Contributed by:
The role of educational psychology in the teaching process
1.
People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
University of Mohamed Khieder-Biskra
Faculty of Letters and Languages
Department of Foreign Languages
Division of English
The Role of Educational Psychology in the Teaching Process
within an EFL Classroom:
Case study of Third Year LMD students-University of Biskra
Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the
Master Degree in English
Option: Science of Languages.
Submitted by: Supervised by:
Moufida BOUAFFAR Mrs. Iman GUETTEL
Members of the Jury:
Houadjly Ahmed Chaouki
Bencherf Sakina
June 2012
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Educational psychology is the branch of psychology focused on the development of
effective teaching techniques and the assessment of learners’ aptitudes and progress. In
another words, educational psychology is the study of the behavior, social, ethical, and
cognitive development of students during their growth from children to adult learners.
Educational psychologists develop and apply theories of teaching, learning, and human
development to determine the most effective ways for educators to teach students.
The present research is an investigation on the role of educational psychology in the
teaching process (EFL). The intention of this work is to carry out the strategies, techniques,
and methods that are improving and developing the strategies of teaching. The aim of this
study is to investigate to what extent educational psychology helps teachers for achieving
the objectives of teaching and increasing their efficiency.
1. The statement of the problem:
Nowadays, we observe a huge distance between teachers and students. The cause of this
distance is the lack of teachers’ knowledge about the educational psychology and its values
in teaching. Some teachers face different problems in their profession such as; their
interaction with students, presentations of courses, attitudes, the students’ needs, and the
way they control and manage the classroom. This occurs because they do not know or
follow the methods, techniques, and strategies which are provided by educational
As teachers, they might understand the individual differences of students regarding
their ability, interests, attitudes and needs at different levels of growth and development.
The teacher needs to know and to understand better the ways in which the learners learn
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and the appropriate principles of the teaching-learning and the different approaches to
teaching for better result of teaching-learning process. Teachers need to know how
educational psychology can help them to solve and to cope these challenges. The problem
that is raised in this research is how educational psychology helps teachers of EFL
classrooms in the teaching process.
2. Research Questions:
Our research seeks to answer the following questions:
• What are the main theories and strategies of educational psychology that are
relevant to the teaching process?
• How do these theories and strategies help teachers in the teaching EFL classroom?
3. Hypothesis:
We hypothesize that Educational psychology can provide the teaching process with
theories, concepts, and recent development in psychology that may help teachers to
understand better the learning process. It can also provide effective strategies and
techniques to put these theories in practice within classroom context.
4. The aim of the study:
Our aim in this research is to shed light on the role of educational psychology in the
teaching process and to make teachers and students acknowledgeable with the theories and
strategies that are provided by educational psychology to develop teaching and to
understand learning. The main objective of our study is to determine the effective
strategies, techniques, and methods that can help teachers of EFL classroom. That is to say,
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we want to show the real contribution of educational psychology for helping and
increasing the efficiency of teaching.
5. The significance of the study:
Educational psychology is an extremely interesting field (Getting an Educational
Psychology). This research will focus on the importance of Educational psychology in the
teaching process within an EFL classroom. In this work, we are going to investigate how
educational psychology provides and develops strategies and techniques that are
responsible for developing the teaching process. This research may benefit teachers of
psycho- pedagogy and others modules and it might help them to know the different
strategies and styles of teaching for increasing the teaching efficiency and developing the
learning process. In educational psychology, the student learns about how other students
learn, and in turn will learn about how they themselves learn. Students will also learn about
the different teaching strategies to help with different types of learning styles and the
psychology of school in general (Getting an Educational Psychology). Our aim in this
research is to show to the teacher that the knowledge of these theories and strategies is not
sufficient, but the most important is how to use them.
6. Research methodology:
Choice of the method:
This research will be conducted through the descriptive method. The descriptive
method is a way of exploring and describing real-life situations by providing the
information of the elements as they occur. (Bakkai 3)
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In the context of our research study, this method seems to be the appropriate once as we
tend to present the different methods strategies of teaching and to describe their real life
application within an EFL class.
Population of the study:
The participants of the study will be all teachers of psycho-pedagogy and some teachers
of other modules of English department at Biskra University. As we tend to explore their
views to subject matter and other subjects to check their degree of awareness about the
main principles of psychopedagogy.
In addition to the teachers, we have the students of third year LMD in the department
of English in which we choose randomly sixty students to submit them the questionnaire.
The main reason for this choice is that the students of 3rd year are supposed to be the most
suitable population to check their degree of awareness towards the importance of teaching
psycho-pedagogy and its implementations’ theories by the teachers. They have been
introduced to the module and awarded about the relationship between them and their
Data Gathering Tools:
A long the present study, we will adopt two main research tools; a questionnaire and an
interview. A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions for
the purpose of gathering information and data from respondents then evaluating them. In
this study, we would make a questionnaire and an interview with all teachers of psycho-
pedagogy and other teachers of different modules to investigate their views on the role of
educational psychology during the years of teaching and observation of learners’ needs and
difficulties. Students’ questionnaire would be directed to third year LMD students in the
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department of English at the University of Biskra. It aims at investigating the students’
attitudes towards the module of psycho-pedagogy and its values.
7. structure of the dissertation:
The present research is basically divided into two parts. The first part is devoted to the
literature review and the second part is concerned with the field work.
Part one includes two main chapters. Chapter one is a glimpse of the history of
educational psychology and its approaches to the teaching process. It tends to investigate
the methods, models, strategies, and techniques of teaching that are offered by educational
psychology. Chapter two describes the relationship between Psychopedagogy as a
discipline and the recent context of the teaching process including the implementations of
those theories and strategies in teaching an EFL classroom.
Part two includes the field work .It presents the analysis of the teachers’ interview and
the students’ questionnaire results.
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Chapter one:
An Introduction to the Educational Psychology
Educational psychology has developed through several periods of time which differ
from each other. The roots of educational psychology are emerged from the era of ancient
Greek philosophers and develop through times to become a more interesting field in
Education. Through the changes of educational psychology, several theories and
approaches emerged and studied different issues that have relationships with education as
well as psychology. Each one of these approaches and theories has a different point of
view on the teaching-learning process.
In this chapter, we try to make a glimpse to the development of educational psychology
and its approaches. First, we have to make an investigation on the historical background of
educational psychology in short, and then to expose the important approaches of
educational psychology.
1. Historical background of Educational Psychology:
The field of educational psychology has a long and prestigious history; it started
with the ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle. Now, educational psychology
is developed to discuss the best methods and strategies of teaching and other issues
concerning the learning process such as the relationship between a student and a teacher,
and the nature of learning. (Educational psychology-History)
In the Sixteenth-century, the Spanish philosopher Juan Luis Vives emphasized on the
need of adapting teaching methods according to the students’ levels and needs.
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Additionally, He also believed that the use of self-comparison assessment methods is better
than competition, to evaluate the students’ work.
In the1600s, the Czech theologian and educator Johan Amos Comenius, was the first to
introduce visual aids in the classroom. He claimed that understanding is the goal of
teaching not memorization. The 1700s is distinguished with several European philosophers
such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Johann Friedrich Herbart, and Friedrich Wilhelm August
Froebel. They focused on the value of activity, prior experience of students, and interest.
All these ideas are consistent with current work in educational psychology. (Educational
In the 1890s, the philosopher William James wrote the textbook principles of
psychology then he provided American education psychology with a series of lectures for
educators given around the country called “Talks to Teachers about Psychology” which
was about the application of psychology in education. He supported the idea that stress on
the importance of observing teaching and learning in classroom for improving education.
His methods seem to have taken effect: James’ student, G. Stanley Hall, founded the
American Psychological Association. Hall wrote prolifically about children and
adolescents, encouraging teachers to keep careful records of the academic development of
their students. (Educational psychology-History)
John Dewey, the student of Hall, is considered to be the father of the progressive
education movement. Edward Lee Thorndike was also one of Jame’s students and went on
to start the Journal of Educational Psychology in 1910(Reynolds and Miller 3).Thorndike
wrote the first textbook on educational psychology at the turn of the twentieth century. For
the first half of the century, educational development and psychology remained closely
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tied, as evidenced by the contributions to education supplied by renowned psychologists
Jean Piaget, Alfred Binet, and Benjamin Bloom. (Educational psychology-History)
In the 1960s, modern educational psychology was distinguished with the contributions
of Jerome Bruner and David Ausubel. Jerome Bruner emphasized on the research into
inductive reasoning and discovery learning, but Ausubel disagreed because he emphasized
that the learning process must occur deductively. (Educational psychology-History)
In the contemporary study of educational psychology we found three views which are:
Cognitivism, Behaviorism, and Constructivism. Cognitive psychologists look at the
learning as a result of mental operations and the focus is not on behavior or behavior
change, but on the mental process. Behaviorism is an approach which was developed by B.
