National Colleges of Education

Educational Psychology Syllabus

2010

Department of Institutional Development

National Institute of Education - Maharagama

 INTRODUCTION

A teacher who has experiences on teaching with out having a professional education needs to develop competencies focussed to the
students’ nature and disparities, nature of learning and motivating to learn for becoming an effective and efficient teacher.

The psychology a professional subject in the curriculum implemented in the national colleges of education.. Plays a vital role for this
purpose. Through this curriculum teacher educators are guided to produce a skillful prospective teacher who is able to implement the
subject in the classroom, by understanding the student and constructing joyful and motivated learning environments.

Opportunities are given to the teacher educators and prospective teachers to make the effectiveness of their roles, through this competency
based. curriculum which was prepared to suit the current national and global educational trends.
·
This syllabus expects to interpret the traditional statement of Adam smith “ To teach Lathin to John, it in necessary to know about John
“ as to teach Lathin to John, it in necessary to know about John and the teacher should know about him/her self.

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Time
The time allocated to the subject Educational Psychology implemented under the professional component
in NCOE curriculum is 90 hours.

1st Year 45h

nd
2 Year 45h

Assessment/ Evaluation
This subject consist of two evaluation processes implemented in each competency level.

Inter Continuous Assessment 60% out of marks obtained

External Evaluation 40% out of marks obtained

Internal Continuous Assessment

• Provide assignments to elicit the ways of employing acquired learning outcomes of learning teaching
process
• The internal mark is decided by regarding all assignments given at the end of two years.
• It is expected to compile various assignment given
• The ways of performing oral tests should be compiled in the portfolio too.

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 Expected Competencies

1.0 Uses the basic principles of psychology by exploring the origin and the nature of it.
2.0 Provides classroom learning opportunites by considering the changes in growth and development the child.

3.0 Contributes to development of the students' through the comprehension of cognitive development and

cognitive processes
4.0 Engages is learning teaching process in relation to the learning meories and learning principles

5.0 Creates a healthy environment focussing to motivate for learning

6.0 Implements remedial teaching opportunities students with special needs

7.0 Provides guidance for students' total. personality development by developing a balanced personality within

one's own self

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 Educational Psychology Syllabus

Learning/ Teaching
Competency Competency Level Subject Content Time
Methodologies

1.0 Uses the basic 1.1 Takes actions to make • What is psychology? • Group work 01 hrs
principles of awareness about the • Provide a handout
psychology by origin and the gradual with a story
exploring the development of Eg; Ted stenrt/ Or
origin and the psychology any other story
nature of it. philosophical and which helps to
psychological introduce
intentions psychology
• Presentation and
discussion
• Development of psychology, as an off- • Group work 02 hrs
shoot of philosophy as a science • Distribute definition
• definitions to the groups
- psychology as a science of soul/ • Sts list out
mind, behavior, cognition and any characteristics in the
other definition from latest ideas definitions
• Discussions

1.2 Presents information • Brief introduction of branches of • Brainstormins refering 01 hrs

about the psychology books
development of • purpose of educational psychology as
educational an applied psychology
psychology an applied • Sub divitions of psychology
subject field.

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 Educational Psychology Syllabus

Learning/ Teaching
Competency Competency Level Subject Content Time
Methodologies

• Study techniques in psychology, • Study the behaviour 02 hrs

1.3 Studies student
• Discuss in detail of sts during the
behavior using
- Obervations,interview (more details) school profile
various psychological programme trough,
- Longitudinal and cross sectional
techniques - Observation
method
- Interview (Provide
- Case study introduce in brief observation
* Introspection schedules)
* Clinical methods • Discuss advantages &
* Interviews disadvantages
• Lets students to
study the hand out
is cluding three
concepts
(Introspechtion
climical methods,
Interview)
• Simple descrition
munt be given with
examplen

1.4 Uses pychological • Importance of educational psychology • Group work 02 hrs

principles for the to, • Prepare a handout
teachers' work. - The teacher him/ her self using articles about
- Understand students teacher and teachers
- Determine learning-teaching role
methods and content • Read the articles and
- Maintain positive community discuss the
relationships and present importance of
- Conduction learning - teaching psychology to the
method, effectively teacher

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 Educational Psychology Syllabus

Learning/ Teaching
Competency Competency Level Subject Content Time
Methodologies

2.0 Provides 2.1 explains the

relationship and • Nature and differences between growth • Study the “progress 01 hrs
classroom and development chart” issued by the
learning differences between
growth and • Different aspects of individual “Ministry of Health to
opportunites by development new born babies”
considering the development
- Physical development • Lead a discussion to
changes in - Intellectual development emphasize the ideas
growth and - Social on growth and
development of - Emotional development
the child. - Moral

2.2 Explains factors • Discussion through 01 hrs

• Factors affecting human development
affect to me child Eg; S. and student
- Heredity
development by * What is heredity experience on
categorizing * Inheritance of heredity in brief heredity and
* Hereditary characteristics examples environment (Can use
- Environment a Jathaka Story 02 hrs
* Internal environment Saththikumba
* External environment Jathakaya as an
- Learning and maturation example)

