FDTL4002: Learning and Development

Lesson 2: Humanism
Traditional and Current Thinking
 Brain Teaser

Using only 4 lines you must connect all of the dots

You can only use one dot once
Answer
Intended Learning Outcomes 
On successful completion, you will be able to:
1 Demonstrate an awareness and understand the underpinning
principles of learning and the different influences upon learners
2 Show an understanding of emotional and social development of
learners across the lifespan and its impact on learning
3 Draw upon theory to inform decisions in planning or supporting
learning, combining it with learning from practice
4 Apply and evaluate a range of strategies in the setting to support
learners who have differing learning needs
 • Explore the main theories relating to the
Humanistic approach to learning.

Learning • Identify links between the theories and how

it influences learning and practice.
Outcomes
today • Consider actions that can be taken to
promote the development of social and
emotional wellbeing in classrooms.
Humanist Theory
Based on the belief that we as humans are self-
determining. Free to make our own choices.

As humans we have a natural potential for learning. A

desire to become more than we currently are. Not
satisfied with just survival.

Significant learning takes place when the individual can

see the subject matter is relevant to them

The theory grew in popularity in the 1960’s & 1970’s

and as a result the emphasis switched from teacher-
centred to learner-centred teaching practices.

The humanistic approach claims that students do not

appreciate being judged or evaluated and instead relish
the opportunity for their thoughts to be understood
and nurtured.
Limitations
•There are critics who claim that not
everyone seeks empowerment or feels
comfortable when empowered.

•Some learners feel comfortable at being

instructed in what to do.
Humanism: Key People

In the early 1960s, a group of psychologists, led by

Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers, formed the
basis of an alternative to Behaviourist and
Cognitivist approaches 

* Began to ask themselves what it is that makes

humans ‘human’?

* Developed a theory called  ‘third force’

psychology, or humanistic psychology

*The humanistic perspective stresses everything

that is positive and hopeful about humans

* Major Aim: To help people maximise their

potential for personal growth
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

•An individual’s response to

learning is dominated at any
given moment by whichever
need has priority. This is what
motivates behaviour.

•Progression to higher levels is

not possible unless lower level
needs have been met first.
Maslow divided the hierarchy of
needs into 2 phases

•The lower order needs known as

‘Deficiency Needs’
• Physiological
• Safety
• Love/Belonging
• Esteem

• We are driven by these when we

do not have enough of them.
There is no ‘growth’ with these
needs, they are obstacles to
overcome. Once these needs are
met you can move up the
hierarchy to the ‘Growth Needs’
phase.
Growth Needs (Top of
the Hierarchy)
•These Growth Needs are motivated not by
deficiencies but by the desire for personal
growth (Intrinsic Motivation).

Maslow divided these growth needs into 3

levels

• Self Actualisation (realising personal

potential, seeking growth)
• Aesthetic Needs (Search for beauty,
mindfulness, balance)
• Need to know and understand (Cognitive,
search for knowledge and enlightenment)

•-
Activity in break out groups

Think about what you have just learnt about

Maslow and how his theory relates to learners
you have worked with.

Ask yourself……..

• Macro - During the recent pandemic what

have been some obstacles to growth and
development?

• Micro – In your own classrooms what things

could be done to ensure a learner reaches
self-actualisation?
Implications for Education
Maslow’s theory gives us a way of considering the whole student,
whose physical, emotional and intellectual needs are all interrelated.
For example
• When children are hungry, they will have trouble focussing on
academic learning
• A child whose feeling of safety and sense of belonging are threatened
due to an insecure home life may have little interest in learning about
Shakespeare
• If school is a fearful, unpredictable place where neither teachers nor
students know where they stand, they are likely to be more
concerned with security and less with learning and teaching
• Belonging to a social group and maintaining self-esteem within that
group are crucial for students’ well-being

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-55352968
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-55663564
Carl Rogers
•His humanistic perspective is that everything is
positive and hopeful about humans, fundamentally
humans are innately good.

Rogers’ theory grew out of his experiences as a clinical

psychologist. This led him to form a number of beliefs
about human nature

•He believed that in the humanist approach to

learning switched the role of the teacher from one of
authority and expertise to one of ‘facilitating’ the
process learners go through to arrive at their own
solutions
 Facilitating and applying it to education

> A shift in control away from the teacher towards

the learner

Teacher as ‘authority’ Teacher as ‘facilitator’

Rogers’ identified 3 characteristics
that a facilitator needed to possess

• Honesty – With the student and

self

• Empathy – Be willing to consider

issues from the student’s position

• Unconditional Positive Regard

(UPR) towards the student.
Accepting and respecting them
without judgement or evaluation
Activity in breakout rooms
Think about how Rogers claims that
the role of a facilitator in education is
as much about how you teach than
what you teach.

You must have strong belief in your

role as a facilitator to learning, rather
than a controller of it.

•What would you say are actions

necessary for good facilitation?
Providing an environment for learning

The teacher as facilitator makes learning easy for

others through a process of empowerment, whereby
students begin to take responsibility for their own
learning. This is done by the teacher...

• Setting a positive climate for learning

• Helping to elicit the learners’ own purposes and
motivation for learning
• Acting as a flexible resource, ready to be called
upon
• Accepting learners’ emotions
• Participating as a fellow learner
• Accepting the student for what they are
• Ensuring positive regard is not withdrawn if the
student does something wrong or makes a mistake
(It is unconditional)
Recap

Quiz?
Slide 9/10/11 - Argues there are 5 stages of human needs that motivate our behaviour.
Physiological needs (breath, eat, drink and sleep) Once this has been fulfilled we are
motivated to move onto the next thing
Now we want Safety, to earn money, build up resources and look for shelter than can
protect us against dangers. Once we are satisfied and feel safe we have time to think
about the next step. In stage 3 we seek Love & Belonging a desire to be close to family
and friends. However, the moment we feel part of a group we already begin to wish to feel
a little different to the rest. At stage 4 we look for Esteem, self-confirdence and respect
from our peers. We want to ‘Be’ someone, if we have money we may buy a fancy car, if we
have a brain we write or think. Motivation to perform and compete is now at its highest.
Students, Sports people, inventor excel at this stage. Only if the previous stages are
fulfilled can we reach self-actualisation. Here we can relax, be creative, accept facts for
what they are, give back to others, experience balance.
Slide 12 – Macro issue
FSM – This has been quite prevalent in the media.
Rise in child abuse in lolckdown
Micro Issue - Ventilation in classrooms, heating, regular comfort breaks