, 2021, Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/3616-child-brains-organized-differently-adult-
brains.html

Ormrod, Jeanne E. (2004). Educational psychology: Developing learners 4 th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall
Inc.

Lucas and Corpuz (2020). Facilitating Learner-Centered Teaching 5 th Ed. Lorimar Publishing, Inc. Quezon
City.

Huitt, W. (1997). Metacognition Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta: Valdosta State University.