F.Skinner. It sees learning as the information of habits. Environment factors are seen as
more important than the student’s mental, internal factors. (The positive approach:
Finally, constructivism is a category of learning theory in which emphasis is placed on
the agency and prior "knowing" and experience of the learner, and often on the social and
cultural determinants of the learning process (Educational psychology : constructivist
perspective).According to the constructivist view in educational psychology, the
knowledge cannot simply be given to students by teachers. Students must construct
knowledge in their own minds.
2. Educational psychology:
Educational psychology is one of the most exciting fast growing and dynamic field in
psychology today. As Marcia defined “It is the branch of psychology focused on the
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development of effective teaching techniques and assessment of learners’ aptitudes and
progress”. (Educational psychology)
Educational psychology is also defined by Kaplan (1990) “as the application of
psychology to education by focusing on the development, evaluation and application of
theories and principles of learning and instruction that can enhance lifelong learning.” (qtd
in Williams and Burden 6). It is the application of the principles and concepts of
psychology in the different issues of education such as the development of teaching ,
learning , motivation , instruction , assessment , and others topics which are concerned
with the teaching and learning process.
3. Approaches to Educational Psychology:
Educational psychology has passed through a number of changes which made a
contribution to the development of this field .From these changes, several approaches are
emerged, those which are concerned with educational psychology and its issues. The most
famous approaches to educational psychology are Behaviorism, Cognitive psychology, and
Humanism, and each one of these approaches tackles the scope of educational psychology
in a different way, according to its point of view and its principles. However these
approaches are different, they have the same aim in mind which is to help persons to reach
their possible achievements, efforts, and capacities to develop their levels. (Eloff and
Ebersộhn 388)
3.1. The positivism:
Psychology is grown out of philosophy which is relied on abstract sciences. Its early
pioneers neglect the focus on human mental and try to emphasize on the human behavior
with “scientific method”. Logical behaviorism is focusing on an experiment which is one
of the principles of this approach. This approach believed that knowledge and facts which
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existed in the real world can be discovered by the experiment in which has a certain
conditions and where hypotheses are tested. (The positivist approach: Behaviorism)
3.2. Behaviorism
Behaviorism is one of the approaches of psychology which is emerged from the
positivism. This approach is concerned with the role of learning in human behaviors. Also
it is a theory of learning which claimed that the learner acquired the behavior through
conditioning. This approach is developed by famous psychologists such as John B. Watson
and B.F. Skinner, Thorndike, Pavlov. Behaviorism is dominated for a half from the
twentieth century and its principles and techniques are still applied to help humans learn
new skills and behaviors (Cherry).
The Russian Pavlov who dealt with dogs in his study proposed that a certain response is
generated by a certain stimulus at the same time which is known as S-R (Stimulus-
Response) theory or classical conditioning (Williams and Burden 8).Watson was so
influenced by classical conditioning as he said that he could make from a group of adults
whatever of types he wants. He proposed that wrong behavior was the result of wrong
learning rather than ego defence, and that it could be changed by reconditioning. He also
emphasized on the role of environment in the development of behavior.
Skinner and Thorndike were the first to create the phrase ‘Operant Conditioning’ or the
idea that behaviors are controlled by the consequences that follow them. “Thorndike laid
the foundations for the formulation of the ‘Law of effect’: a living organism will increase
behaviors that are followed by positive results, and vice versa-behaviors that are followed
by negative results will be decreased”. (Eloff and Ebersộhn 394)
Skinner claimed that the learning was the result of environmental rather than genetic
factors. He also emphasized the importance of reinforcement. Skinner believes that
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positive reinforcing behavior is an effective way to improve and create a new desired
behavior (395). Behaviorist theory thus came to explain learning in terms of operant
conditioning (Williams and Burden 9). Classical conditioning is linked to the idea of
developing involuntary behaviors, while operant conditioning refers to voluntary
behaviors” (Eloff and Ebersộhn 394). According to Sue et al, behavior is based on classical
conditioning which is controlled by stimuli, in operant conditioning reinforcement control
behaviors (qtd in Ellof and Eberộhn 394-395).
Behaviorism in its focus on the observable behavior neglects the role of the learners to
create their worlds and the importance of mental processes in the learning process
(Williams and Burden 13). In addition, this approach relies on the work with animals much
more than human being. (Eloff and Ebersộhn 395)
However behaviorism denied the importance of the mind, it had a vital influence on
education and teaching process. According to Stephen Brookfield, who is a leading adult
education theorist, when he wrote in Understanding and Facilitating Adult Learning:
[Behaviorism] is seen most prominently in contexts where the objectives to be
attained are unambiguous, where their attainment can be judged according to
commonly agreed upon criteria of successful performance, and where a clear
imbalance exists between teachers' and learners' areas of expertise. Examples
might be learning to give an injection, learning a computer program, learning
accountancy procedures, learning to swim, or learning to operate a sophisticated
machine. . . these examples are all located primarily in the domain of task-
oriented, instrumental learning, and it is this domain that fits most easily with the
behaviorist approach. (qtd in Marcia)
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3.3. Cognitivism:
Unlike behaviorism, cognitivism is focusing on the mental process behind the human
behavior. The cognitive approach emphasizes on the mental process of learning which
contained how human create and store knowledge and memories in the mind then the
process in which people become involved in the learning process (Williams and Burden
13). Cognitivism concentrates on the internal states, such as motivation, memory, problem
solving, decision-making, thinking, attention, and what is going on the learner’s mind.
There are two main schools of cognitive learning psychology which are the Information
Processing approach and Cognitive Constructivism. Each one of these approaches has its
point of view on the learning process. The first concentrates on how the information is
perceived by the senses then stored and used by the brain .The second is concerned with
the idea of constructing knowledge by the mind.
Information processing:
This approach is focusing on how the information is stored in memory and how is
produced again by the human. In other words, “How does the human mind work? What
happens when someone learns or when someone solves problem? According to the
information processing view, the human mind works by forming mental representations
and applying cognitive processes to them” (Reynolds and Miller 47). The theorists of
information processing were focused in their work on factors which affected the mind such
as attention, perception, and memory (Williams and Burden 15). The Information
Processing Model has three major components of memory which are Sensory registers,
Short- term memory, and long-term memory.
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Sensory registers: short memories which concerned the senses at the level of perception.
Short-term memory: is also called working memory and it concerned what we are
thinking about at any given moment in time. In other words, it is “where coded information
is temporarily stored so that it can be immediately recalled and used.”(Eloff and Ebersộhn
Long-term memory: it is where a large number of knowledge and information are stored
for a long period of time. (Reynolds and Miller 51)
Here an example of how we can use the Information Processing approaches in the
teaching process and the classroom.
Using the Information Processing Approach in the Classroom
principle Example
1. Gain the students’ • Use cues to signal when you are ready to begin.
attention. • Move around the room and use voice inflections.
2. Bring to mind relevant • Review previous day’s lesson.
prior learning. • Have a discussion about previously covered content.
3. Point out the important • Provide handouts.
information. • Write on the board.
4. Present information in an • Show a logical sequence to concepts and skills.
organized manner. • Go from simple to complex when presenting new
material.
5. Show students how to • Present information in categories.
categorize (chunk) related • Teach inductive reasoning.
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6. Provide opportunities for • Connect new information to something already
students to elaborate on known.
new information. • Look for similarities and differences among
concepts.
7. Show students how to • Make up silly sentence with first letter of each word
use coding when on the list.
memorizing lists. • Use mental imagery techniques such as the keyword
method.
8. Provide for repetition of • State important principles several times in different
learning. ways during presentation of information (STM).
• Have items on each day’s lesson from previous
lesson (LTM).
• Schedule periodic review of previous learned
concepts and skills (LTM).
9. Provide opportunities for • Use daily drill for arithmetic facts.
over learning of • Play form of trivial purist with content related to
fundamental concepts and class.