• Interrelationship between me learning • Provide a list of 02 hrs

and maturation behaviour to the
groups
• Sts. categorize those
behaviour under
maturation & learning
• Discuss the
disadvantages of
teaching children
before maturation

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 Educational Psychology Syllabus

Learning/ Teaching
Competency Competency Level Subject Content Time
Methodologies

2.3 Takes actions to make • Stages of child development and the • Students collected 04 hrs
awareness about the age limits which reprent eachstage newspaper and
stages of child - Present stage magazine articles on
development and the - Infancy prenatal stage and
specified features of * What are reflexes? infany
each stage. * Development of motor skills • In groups study the
* Physicals development articles and findout
* Cognitive abilities developmental
* Language abilities characteristics of
- Early childhood these stages
- Post childhood For Primary Courses 06hrs
- Adolescence • Select 2 students
from each grade from
grades 1, 3, 5
including girls/ boys
• Observe the following
aspects using an
observation schedule
prepared by lecturer
• Physical development
• Emotional
development
• Social development
• Present reports
• Discuss the
developmental
characteristics of
early childhood and
childhood

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 Educational Psychology Syllabus

Learning/ Teaching
Competency Competency Level Subject Content Time
Methodologies

• Discuss the changes

in these stages from
adolescence

Secondary Courses 04 hrs

• The above mentioned
activity can be
implemented
selecting students
from grades 1, 5
and 9
• Discuss the
developmental
characteristics of
early childhood,
childhood and
adolescence
highlighting ideas in
the group
presentations

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 Educational Psychology Syllabus

Learning/ Teaching
Competency Competency Level Subject Content Time
Methodologies

3.0 Contributes to 3.1 Uses the basic • Piaget’s cognitive development theory • Brainstorming 01 hrs
the intellectual concepts and - Introducing schema, organization, sesstion
development of principales included in assimilation, accommodation, • Discussion
the students' the project's cognitive equilibrium in brief with eg; S • Explain concepts
through the development theory • Stages of Piaget’s cognitive using examples
comprehension of for the teacher's work. development theory • Select sts from 03 hrs
cognitive - Sensory motor stage grades 1, 3, 6 and
development and - Intuitive stage conduct practical
cognitive - Pre-conceptual stage experiments to find
processes - Concrete operational stage out about the
- Formal operational stage concepts in Piaget’s
cognitive devt,
theory
• Application of Piaget’s theory in • Discussion using 02 hrs
classroom situation reports
• Discuss how these
concepts can be
applied in the
classroom situation

3.2 Applies Burner's and • Bruner's theory of cognitive development • Discuss key concepts 02 hrs
Vygotsky's ideas of - Enactive representation in Bruner's cognitive
cognitive development - Iconic representation development theory
in the classroom - Symbolic representation • Plan and implement a
practices micro teaching
session focusing
representation of
Bruner ....

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 Educational Psychology Syllabus

Learning/ Teaching
Competency Competency Level Subject Content Time
Methodologies

• Vygotsky's theory of cognitive 01 hrs

development
- The relationship between language &
thought
- The influence to the cognitive
development from the language
• The influence to the cognitive
developmnt from the language

3.3 Uses the principles • Cognitive processes • Group work 06 hrs

existed in cognitve - defimins the concepts • Library references
process for the - Attention • Presentation
teaching - learning - Perception
process by making * Objective and subjective factors
analyzation. * How to apply the above processes
in the learning-teaching process
- Memory
* Introduction
* Types of memory (Roter/ logical)
* Memory process
* Acquisition (encode)
* torgetness

3.4 Provides effective • Definitions of intelligence • Sts Present 03 hrs

learning opportunities - Factor theories of intelligence characteristics of an
by studying the nature * Two factor theory intelligent person and
of the intelligenc * Thurstone's theory build their own
(aim/ litactor theory) definition on
* Group factor theory intelligence
(guilford) • Discuss definitions of
• Mulitple intelligence different
(Howard Gardner) psychologists
• Library reference to
find out about factor
theories

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 Educational Psychology Syllabus

Learning/ Teaching
Competency Competency Level Subject Content Time
Methodologies

3.5 Creates a conducive • Introducing creativity • Discussion on 02 hrs

learning environment - What is creativity? creativity using
to reveal students - Identifying creative children information and
creative abilities - Learning situations which improve articles about
creativity children who have
done new inventions

4.0 Engages is 4.1 Builds up the learning/ What is Learning? • Brainstorm and 02 hrs
learning teaching teaching process on • Classification of learning theories discussion
process in relation thearotical basis. - Behaviourist learning theories
to the learning - Cognitive learning theories
meories and • Behavioural theories • Find out following 05 hrs
learning principles - Trial & Error - Thorndike information on
- Classical conditioning Pavlov learning theories in
- Operant conditioning skinner groups
- Cognitive theories - Gestalt theory - Basic concepts
- Application of the test relevent to - Experiments
basic concept in the classroom - Learning-teaching
situations
• Present and discuss
in the information
collected

• Social learning theory • Discussion on basic 01 hrs

- Observational theory concepts
- Introducing pragmatic Sri Lankan • How a teacher can
expressed by this concept and using work as a model
it is the classroom environment • Brainstorm

