LEARNER-CENTERED

PSYCHOLOGICAL
PRINCIPLES
LEARNER-CENTERED?

Focus on each student’s interests, abilities,

and learning styles, placing the teacher as a
facilitator of learning.
PSYCHOLOGICAL?

Related to the mental and emotional state of

a person
 In the early 1990s, the American Psychological Association (APA)
appointed a group, a Task Force on Psychology in Education, to conduct
further studies in both psychology and education. The purpose of this
group was to conduct studies that could further enhance the current understanding
of educators on the nature of the learners about the teaching and learning process.
The end goal was to improve the existing school practices so that learning becomes
more meaningful to all kinds of learners.
The 14 Learner-Centered Psychological Principles are
categorized as follows: (1) cognitive and metacognitive factors;
(2) motivational and affective; (3) developmental and social;
and (4) individual difference factors. All these principles
influence the teaching and learning process (APA, 1997)
I. COGNITIVE AND METACOGNITIVE FACTORS

Cognitive factors refer to the mental processes the

learners undergo as they process information. The
way learners think about their thinking as they
engage in mental tasks is the concern of
metacognitive factors.
1. 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.
2. GOALS OF THE LEARNING PROCESS.

The successful learner, over time and with support and

instructional guidance, can create meaningful, coherent
representations of knowledge.
3. CONSTRUCTION OF KNOWLEDGE.

The successful learner can link new information

with existing knowledge in meaningful ways.
4. STRATEGIC THINKING

The successful learner can create and use a

reportoire of thinking and reasoning strategies to
achieve complex learning goals.
5. THINKING ABOUT THINKING

Higher order strategies for selecting and

monitoring mental operations facilitate creative
and critical thinking.
6. CONTEXT OF LEARNING

Learning is influenced by environmental factors,

including culture, technology, and instructional
practices.
II. MOTIVATIONAL AND AFFECTIVE FACTORS

How the learners push themselves to learn and

how they value learning are the concerns of the
motivational factors. Meanwhile, the affective
factors relate to the attitude, feelings, and
emotions that learners put into the learning task.
1. MOTIVATIONAL AND EMOTIONAL
INFLUENCES ON LEARNING
What and how much are learned are influenced by
the learner's motivation.
2. INTRINSIC MOTIVATION TO LEARN

The learner's creativity, higher-order thinking,

and natural curiosity all contribute to the
motivational to learn.
3. EFFECTS OF MOTIVATION ON EFFORT

Acquisition of sophisticated knowledge and skills

requires extensive learner's effort and guided
practice.
III.DEVELOPMENTAL AND SOCIAL FACTORS

Development and social factors as well as

individual differences are considered critical
factors in the capacity of learners to engage in
learning.
1. DEVELOPMENTAL INFLUENCES ON LEARNING

As individuals develop, there are different

opportunities and constraints for learning.
2. SOCIAL INFLUENCES IN LEARNING.

Learning is influenced by social interactions,

interpersonal relations, and communication with
others.
1. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN LEARNING

Learners have different strategies, approaches, and

capabilities for learning that are a function of prior
experience and heredity.
2. LEARNING AND DIVERSITY

Learning is most effective when differences in

learners" linguistic, cultural, and social
backgrounds are taken into account.
3. STANDARDS AND ASSESSMENT

Setting appropriately high and challenging

standards and assessing the learner as well as the
learning progress-including diagnostic, process,
and outcome assessment-are integral parts of the
learning process.