Table.1: The use of the Information Processing approach in the classroom. (Huit, W)
According to this example, teachers can use the Information processing in their
classrooms to help them in the teaching process. So, the information process is an
important model which the teachers can follow to make their teaching efficient and
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Constructivism:
Constructivism is derived from the cognitive approach with some differences and
progress. According to the constructivist psychology the learners do not just absorb and
store the information as a machine, but they must construct knowledge in their own minds
(Marcia).This claims that the teacher can facilitate and explain the learning process by
using a meaningful information which is acknowledgeable to the students and to give them
the opportunities to discover and create their own ideas. The main goal of the
constructivism is to make the learners able to discover new information and apply it when
they need it. (Cognitive learning Theories: constructivist Approaches -class lecture)
The famous psychologist in this approach was the Swiss Jean Piaget. He focused on the
constructive nature of the learning process and on the idea which claimed that the learner is
involved from the birth to construct his own meaning and knowledge (Williams and
Burden 21).
Piaget considers the cognitive development as a process of maturation, which is “the
unfolding of the biological changes that are genetically programmed.”(Woolfwolk-Hoy 31)
Piaget claimed that the cognitive development is influenced by the interaction with the
environment “social transmission” or other persons. The amounts of people who can read
from the social context are depending on the cognitive development degree, so both of
maturation and social transmission influence the cognitive development. (32)
In his study in biology, Piaget stated that human born with two tendencies which are
Organization and Adaptation. The first means that the human born with innate ability to
organize the thinking process in psychological structures which are named by Piaget
“Schemes” (Woolfwolk-Hoy 32).Schemes are cognitive patterns of information which are
used by individuals to explain, interpret, encode, and respond to a difficult tasks and hard
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experiences(Salkind 864). The second, adaptation; means that people also has the
tendency to be adapted to their environment. It includes two elements: assimilation which
means that “Fitting new information into existing schemes” and accommodation which
means that “Altering existing schemes or creating new ones in response to new
information” (Woolfwolk-Hoy 32).
In Piaget’s theory, Equilibration was the primary developmental mechanisms which is
defined “Equilibration pertains to restoring the balance between two competing tendencies
in the mind: assimilation and accommodation” (Salkind 350)
Piaget claimed that the young people pass through four stages as they develop: are
sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete-operational, and formal operational. He is starting
with the sensorimotor stage when the child interacts with the real world in more
sophisticated ways. This stage involves seeing, hearing, moving, touching, and tasting. The
next stage is the Preoperational stage, when the memory and imagination are developed.
According to Piaget, this stage is distinguished by using symbols and intuition (qtd in Eloff
and Ebersộhn 400). Piaget used the term Operation to refer to internalized actions, in other
words is to make these actions a part from the children’s imaginations (Williams and
Burden 22). In the preoperational stage, reversible thinking is involved in many tasks
which are difficult to the child, such as the conservation of matter. (Woolfwolk-Hoy 35)
The Concrete Operational stage is concerning the concrete issues when the child can
understand the changes or transformations of the concrete objects. Piaget considers the
child in this stage to master the conservation of numbers (Eloff and Ebersộhn 400) which
is “an important milestone that reached when a shift in cognitive thinking occurs” (Salkind
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Finally, there is a move into Formal Operational stage which is distinguished by the
ability of learners to function and to think logically about abstract concepts. (Eloff and
Ebersộhn 400)
As a cognitive development psychologist, Piaget has a little implication for educators.
However, his common interpretations are interesting for some teacher-training:
First, it became popular in some teacher-training establishments to
interpret Piaget’s views on maturation and personal experience as indicating
that there is no place for direct instruction in teaching…While this kind of
interpretation had the positive effect of encouraging teachers to place more
emphasis upon their classroom as environments in which experiential
learning could take place, it also meant that many teachers of young children,
in particular, became insecure as to what an appropriate role might be for
them beyond this.(Williams and Burden 23-24)
According to this quotation, Piaget has a little impact on the teacher-training by his
views on maturation and personal experience. According to Lawton and Hooper, Piaget
with his theory of cognitive development made revolutionary changes in the preschool and
elementary school curriculum practices and it was a dominant learning theory in
educational psychology. (Zimmerman and Schunk 251-252)
The Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky is another pioneer of constructivism who
believes that the effective learning was enhanced by collaborative social interaction and
communication (Westwood 3), in other words; it means that to share the thoughts and
knowledge with other person that is more knowledgeable and skillful. This person is
known as a mediator in which his role is to guide the learner in the learning process and
helping them to pass to another level of knowledge and understanding (Williams and
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Burden 40). Vygotsky’s view about the role of social interaction on the learning was
termed “social constructivism” to distinguish it from the cognitive constructivism view of
Piaget. (qtd in Westwood 3)
Vygotsky claimed that the purpose of education is to improve and develop the child’s
cognitive processes (Salkind 1012). The most known concept in his point of view is the
Zone of Proximal development. Eloff and Ebersộhn comment on Vygotsky’s concept
saying that “ his notion concerning the Zone of proximal development, or the specific
learning phase in which a learner can benefit from assistance or help, is widely accepted
and respected as are his views in scaffolding , ”(401).Vygotsky in his book Mind in
Society: The development of higher psychological process defined the ZPD as “the
distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem
solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving
under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peer”(qtd in Salkind 1017).
Vygotsky made an important contribution to education, especially the ZPD concept.
Jerome Bruner was another psychologist who deals with the thoughts of
constructivism. The main theme in his theory was about the concept of learning which he
claimed that “learning is a process in which the learner is able to build on present and
previous information.” and he also believed that the student has the ability to take
information and create new thoughts then use them in the appropriate way. Bruner believed
that the role of the teacher is to help the students to improve their skills and knowledge by
themselves and to simplify the information which was comprehended and
acknowledgeable by them. (Wiki books 10)
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o A constructivist view of teaching:
Constructivism claimed that the ways of teaching are different and no one right or wrong.
Constructivist approach helps teachers in the teaching process by given them some
suggestions how to teach as Von Glasersfeld said:
Constructivism cannot tell teachers new things to do, but it may suggest why
certain attitudes and procedures are counter-productive, and it may point out
opportunities for teachers to use their own spontaneous imagination. (qtd in
Williams and Burden 51)
Researchers as Louden discussed the role of teacher and what do teachers bring to the
teaching-learning process? Louden also discussed the struggle of the teacher when he tried
to establish professional competence. Louden summarized his point of view in these
From a practitioner’s perspective…teaching is a struggle to discover and
maintain a settled practice, a set of routines and patterns of action which
resolve the problems posed by particular subjects and groups of children.
These patterns, content and resolutions to familiar classroom problems are
shaped by each teacher’s biography and professional experience. The
meaning of these patterns of action only becomes clear when they are set in
the context of a teacher’s personal and professional history, her hopes and
dreams for teaching, and the school in which she works.(qtd in Williams
and Burden 52)
Louden believes that teachers need to pay attention to the meaning, and that teachers must
use the physical environment of their classroom, the syllabus, activities, and to move in
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harmony with their understanding of those concepts and meanings. (Williams and Burden
Constructive approach to teaching focuses on the idea of the variety between teachers
and their ways of teaching. This approach considered both of the content and the way of
teaching are important parts in the personality of the teacher. Constructivism emphasized
on the teacher to be more self-aware “…to become more self-aware with regard to their
beliefs and the ways in which they make sense of the world, particularly with regard to
their views about education and how those views themselves come to be shaped.”