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 Educational Psychology Syllabus

Learning/ Teaching
Competency Competency Level Subject Content Time
Methodologies

• New trends in cognitive theories • Analyse the 01 hrs

- Constructive learning theory relationship between
characteristics of
constructivism and
5E

4.2 Implements learning • Transfer of learning • Discuss key concepts 02 hrs

opportunites as a - Definition in transfer of learning
transfer of - How transfer of learning takes place • In groups students
learning - Positive transfer of learning find out information
- Negative transfer of learning and
- Plan learning - reaching process that Eg; S on,
transfer of learning takes place 1. Positive transfer of
learning
2. Negative transfer
of learning
3. Planning teaching-
learning process so
as transfer of
learning to take
place
• Conduct a discussion
using above
information
• Brainstorming session

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 Educational Psychology Syllabus

Learning/ Teaching
Competency Competency Level Subject Content Time
Methodologies

5.0 Creates a healthy 5.1 Uses motivational • Motivation • Elicit students’ 01 hrs
environment and intentions in the - Definition experiences on
focussing to learning teaching - Theories of motivation interesting and dull/
motivate for process by comparing - Need theory boring activities and
learning and contrasting them. - Psycho analytic theory lead a brains forming
- Inherent interest theory discussion
- Explaining above theories simply interpret motivation 03 hrs
• Library reference
• Applies the above theories of • Group discussion
motivation in learning-teaching process based references on
theories and
concepts
5.2 Uses the various • Techniques of motivation • Provide a list of 02 hrs
techniques applied for - Extrinsic / Intrinsic different techniques
motivation for the - Positive / Negative to students to
learning-teaching • Applies techniques of motivation in categories them in to
process. learning-teaching process 04 categories lead a
discussion on
techniques of
motivation

6.0 Implements 6.1 Classifies students • Definition remeaning of students • Discussion on 09 hrs
remedial teaching with special needs with special definition and
opportunities by identification. • Identify students with special needs classification’
students with • Classify students with special needs
special needs • Physically handicapped
- Visually impaired
- Hearing impaired
- Speech impaired

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 Educational Psychology Syllabus

Learning/ Teaching
Competency Competency Level Subject Content Time
Methodologies

- Abnormalities/ deformities in physical • Identify students

appearnce & disorders in motor with special needs
functioning during the block
• Mentally disordeied students challenged teaching session and
• Children with conduct / behaviour conduct a very
disorders simple case study to
- Aggressive behaviours find out following
- Attention deficiencies disorders information
(ADD) 1. Special
- Hyperactive behaviours characteristics/
- Oversensitive/ emotional children features of the
• Learning difficulties students
• Gifted children 2. Socio-economic
background
3. Measures taken by
teachers in the
school to help
those students
6.2 Involves students with • The measures that can be taken to 4. Measures / step
special needs in help to students with speical needs teacher trainees
effective learning would implement
situations • Prepare a report on
this activity

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 Educational Psychology Syllabus

Learning/ Teaching
Competency Competency Level Subject Content Time
Methodologies

7.0 Provides 7.1 Interprets the • Define personality • Analyse the 02 hrs
guidance for personality using the • Nature of characteristics of personality definition and list out
students' total. definitions presented • Between and the environment the characteristics of
personality about the personality • Being dynamics personality
development by • Being on social evaluation
developing
a balanced
personality within 7.2 Employs the priniples • Theories of personality development • Lead a discussion 04 hrs
one's own self included in the - Psychoanalytic theory to hight the key
personality - Humanistic theory characteristics
development theories • Application of the above theories to • Reflect on an
for the personality the classroom situation admirable teacher
development of • Development of teacher personality you (trainees) have
teacher and student. - Professional knowledge & skills good met in life
- Qualities • Lists the
- Physical appearance characteristics of a
- Attitudes good teacher

7.3 Contribute the factors • Factors influencing personality, • Derive the 02 hrs
influencing - Biological factors characteristics which
personality - Physical factors help to develop your
to develop student by personality
investigating them.

7.4 Creates the • Group work

• Self concept 02 hrs
background needed • One member of the
- Definition
to develop self group writes a brief
- Responsibility of the teacher to build description on him /
concept of students.
up self-concept in student her self (abilities/
strengths/
weaknesses)

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 Educational Psychology Syllabus

Learning/ Teaching
Competency Competency Level Subject Content Time
Methodologies

• Other also describes

the same person
(abilities / strengths/
weakness)
• Using this activity
help sts to develop
ideas on self concept

7.5 Contribute to • Introduce moral development simply • Derive morals & 02 hrs
generate • Principles that helps to develop morals values using
student genetation values in students (drawings biographies, stories,
with moracity by biographies & autobiographies, Stories, fables etc.
identifying tables, posters, etc..) • Using a given
moral developmet • Theories of moral development handout student find
approaches. - Kholberg's stages of moral out key concepts in
development Kholberg's theory
- Application of kholberg's theory to • During block-teaching
the moral development of students session provide a
task sheet to find
about moral values of
students

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