Methods Used By Teachers To Learn About Human Behaviours In The School

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 Introduction 

The methods used by teachers to learn about human behaviours in the school can be grouped into two categories. These are
  1. Prescientific
  2. Scientific 

Prescientific methods 

These are methods that make use of everyday experience to study human behaviour in the school. They have not been proved or tested for validity. The following are some of the methods belonged to this category. 

Use of certain habits 

The teacher identify particular habit or practices used by the learners in the school eg.crying,rude,unable to complete assignments, fighting, sleeping in class,being late,truancy etc. The teacher uses the trends observed in these habits to learn about students behaviour from which he/she can generate a corrective action. 

Pre-established beliefs

Teachers may hold prior beliefs about learners and when they perform poorly in examination. Eg.family history ie aggressive, indiscipline, drug addicts etc

Use of common sense 

Common sense refers to basic rules of the thumb or practices teachers try to use it in problem solving. eg. Poor performance can be explained by:
  • The learner is not serious 
  • Does not pay attention 
  • Not interested 
  • Poor attitude 
  • Poor environment at home 

Personal impressions 

These are basically biased perception about specific learners or a class in general eg. A teacher may believe that student A is a bad learner and he /She can pick this information from the other member of staffs. 

Popular beliefs

Every school has it own beliefs that turn or hold true among members of community. eg. In some schools teachers believe that the students cannot complete assignments unless they are caned or punished. Such beliefs cannot be proved true but teachers used them.

Folklore 

This refers to information shared among members of the school communities during their day today interactions informally. This stories or information are full of lies,rumours and negative attitudes about different members of the school community. The teacher may also from this folktales believe that learners are lazy and indiscipline. Sometimes we apply these attitudes to an entire class eg. Grade 7 is a bad class.

Scientific methods 

Scientific methods can be grouped into two categories namely:
  1. Observation 
  2. Experimentation

1. Observation 

Introspection

This is where an individual studies their own behaviour with a view to understanding why they behave the way they behave. Eg. Sleeping behaviour. Watch keenly the behaviour in another person or groups describe and explain eg walking style to find out if there is anything to do with our emotions. 

2. Experimentation 

Experimentation entails the manipulation of a characteristics of influence so that its effects can be observed and measured. 
The researcher develops two groups,  the experimental group and control group. The experimental group is given the treatment by interacting with the characteristics of interest then the change is observed. The control group is given a placebo after which the change is observed and measured. By comparing the changes in the experimental and the control group then the effect of manipulation can be identified .eg Does a teaching method influence performance?


Steps in the scientific methods 

Step 1  -  problem identification 

The researcher Identifies a problem of interest that he requires to investigate eg. Poor performance, negative attitude, aggression, low motivation etc.
Describe the problem by writing a background on the same ie when did the problem begin, what have you observed, how we plan to investigate it.

Step 2  - Develop tools to investigate the problem eg Questionnaire, interview, test etc

Step 3 - Data collection 

Step 4  - Data analysis 

Step 5   - Report writing/Recommendation 

Advantages of scientific methods with respect to the classroom situation 

The teacher uses scientific method in day today interactions with students as he/ she tries to understand their behaviour and how these embarked on the teaching and learning. The following are benefits to the teacher in the classroom:
  • The teacher can organise learning activities to suit the need of the learners 
  • He can use scientific methods to diagnose learning difficulties among learners 
  • He can apply different methods to motivate learners 
  • The teacher can use knowledge of the scientific method to select appropriate instructional materials for the learners. 
  • The teacher will use different theoretical approaches to understand the process of teaching and learning. 
  • Importantly the teachers can use the scientific method to manage their class more effectively. 

Areas of focus in education psychology 

1. Learner

The learner is the most important component in education psychology and a key element in the learning and teaching process. This is because without the learner there is no teaching and therefore there is no learning. The learner brings in the classroom different characteristics such as personality, learning styles,experiences in terms of knowledge and skills, level of motivation, abilities, cognitive styles, emotional disposition etc.

In addition the learner brings in into the classroom different in the social-economic background, cultural orientations,religious and family background and all these affect learning. This means the teacher must be equipped with appropriate psychological theories and techniques to help him to understand the learner and meet him at the point of need in the classroom.  
The learner is a key element in education psychology because every activity in the classroom focuses on the learner but not the teacher eg.
  • Selection of the content 
  • Selection of the learning activities 
  • Methods of learning 
  • Resources 
  • What are the individual learning needs. 

2. Learning process 

It entails changing the behaviours of learners as they interact with the content. Education psychology helps the teacher to learn how the students think and process the contents with a view to use it in a problem solving. Knowledge of education psychology helps the teacher to identify problems that interfere with the learning process and can develop an appropriate intervention to promote learning and enhance performance. 

3. The subject matter/content

The subject matter refers to the body of knowledge that is shared to the learners in the classroom. The teacher uses knowledge of education psychology to select, organise, and present the contents from simple to complex in a clear logical sequence. The teacher also uses the knowledge of educational psychology to develop effective techniques to assess how much learning has occurred 

4. The learning Environment 

This refers to the surrounding in which the learner find himself in the teaching and learning process. This environment is school  classroom. In order to enhance learning, the classroom must have necessary facilities to make it safe and comfortable for the learner to interact with the content. Eg.adequate size,free from noise,well ventilated etc.

5. Social climate

This refers to the interactions taking place between the teacher and the learner and also among learners. A cordial social climate enhances learning while a hostile one inhibits learning eg. Trust,Fairness, just,avoid bullying etc.





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