(Williams and Burden 53). At the same time, the teacher must be aware because their
words, their actions, and their interactions are being judged by their learners. The most
important in the constructive approach is that teachers’ awareness of their beliefs and
views of the world which make them a reflective practitioner. (53)
3.4. Humanism:
Humanism focuses on the individual growth and development of the inner world of the
learner. This approach begins with the theory that learning occurs primarily by the
interaction and reflection on the personal experiences of the human (Marcia). Humanism
study the human’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions which are difficult issues. In the point
of view of humanistic psychology, the role of the instructor is to make a connection
between the learner’s insights and his experience and the learner or human has the
responsibility to choose because he is not a machine to control. (Eloff and Ebersộhn 398)
The most well-known humanistic psychologists in humanism are Erik Erikson,
Abraham Maslow, and Carl Rogers. Erikson’s theory of psychological development has
been an important use for educators and teachers. It provides teachers with a point of view
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on the development of the child for more than 50years (Salkind 352). The important of
Erikson’s theory may be summarized in the following quotation:
. . . it provides a life-span view of psychology which helps us to recognize
learning and development as lifelong, rather than restricted to a particular
phase of one’s life. At the same time, by focusing on important tasks at
different stages of a person’s life, it enables us to see that real-life learning
involves challenges which often require a particular kind of help from others
who are in the position of providing this help, if we are to meet them
successfully. It also presents learning as a cumulative process whereby our
resolution of one set of life tasks will have a profound influence upon how
we deal with subsequent tasks. In addition, education is viewed as involving
the whole person, the emotions and feelings; it does not involve merely
transmitting pieces of knowledge. (Williams and Burden 33)
Abraham Harold Maslow’s theory about the human motivation suggested that the
human being has a number of needs that can be arranged in a hierarchy (Salkind 633).
Maslow divided this needs into two parts, deficiency needs and being needs. The first is
concerned with the person’s psychological and physiological requirements. It includes
need for self-esteem, interpersonal closeness, belongingness and love needs, safety and
security, and physiological needs such as food, water, sleep and the absence of pain
(Williams and Burden 33).The second, being needs , is concerned with the fulfillment of
individual potential, as Williams and Burden said “These are related to the fulfillment of
individual potential, in terms of cognitive and aesthetic development and the attainment of
self-actualisation(realizing one’s full potential).”(34). Maslow was stressed on the self-
actualisation which is “the need to develop one’s common potential and unique talent at
the highest possible level of growth and achievement.”(Salkind 634). He emphasized to
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make it at the highest in the hierarchy because it will impede when the lower order needs
are not satisfied (Eloff and Ebersộhn 398).
Here is a figure which presents Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs. This figure
summarizes the two distinctive categories of needs, deficiency needs and being needs.
self-
Actualisati
on
Aesthetic
Needs
Cognitive Needs
Need for self-esteem
Need for inter personal closeness
Need for safety and security
Basic physiological needs
Figure 01: Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs (Williams and Burden 34).
Maslow’s idea about human needs helps teachers to know the difficulties which cope
the children when they are missing the basic needs inside or outside the home. Maslow
shows teachers the importance of the secure environment in the learning and how the
encouragement of thinking and creativity by the teacher can help students to improve
themselves. He also focuses on the kind of activities which must encourage curiosity for
make the learners reach their full potential. (Williams and Burden 35)
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Carl Rogers is an important psychologist in the humanistic approach .He provided this
approach with a number of ideas which concern the scope of education. Rogers suggested
that humans have a natural potential for learning and this process will take place just when
the subject has a personal relevance to the learner and when the learner was an active
participant. Rogers stated “Learning which is self-initiated and which involves feelings as
well as cognition is most likely to be lasting and pervasive.”, he also claimed that the most
important learning is learning about the process of learning itself and it would be better
when it takes place in an atmosphere of ‘unconditional positive regard’(Williams and
Burden 35). This learning in such condition can make a good relationship between teacher
and learner and it permit to the teacher to convey kindness and empathy to his learners for
make them trust on him. (36)
This approach helps teachers and learners in the teaching-learning process. It holds that
the teachers must be different to meet the individual learner s’ needs. At the same time,
teachers should help, encourage, and guide learners to choose the best ways in learning.
The knowledge of teachers to their learners as individuals is an important to understand
and know the appropriate way to help them to realize themselves , this what Hamachek
means in his sentence “Humanistic education starts with the idea that students are different,
and it strives to help students become more like themselves and less like each other.”(qtd
in Williams and Burden 36)
In this chapter we started with an overview to educational psychology, and then
presented its major approaches. We began with the positivism which is the roots of the
behaviorist approach. This was followed by a survey on the cognitivism which includes the
Information processing and constructivist approach. We then considered the constructivist
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views on teaching. Finally, we moved to the Humanism approach and its contribution to
According to the history of educational psychology we can notice the great contribution
which is made by its various approaches and theories. Those approaches and theories help
the teachers to be able to understand, predict, and control the students’ behavior and
facilitate the choices of teaching. It also helps the teachers to understand the differences of
the students and how to deal with them. However, those approaches and theories are
different. They have the same aim in mind which is the explanation of human behavior and
its development.
To sum up, those approaches have a great contribution to the teaching-learning process
and education in general. The teachers should know those theories and approaches, and
their application to reach the goals of education and the teaching-learning process. He also
should be a master in educational psychology to deal with a complex educational situation.
If the teacher has not knowledge of the theories of educational psychology and the
appropriate manner of apply them, he never could be an effective teacher.
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Chapter two: Teaching Psychopedagogy and Its Relationship with both
Teaching Methods and Education
Introduction:
In this chapter, the focus is first on issues related to the effective teaching process: the
effective teaching strategies and techniques which are used by teachers in EFL classroom;
second on the importance of the module of psychopedagogy and the role of both teacher in
teaching it and learner in receiving input, and finally on the relationship between
psychology and different issues in education, and the role of using technology in teaching.
1. Effective teaching Methods and Strategies:
Teaching methods and strategies are the ways which are used by the teachers in
teaching, in other words; they are the procedures, processes, and tools used to assist the
teacher to teach. Those methods and strategies are used for a particular lesson. They
depend on many factors such as the students’ characteristics, what they need to know to
succeed with the lesson, the learning tasks, the subject-matter content, the objectives of the
lesson, the physical setting, and the knowledge and skills of the teacher (Salkind 963).
There are a lot of methods and strategies, but the most important are Instruction-centered
and Student-centered teaching strategies. Miller believes that in instructed-centered
teaching strategies, the teacher plays an active role and he has the authority to control the
learning process, while in student-centered teaching strategies the teacher plays several
roles as guide, observer, facilitator, or even mediator in the learning process. Student-
centered teaching strategies have a similar planning and instructions like instruction-
centered teaching strategies, but less control and dominance in the learning process. (qtd in
Salkind 964-965)
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1.1. Instructor-centered teaching strategies:
According to Miller, instructor-centered teaching strategies include four types which are
expository teaching strategies, interactive-expository teaching strategies, modeling, and
direct instruction. (qtd in Salkind 965)
1.1.1. Expository teaching strategies:
In these strategies, the teacher used the verbal instructions to guide the students in the
learning process. It contains the traditional lecture method or smaller, mini-
lecture/presentations (Salkind 965). Lecture is an appropriate method when it gives
important and new information to the students, and it is suitable for the secondary and
university level because in this level the learners have “the necessary study skills,
motivation, attention span and self-management to be able to benefit from this approach”.
Unlike the lecture, mini-lecture is appropriate for the students of secondary schools.
(Westwood 18)
1.1.2. Interactive-Expository teaching strategies:
Interactive-expository teaching strategies are similar to the expository teaching
strategies with additional elements that are included in the lesson such as interactive
questioning, modeling, and high levels of students responding. (Salkind 965)
In interactive-expository teaching strategies, students are encouraged to participate in
the lessons through dialogues that are more interesting than a traditional lecture and the
teachers can push them in these dialogues. According to Miller, students could make
dialogues by:
Discussing topics with their peers.
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Writing responses.
Posing questions.
Completing graphic organizers.
Constructing semantic maps.
Paraphrasing content presented.(qtd in Salkind 965-966)
The teachers control the students’ dialogues to make the students understand better and
to co-constructing their knowledge through the conversation of the dialogues. The
teacher’s role also is to ask question and give comments on the students’ responses to
realize the objectives of learning (Salkind 965-966). Interactive-expository strategies may
help the teacher in some cases, but not all of them because sometimes we need to the
students the opportunity to choose the appropriate strategy for them.
1.1.3. Modeling:
It is another strategy .The teacher modeling a task, a procedure, or a research paper to
explain or illustrate the learning process. It includes short verbal explanations on the ways
and the purpose of the tasks (Salkind 966). Teachers should select the appropriate model to
fit the goals of the teaching process because the wrong choice will make bad results on the
teaching-learning process.
1.1.4. Direct Instruction:
Direct instruction is one of the Instructor-centered teaching strategies. Miller defined it
as important strategy that includes identical group instructions, students’ responses,
teachers’ feedback and correction, sequenced lessons, and instructor scaffolding. This
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strategy may help students to master new concepts and to improve their levels directly.
(qtd in Salkind 966)
In direct instruction, the teachers introduce new skills, knowledge, and concepts to their
students through clear direct instructions. They continually check and assess the students’
understand of this new information and knowledge by asking clear questions about each
lesson. The students’ responses on the questions allow the teacher to evaluate and to give
feedback to each answer (Salkind 966). The choral responding by the group is more
effective than the individual answers because it motivates and raises the participation of
the students. (Westwood 12)
Direct instruction is not an easy strategy to apply in the classroom. It needs hard efforts
by the teachers and the students.
1.2.Student-Centered Teaching Strategies:
Student-centered teaching strategies are based on constructivist views of learning
(Westwood 27). In these strategies, the teacher will be indirectly given the instructions
because the focus will be on the student. These strategies allow the student to be more
effective in acquiring knowledge, skill and strategies. According to Westwood, It is also
appropriate when reaching the teaching objectives of the lessons “acquisition of
independent study skills, greater student autonomy, working collaboratively with others,
the construction of knowledge from firsthand experience, and the application of basic
academic skills for authentic purposes.”(26-27)
In these strategies, we will discuss the important strategies that are peer learning groups
and inquiry, discovery, and problem-based strategies.
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1.2.1. Peer learning Groups:
Teachers use student groups as a teaching strategy. Those groups can take different
forms, homogeneous and heterogeneous groups. Homogeneous groups include students
with similar characteristics and interests, however; heterogeneous comprise students with
different characteristics and interests. Skill groups are homogeneous groups, which
determine the students’ levels and understand to a particular subject (Salkind 967).
According to Miller this strategy is very important for match the students’ specific
capabilities and the other students “Skills grouping is a teaching strategy that can be used
with struggling as well as with highly capable students.”(qtd in Salkind 967)
In heterogeneous groups, cooperative learning groups is the most popular strategy used
by teachers. As Miller believes, Cooperative learning groups is a successful teaching
strategy in which comprises students with different levels of ability, use variety of learning
activities to improve their understanding of the subject matter. Each member of the group
is responsible not only for what is learned, but also for helping the other members (967).
Cooperative learning groups provide each member with opportunity to participate and
make his decisions in the group. It also encourages the skills of cooperation and
negotiation. Face-to-face learning promotes an atmosphere of cooperation and empathy
between the students.
1.2.2. Inquiry, Discovery, and Problem-Based strategies:
Teaching strategies for inquiry, discovery, and problem-based learning are concerned
with the role of the teachers to facilitate the student curiosity and interest about the subjects
of learning. This strategy encourages students to explore, study, and research in the topics
of the learning process themselves with the help of the teacher, of course, and find solution
for their problems. The teacher, here, helps the students by:
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• Providing guidance.
• Asking questions.
• Directing students to information and resources.
• Providing social skills support.
With less number of students, teachers need to work hard for giving more instructions
and guidance in every stage of the lesson. (Salkind 967)
2. Teaching Techniques:
These techniques are different and vary in terms of many factors. Teachers use those
techniques depending on the students’ needs, their styles of learning, their personalities,
and the subjects of learning. Furthermore, the choice of the appropriate teaching techniques
is determined by the right choice of the teachers, so they are responsible for the use of the
suitable techniques.
Here, we try to select some of those teaching techniques that they may be used by the
teachers in their classroom.
2.1.Lecture:
It is one of the teaching techniques that are used by teachers, especially teachers of
university. Lecture may help teachers to reach some the objectives of teaching. We try to
summarize those benefits in the following points:
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• Introducing and providing an overview on new topics.
• Raising interest and issues that can appear later.
• Bringing students up to date with recent information that is not readily available
through other media.
• Presenting information in a quick and concise way for facilitate it to the students.
• Providing an opportunity for review and discover of course material.
Figure 01: Purposes of lecture technique adopted from Westwood (19).
According to Good and Brophy (2008), the efficient lecture can motivate and challenge
students’ thinking, and discuss new topics and issues that would appear in their way of
learning. (qtd in Westwood 19)
2.2. Discussion:
Discussion is an excellent way to urge the students to think and analyze issues in the
learning. The students should interact with each other to solve problems and find
explanations for new issues that are emerged later. Discussion technique allows students to
share their thoughts and point of views with each other and with the teachers. This
technique may also help teachers to facilitate and convey the information easily.
2.3. Debates:
Debates also are a useful technique which can engage students in their learning and
urge them to deal with complexity of the leaning topics and new issues. Debates can
improve students’ oral communication skills.
2.4. Role playing:
Role playing and simulation in class can be an effective technique to enhance students
in the learning process. Role playing engages students to the real world by introducing
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problems and trying to solve them, it provides opportunities to the students to play
different roles of others which help them to explain and solve the difficult issues. Role
playing also can provide students with opportunities to practice and improve their skills.
2.5. Peer tutoring and peer assistance:
This technique can help students to understand and construct new knowledge by the
assistance of each other. Peer tutoring makes a good relationship among the students and
also build a satisfied atmosphere in the classroom. The instructors such as McMaster et al
supported the use of peer tutoring in the classroom to achieve the learning outcomes (qtd in
Westwood 70)
Those are some of the different techniques that can be used in teaching in addition to
other techniques such as using visual aids and graphics, illustrating with images, and using
games and quiz. Teachers must be careful when they choose any technique because every
technique is suitable for specific situation and context.
3. The development of Teaching:
Teaching is different from what was in the past. It has many changes which affected the
teaching learning process. These changes have affected the ways, skill, methods, attitudes,
and style of teaching in which made new challenges and difficulties to the teachers and the
teaching process. Four trends have emerged from these changes in teaching which are:
increased diversity, increased instructional technology, greater accountability in education,
and increased professionalism of teachers. (Seifert and Sutton 10)
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3.1. Increased Diversity:
Diversity in the classroom means the diversity of the students. This means the diversity
in their ways of learning, thinking, behaving, and acquiring knowledge. It also includes the
variety of their levels, background, language, and personality. Unlike in the past, teachers
are care more about those differences and they give more importance to the students from
diverse language background and special education needs. Teachers try to cover all the
increased diversity in the classroom and to solve the problems which may appear from
those differences. The challenges of the teachers are more than in the past, so they should
work hard with the help of educational psychology.
3.2. Increased Instructional Technology:
According to the development, the use of technology has increased in which we find all
of teachers, students, and schools use computers, internet, and every tool could which help
them in the teaching learning process. Those tools are more helpful for both teacher and
student. With internet, it is easy to gather information in different subjects with pictures,
video clips, and audio records. Internet and computer may facilitate the learning process
and delivering information to the students in an interesting and motivating manner (Seifert
and Sutton 13).
Technology is a crucial factor in the development of the teaching learning process, but it
also makes a several challenges for the teachers. The teachers are responsible for helping the
students in using the internet and choosing the appropriate tool for teaching. Money is
another challenge in which those materials need money and lot of efforts. In many
societies and schools, classrooms have only one or two computers and may be no one at
all. This creates a big challenge for the teachers which is how could they benefit from this
limit materials in their classrooms. Another problem or challenge is the use of technology
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by teachers in the classroom. As Crowley and Richardson said: “The most problem come
because things are done out of sequence due to assumptions made by the user”, so the
teacher needs to know the way of how to use and choose the material for helping him in
teaching (62). Technology shows the students new ways of learning and helps teachers to
teach effectively, and develops issues about the real teaching and learning. (Seifert and
Sutton 10)
3.3. Greater Accountability in Education:
Nowadays, the educators pay more attention to the quality of the good teachers and
their ways of teaching. The aim of educators is to improve the levels of both students and
teachers. Therefore, they are expecting teachers to be responsible for applying and
completing particular curricula and goals, and students to be responsible for learning
particular knowledge (Seifert and Sutton 14). This emphasize on the affectivity of the
teachers oblige them to practice teaching more and to pass one or more examinations of
knowledge. The educators focus a lot on the teachers and students to be more accountable
for their role in the teaching learning process.
This objective has created a more challenges and constraints to the teachers and
students. Both of them must pass examinations to prove their levels to the public and
educators. Teachers often pass examinations in which they raise many questions about the
way of teaching, testing, evaluating and other issues concerning the teaching learning
process. (14)
3.4.Increased Professionalism of Teachers:
According to Seifert and Sutton, teaching is a profession “if its members take personal
responsibility for the quality of their work, hold each other accountable for its quality, and
recognize and require special training in order to practice it.”(14).This means that the
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teachers should be responsible for their works and should be able to improve themselves
for their students. Nowadays, teachers need to be more professional than in the past. The
students are developing every day, so the teachers also must develop and improve their
methods and strategies according to the students’ development.
To be new teacher, today, is not easy because you will face many challenges and
problems. Teaching in the past is different from the present because the teacher now needs
to work and be more specialized and has new requirement than in the past.
Seifert and Sutton believe that the increased requirements are the reflection of the
complexities which are emerged from the increasing of students and the increasing use of
technology in classroom. They also think that the best way for the teachers to improve
themselves is through what they called “action research” or “teacher research” which is “a
form of investigation carried out by the teachers about their own students or their own
teaching” (14). This solution may help the teachers for answer some questions about their
students and the teaching process.
Those trends show that the teachers must prepare themselves differently than the past
and work hard to reach the objectives of teaching. Educators offer more time for teachers
to practice teaching in school and teacher education instructors to connect the best ideas
and concepts of education and psychology to the current best practices of education
(Seifert and Sutton 16). Those trends open new opportunities for the teacher and the
student and in the same time create for them new challenges and difficulties in which they
should face and solve it.
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4. Teaching Psychopedagogy:
Psychopedagogy is a crucial and interesting module in teaching. It is important for both
teacher and student because it includes the most theories and strategies that can help them
in the teaching learning process. Psychopedagogy as a module can help students to
understand the way and style of learning and choose the appropriate among them.
4.1.The Role of the Teacher:
There is no one role for the teacher in the classroom. He has many roles such as
controller, facilitator, prompter, resource, tutor, organizer, and assessor (Harmer 57). In
teaching psychopedagogy, the teachers try to do the best efforts for conveying the
principles of this module to their students. The teachers try to be good teachers in teaching
psychopedagogy as well as the other modules.
We try to summarize the role of the teacher in teaching psychopedagogy in the
following points:
Engages the students to learn about the psychological issues and the different
theories of teaching and learning.
Makes the students knowledgeable with those theories and their impact in their
way of learning.
Facilitates the difficult and complex issues in psychopedagogy.
Makes a link between psychopedagogy and the other modules.
Tries to apply the strategies and techniques of psychopedagogy in the classroom.
Motivates and creates interest to the treated topics in the module.
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Creates an appropriate atmosphere to make the students comfortable for asking and
learning.
4.2.The Role of the Learner:
Students are responsible for managing their learning process. Learners need to become
self-reliant and active researchers in this module. They must be motivated and self-
regulated to adopt the useful information from the teacher. In general, the learners tend to
be more effective and motivated in the teaching learning process.
5. Relationship between Education and Psychology:
5.1. Psychology and Education:
Psychology and Education are correlated fields. Psychology is a large area in which
Education uses its theories in practice within the teaching learning process. Psychology
provided education with the knowledge of the differences of student’s abilities and needs.
According to Mohammad Psychology has a great impact on the most subjects of education,
especially; the teaching learning process. (2)
Psychology affects the teaching learning process in a different sides and the following
table summarize some of this impact.
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. Psychologist suggest use of different methods in teaching learning process to achieve
better result
·Psychologist emphasis on Motivation and readiness in class room
·Psychology introduce new theories of learning in education
·Psychology emphasis on activity base teaching learning process
Use of Visual Aid in teaching learning process
· Psychology is the study of human behavior while Education is the process of modifying
human behavior so both deal with human behavior in different ways.
·Educational psychology deals with educational problems
· General psychology deals with different problems other then education
Figure 03: Relationship between Education and Psychology adopted from Muhammad (2)
5.2.Psychology and Teacher:
Psychology sheds a great light on the role of the teacher in the teaching learning
process, therefore; teachers should be knowledgeable with psychology to deal with the
different problems of educational situation. They should know how to solve the learner’s
needs and problems. Psychology helps the teachers to understand and to solve the complex
problems of the learner. The knowledge of psychology and educational psychology
enlighten the teacher about the ways and means in which learning can take place in the best
possible manner.
The most effects of psychology on the teacher can be summarized in the following
points which are claimed by Muhammad.
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• Psychology helps teacher to understand and to explain the mental situations of the
• Psychology help teacher in the evaluation and measurement of the learners’
•Psychology helps the teacher to recognize and to solve the learners’ problems
• Psychology brings change in the attitude of the teacher toward his students
• Psychology emphasize on the important of a proper training for teachers. A train teacher
should understand the learners’ problems and solve it.
• Psychology provide education with new theories of learning for better teaching and
•The help of psychology show the teacher how to improve the learners’ behavior
• Psychology help teacher to understand the changes in the learners’ behavior in certain
Figure 04: Psychology and Teacher adopted from Muhammad (2-3)
5.3. Psychology and Curriculum:
The curriculum should cover the needs of the learners and their mental differences.
Psychology emphasizes on the proper and good curriculum in which is prepared to fit the
needs of the learner. The curriculum should account the subjects of teaching, the way, the
needs of the learner and society, complexity, and the individual differences of the learners.
5.4. Psychology and Evaluation:
Psychology gives an importance to the process of evaluation. It brings new methods of
evaluation. Thus, the knowledge of psychology can help the teacher or educators to know
the individuals differences of learners, then to make the appropriate methods and
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techniques of evaluation. Psychology provides the teaching process with new methods of
• Evaluation of child IQ ( Intelligence test )
• Evaluate the factor of slow learning in the class room situation
• Personality test
• Attitude and interest Test
• The Stanford-binet scale of intelligence test
The Stanford-Binet intelligence scale is a standardized test that assesses intelligence and
cognitive abilities in children and adults aged two to twenty three years, determining the
presence of a learning disability or a developmental delay.
Figure 05: Psychology and Evaluation adopted from Muhammad (3)
5.5.Psychology and Methods of Teaching:
The knowledge of teachers to the psychological characteristics of their learners helps
them to devise such methods and techniques of teaching. Those methods and techniques
are chosen according to the level and needs of the learner. The teacher should differentiate
the methods of teaching to fit all the learners’ needs.
5.6.Psychology and Timetable, Textbook preparation:
The preparation of the timetable of learning should be according to the interest, needs,
time, suitability, local condition of the learner. Also, the preparation of the textbook should
be prepared according to the needs, abilities, differences, level of the learners.
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5.7. Psychology and Guidance and Counseling:
According to psychologists, every school must contain a guidance to help the learners
in their problems inside and outside the school. Psychologists emphasize on the role of
guidance in the learner’s life in which the counselor can state and solve the problem, he
also can make the learner more relaxed in the learning. The guidance can help the teacher
to understand the learners’ behavior and to know how to deal with them. (Muhammad 4)
5.8. Psychology and the Development of the Learner:
From the knowledge of psychology, the teacher could know the development of the
learner and asses the appropriate methods and techniques according to their level of
progress. In other words, the learner moves through different stages which differ from each
other, for example; childhood and adulthood are not the same. Thus, the teacher chooses
various methods of teaching in each stage. (Muhammad 4)
5.9. Psychology and School Organization:
Psychologists focus on the role of the school in the teaching learning process.
According to Muhammad democratic atmosphere can develop the personality of the
learner and social environment can make the learner more open to confidence, leadership,
cooperation and healthy competition, decision making, problem solving and good
citizenship and more effectiveness in the school and the environment.(4)
6. The role of Technology in the teaching learning process:
• Definition of educational technology:
Carliner et all defined it according to the Association for Educational Communications
and Technology (AECT) as “the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and
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improving performance by creating, using, managing appropriate technological process
and resources,” (qtd in Salkind 313). Educational technology involves the application of
the important ideas from different sources to achieve a good atmosphere for the learners.
The psychologists and educators give a crucial value to the role of technology in
education. Thus, some of them classified educational technologies from a variety of
perspectives: as information sources, curricular areas, communications media, tools,
environment, and partners. (Reynolds and Miller 398)
In the other hand, we find others focus on the applications of educational technologies
in learning. According to Carliner et al, those technologies are divided into four categories
that are:
1. Technologies for teaching and learning:
It includes technologies for creating learning materials. Those technologies can be
categorized as follow:
• Technologies for designing and developing the materials such as typewriter,
computers, software for publishing materials online, internet.
• Technologies for providing the materials which includes equipment for recording
visual images and audio, equipment for developing photographs.
• Technology for reproducing the learning materials such as making copies of
audiotapes, films, and articles.
• Technologies for playing the recordings or using the content which includes the use
of projectors and other similar playback equipment.(qtd in Salkind315-316)
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2. Technologies for facilitating communication among participants in the learning
process:
This category includes the use of electronic mail, internet telephony, and discussions
on line (Salkind 316). The use of those technologies can be a useful method to make
students from different countries to write to each other for both their English development
and especially their motivation. (Harmer 148)
3. Technologies for facilitating evaluation:
Scantron is one of those technologies “which lets instructors automatically grade exams
with objective questions (true/false, multiple choice) by having students fill out a form that
can be read by the grading machine”. It also includes testing on line.
These technologies allow instructors to make and grade questions on line to facilitate
the work of the teachers (Salkind 317). The e-mail can be a good way for sending and
receiving documents between teachers and students, so teachers can send feedback of the
students ‘works and examinations.(Harmer 148)
4. Technologies for managing learning activities:
These technologies help the teachers to manage learning activities. It includes learning
management systems, course management systems, and learning content management.
Learning management systems takes a form of registers which can do many tasks such
as registration, tracking of participation, testing, suggesting curricula for learners, sharing
information with other systems, and other tasks (Salkind 317). While, course management
systems build for support classroom learning in academic setting like universities. Course
management systems can provide teachers by the ability to do some tasks such as place
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course materials online, track student progress by assessing and grading them on line,
gives quizzes and testing on line. (Salkind 318)
Learning content management systems as Carliner et al defined are “software for
creating, storing, retrieving, changing, and reusing material intended for use in an online
learning program” (qtd in Salkind 318). It also works in storing questions and tracking
activities for developing materials. Learning content management systems have the same
registration and management of learning management systems. (Salkind 318)
In the present, the use of technologies in education is very important. Technologies
open new opportunities for learning, teaching, and research in education. It makes the
teaching learning process more interesting and easier. Those technologies are important,
but we must pay attention to the objectives of using them because they may be used for
bad goals.
Conclusion:
In this chapter, we show the variety of the teaching strategies and techniques which
they seem helpful for teachers of EFL in the classroom and to promote the teaching
process for the best. We also tried to carry out the importance of the module of
psychopedagogy and the teachers’ and students’ role in teaching this module.
We investigated the relationship of psychology with education which showed that
variety of relationships between psychology and different issues of education. These
relationships prove the extent of the role of psychology in education.
The investigation on the use of technology in the teaching process showed that it can
increase the affectivity and motivation of the teachers and the variety and diversity of
learning opportunities.
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Chapter three
Analysis of Both Students’ Questionnaire and Teachers’
interview
1. Analysis of Teachers’ Interview:
Introduction:
The objective of this interview is to explore the attitudes of the teachers towards
psychopedagogy and its importance in the teaching process. This interview is designed to
check the teachers’ degree of awareness about the main principles of psychopedagogy and
its implementations in the classroom.
1.1. Administration of the interview:
The interview was with four teachers in the Department of English at Biskra University.
Two teachers are teachers of psychopedagogy, while the others are teaching other subjects.
The teachers were very cooperative the sense in that they answered all the questions of the
interview with pleasure and showed a real interest to do that. The interview includes 17
questions. These questions concern teachers’ point of views about the teaching process and
the role of psychopedagogy as module. This interview investigates the role of
psychopedagogy, its importance, and its implications in the teaching process.
In this interview, we give a space for teachers to give advice and instructions for the
other teachers, and to add comments about psychopedagogy.
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1.2. Analysis of the Teachers’ Interview:
Question 01: What do you think about the teaching process?
-Teacher one: it is a very important process. It is an active process, so it needs a lot of
motivation, commitments, energy, and hard work.
-Teacher two: it is an important process which includes two main elements teacher and
-Teacher three: it is interesting and hard process.
-Teacher four: it is interesting and difficult mission which has many challenges and
All those teachers agree on the importance of the teaching process and describing it to
include a teacher and a learner as basic elements. It needs motivation, commitment and
energy since it has many challenges.
Question 02: Do you follow a particular way in teaching EFL classroom?
-Teacher one: yes, I do. I use the communicative approach in which I ask the question and
receive the answer then evaluate the students’ participation and share knowledge and
meaning together.
-Teacher two: yes, I do. I use the communicative methodology.
-Teacher three: yes, I do.
-Teacher four: yes, I do. I follow the communicative approach because I think that it is
the appropriate one for teaching.
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The majority of the teachers use the same way of teaching which is the communicative
approach. The teachers agree on the importance of this latter as a special way in teaching
as it fits the needs of the students.
Question 03: How many years have you been teaching English?
-Teacher one: 10 years in the university and 12 years in the middle and high school.
-Teacher two: 29 years.
-Teacher three: 20 years.
-Teacher four: 15 years.
Those teachers have a long experience in teaching which mean that they are
experienced teachers with rich knowledge about that specific process they seem to be an
appropriate sample to give us the needed information about psychpedagogy and the
teaching process. We may benefit from their experiences to find solution to the students’
Question 04: What are the main subjects you have been teaching?
-Teacher one: almost all modules in the university (exception for two or three).
-Teacher two: different modules.
-Teacher three: secondary school and then university level.
-Teacher four: all modules.
This question reveals that the teachers are teaching different modules in their careers
which make them experienced and knowledgeable in the various modules and subject
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Question 05: What do you think about the module of psychopedagogy?
-Teacher one: it is an important one. I think the students should know that teaching is
mostly pedagogical but also mostly psychological.
-Teacher two: psychopedagogy or educational psychology is a very important course.
-Teacher three: important module which prepares students to be good teachers.
-Teacher four: it is an interesting module which will help teachers in the teaching learning
There is no difference between the teachers’ responses about psychopedagogy. They
emphasize on the importance of the module of psychopedagogy and the role of the learners
for knowing its principles because they will need it in the future.
Question 06: What do you think about the role of Educational psychology in teacher’s
-Teacher one: the good teacher is the one who understand the psychology of his students.
-Teacher two: we cannot speak on teaching without psychopedagogy. Any teacher
without knowledge about psychpedagogy is like someone who jumps in an ocean without
knowing how to swim. The teacher who has knowledge about educational psychology can
face the different situations in his career. Educational psychology is crucial in the teacher’s
-Teacher three: it helps a lot in making teachers dealing with class issues like teaching
material, dealing with learners...ect.
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-Teacher four: it helps teachers to understand the psychology of the students and how to
interact with them. It also provides teachers with methods and techniques of teaching
which help them later on.
According to the teachers’ responses, we notice that they are aware and insist on the
great role of educational psychology in their careers. They believe that educational
psychology is a crucial factor in creating successful teachers. It helps to understand the
psychology of the learners and how to interact with them.
Question 07: What is the role of the teacher in teaching psychopedagogy?
-Teacher one: to make his students think as researchers on the psychological issues that
may influence or may have impact on the learner.
-Teacher two: to prepare the students to be teachers, to conduct and to guide them.
-Teacher three: guide future teachers in their teaching task.
-Teacher four: help the students to understand and to deal with the different subjects in
Each one of the teachers answered the question according to his believes. The first
teacher believes that the role of the teacher is to make students researchers in the
psychological issues which have effects on the learner himself. The second and the third
one think that the teacher’s role is to prepare future teachers. The last one focuses on the
help of the teachers to make the students understand and explain the various issues in
educational psychology.
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Question 08: What are the objectives of educational psychology?
-Teacher one: educational psychology aim in the first place to identify all those effects of
human psyche or learning new information.
-Teacher two: it has many objectives but the main aims are to prepare persons for
teaching, to show that there is different ways of learning and teaching and differences
between the learners, and to know the personality development and psychological
-Teacher three: make the link between theory and practice.
-Teacher four: helps both teacher and learner to understand better the teaching learning
process and to develop them.
The responses of the teachers to the question which concerns the objectives of
educational psychology are different they can be summarized in the following points:
• Identify the human psychology.
• Prepare students to be good teachers.
• Show the variety in the ways of teaching and learning.
• Show the differences among the students in the learning process.
• Knowing the personality development and psychological problems.
• Make the link between theory and practice.
• Understand the psychology of human and how to acquire information.
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Question 09: Educational psychology provides the teaching process with theories,
strategies and techniques which help teachers in the teaching process. What do you
think about that?
-Teacher one: yes. This scientific aspect of educational psychology, we need to produce
theories and techniques to help, especially; teachers to understand the teaching process and
understand the human mind.
-Teacher two: This is the court of educational psychology. Those theories explain how
human acquire knowledge and which strategy or technique they use.
-Teacher three: yes.
-Teacher four: yes. Educational psychology provides the teaching process with theories
and strategies. Those theories and strategies are used by the good teachers in their
Through the teachers’ answer, we find that all the teachers do agree on the role of
educational psychology in providing teaching with different theories, techniques, and
strategies. According to the teachers, those theories and strategies have a great
contribution in the development of the teaching process and the understanding of human
Question 10: Do you apply some those techniques and strategies in your daily
teaching? Do you find it useful?
-Teacher one: of course, I do. All the teachers knowing or without knowing they do that.
Those techniques and strategies are helpful for any teacher in his/her career (job).
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-Teacher two: yes, I do. Through my teaching to educational psychology, I benefit from
its theories and strategies and I use some of them in the classroom. They are very helpful.
-Teacher three: yes, I do.
-Teacher four: of course, I do. Those strategies and techniques are important for all the
teachers to be successful in the teaching process.
The teachers’ responses show that all the teachers use the techniques and strategies of
educational psychologogy because they find them useful. This shows the importance and
the great role of educational psychology in the teaching process. They ensure the benefits
of these strategies and claim that all teachers do consciously or unconsciously.
Question 11: In your opinion what is the more appropriate one among: Instructor-
centered or Students-centered teaching strategies? Why?
-Teacher one: I would prefer to have Instructor and student-centered strategies in the same
time. Because some situations urge the teacher to use Instructor-centered strategies and
sometimes you s/he needs to follow Student-centered strategies, so both of them complete
each other.
-Teacher two: It depends on the approach which is adopted, the subject you teach, and the
role of the learner. Sometimes in the same course, we need to use both of them. in general,
people now agree on the Student-centered strategies.
-Teacher three: every tool, every techniques, any strategy can help the teacher when s/he
is teaching.
-Teacher four: both of them are useful and we can use every one according to the
students’ needs and their style of learning.
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The result reveals a total agreement among the teacher about the use of both Instructor
and Student-centered teaching strategies. All the teachers said that the use of those
strategies is depending on the students’ needs, and learning styles.
Question 12; 13: What is your point of view about the teachers who do not have
knowledge about the theories and strategies of educational psychology within their
teaching process?
-Teacher one: they are not teachers. They could not understand the psyche of their
students and the way human mind processes the information. They cannot be teachers.
-Teacher two: I think this is a failure. They may not be professional teachers.
-Teacher three: They need to know. They will fail in their mission as teachers.
-Teacher four: We cannot call them teachers because they will fail in their mission of
They all agree that a teacher cannot be successful if s/he does not have knowledge about
educational psychology and its principles. This will be a big failure for them.
Question 14: What is your advice for them?
-Teacher one: I would advice every teacher to read a lot and to attend educational
psychology courses because it will help him/her to know more about the students, their
personalities, their needs, and everything concerning them.
-Teacher two: They should know things about the psychological development, the basic
and principles of educational psychology, and they should contact with the experienced
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-Teacher three: Try to read about the different theories and strategies of educational
-Teacher four: be aware about the knowledge of educational psychology because it is the
key of the successful teachers.
Every teacher gives his/her advice but the most important one is to read and know the
various theories and strategies of educational psychology.
Question 15: What is your advice to the novice teachers of English today?
-Teacher one: to read a lot, to research a lot, to attend with senior teachers.
-Teacher two: take advice and guide from the experienced teachers and to accept the
different advice and criticism.
-Teacher three: be aware of complexity of the task of teaching. They need to read and get
in touch with experienced teachers.
-Teacher four: be in contact with the experienced teachers and be aware about the
differences among the students.
According to the response of the teachers, we summarize their advice in the following
• Be aware about the needs of the students.
• Get in touch with the experienced teachers.
• Accept the comments and criticisms because they will help for developing their
teaching.
• Attend the educational courses with senior teachers.
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Question 16: What do you think about the use of media in the teaching process?
-Teacher one: We are in the information age, so we are fast to use media in our
-Teacher two: Of course, it is useful for teaching. As teacher, I use data show, computer,
and other materials in my lectures. Today, persons learn through technology because they
find it interesting, fast, easier, and useful.
-Teacher three: it helps but you need to select appropriate materials for teaching.
-Teacher four: it is useful for both teachers and learners.
The teachers agree on the use of media in teaching because it makes the teaching
process more easy, fast, effective, and interesting. According to them the technology will
be useful if we choose the appropriate and useful materials in teaching our students.
Question 17: Any comments?
The most comments of the teachers were:
• Every teacher should learn about educational psychology.
• Educational psychology is important module. We should give it an importance.
• Teach the principles of educational psychology to the students.
• The educators should give a importance to the module of psychopedagogy and
make specialist in teaching this module.
• Raise students’ awareness towards the importance of psychopedagogy.
The obtained data show that the teachers are aware about the crucial role of educational
psychology in the teaching process. Most of the teachers used the theories and strategies
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of educational psychology in their classroom. Their responses reveal that the teacher
without knowledge about educational psychology is like a person who jump in the ocean
without knowing how to swim.
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2. Analysis of the students’ Questionnaire:
The aim of this questionnaire is to assess the students’ attitudes toward the module of
Psychopedagogy, its importance and its theories application in education.
We use the questionnaire in this study because it is easier and faster for collecting a
large amount of data in a short time.
2.1. Administration of the questionnaire:
The questionnaire was handed out to sixty students chosen randomly from the third year
LMD at the department of foreign languages, university of Biskra with a total of sixty
copies of the questionnaire, fifty five of which were returned.
The final questionnaire includes 18 questions. The questionnaire is divided into three
main parts; they are entitled as follow:
1-Background information
2-Attitude of the students toward the teacher and classroom
3-Some questions about the classroom
The first part allows us to get general information about the age, gender, and the main
reasons to study English at University with justification. The second part is intended to
check students’ attitudes toward the teacher and classroom. The third part includes the
students’ attitudes towards the module of Psychopedagogy. In this section we focus on the
role of both the module and teacher of psychopedagogy.
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This part includes a space which is allocated for any comments the students would like
to add.
2.2. Results of the Questionnaire:
Section one: Background information
Item 01: Age distribution
R 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 29 32 36
Ps 2 7 24 6 7 2 3 2 1 1
% 3,63 12,72 43,63 10,90 12,72 3,63 5,45 3,63 1,81 1,81
Table 01: students’ age distribution.
According to the table, we notice that our population is young. We find that the scope
of third year LMD students age range between 20(3, 63%) and 36(1, 81%) with the
supremacy of the percentage of students aged 22(43, 63%). Few students represent (3,
63%) are 20, 25, or 29, and fewer students represent (1, 81%) are either 32 or 36 years old.
From this table we can recognize that the age is not a problem in studying English.
Item 02: Gender distribution
Sex Response Percentage
Male 17 30,91%
Female 38 69,09%
Total 55 100%
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30.91%
Male
Female
69.09%
Table 02; Figure 01: students’ sex distribution.
From this table, we can observe that the majority of the students are female (69, 09%)
and the male represent just (30, 91%). Female are more interesting in studying English and
may be the boys are more interesting in studying scientific and technical subjects. The
choice for studying English or scientific branches is relying on the future job’s
requirements in the real world.
Item 03: Choice of study English
Answer Response Percentage
Your parents’ choice 3 5,45%
Your choice 44 80%
You just choose it 8 14,55%
Total 55 100%
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5.45%
14.55%
Your parents’ choice
Your choice
You just choose it
80%
Table 03; Figure 02: students’ choice of study English.
According to the this table we recognize that the most of the students chose to study
English (80%) because they love English language and consider it as international
language. Few of the students are obliged by their parents to study English (5, 45%). The
rest chose English language just for study any subject in the university or maybe they do
not have a better choice than studying English language.
Section two: Attitude of the students towards the teacher and the classroom.
Item 01: What type of atmosphere exists in the classroom?
Answer Response Percentage
Friendly 27 49,09%
Fearly 2 3,63%
Neutral 26 47,28%
Total 55 100%
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