Psychology for Educators Health Sciences

Question: Discuss about the Psychology for Educators for Health Sciences. Answer: Introduction: The ability of the individuals to think and act rationally is the chief facet that characterizes them. Human beings being the social animals grow up in an atmosphere that influences them every now and then. Although certain traits in them are innate, most of them are developed at the later stages of their lives in accordance with the emotional, social educational and professional aspects that pose a significant impact upon them. A childs development is very much affected by the surrounding atmosphere in which he or she grows up. Mud can be moulded in various ways and can be given different shapes as required, in the similar manner a childs behaviour and personality can be rendered different shapes during the tender years. Therefore, be it positive or negative, the development of a child is highly dependent upon the factors that surround them. The family in which a child is born, the attitudes of the parents in nurturing the child and the economic standing of the family are the most important factors that affect the psychological and physical development of the child. In accordance with the views of Social Constructivism devised by Lev Vygotskys, which is termed as Social Constructivism it, becomes evident that the children are highly influenced by the culture in which they are born. The theory of social constructivism shared most of the views as portrayed by Piaget regarding the child development. The theory focuses much more upon the impact that a society has over the children. According to Lev Vygotsky, the children require an adults presence in learning about the true aspects of life (Estes, 2014). Discussion: A child at the very beginning remains completely unaware about the facts of life and the entire world. At the first instance, the family is the first and foremost tutor who teaches the child the factual aspects of life, how to deal with the other members of the family and with the outside society along with the fundamental values of life. Gradually, the outside social institutions influence the child. As and when the child enters the domain of learning, he encounters the society that assists in the development of personality of the child (Drnyei Ushioda, 2013). Interactions among the individuals play a very vital role in determining the psychological development of every child. The development both at the social and psychological levels both becomes integral in constituting the mental make-up of a child, according to the social constructivism theory proposed by the Lev Vygotsky (Vygotsky, 2014). The concept of behaviourism becomes applicable largely while discussing idea that the individuals should be subjected to the learning and training practices that would help in enriching and bringing forth their latent qualities or rather abilities. According to this very notion of behaviourism, we come to know the fact that education or carious learning practices become responsible in shaping the attitude of the individuals. It only takes into account how the external behaviour of the individuals are affected and not the internal or the covert behavioural approach of the individuals (Renninger et al. 2014). The theories of several psychologists portray different philosophical and psychological assumptions. According to the opinion of John Locke (1700s), the mind of an individual human being, when he is a newborn child remains entirely blank like a black board or a black slate that is named by him tabula rasa. It is only after the gradual experiences that the child is able to gain kno wledge. His senses start working with each of the instance ad he or she is continually shaped. According to Ivan Pavlov, one of the well-known psychologists, the methods of classical conditioning can be applied in order to educate and condition the reflex actions of the individuals. Pavlov had undertaken the experiment on the process of salivation of a dog. The dog has been conditioned in such a way that contiguity has been produced. Whenever the dog sees the food, it starts salivating, which is an automatic process. Now, if the food is presented to the dog along with the ringing of the bell simultaneously, then it will gradually condition the reflex action of the dog. Henceforth, the dog will salivate as and when the dog hears the sound of the bell even if the food is not presented simultaneously. Thus, contiguity is the process of learning by association. Therefore, according to Pavlovs theory, it can be stated that the individuals can be conditioned to learn particular responses, even their involuntary actions can be influenced upon. In terms of B.F. Skinners Behaviourism of Consequence, or operant conditioning, the repercussions that certain activities produce determine largely the behaviour of the learners. This concept gets associated with the three steps that involve response and reinforcement. When the individual learners at a school are given opportunities to express their opinions as well as encouraged with rewards and recognitions as a result of good performance, their behaviour illustrate a positive response. On the other hand, punishments will pull out only negative response from the individuals. Thus, reinforcement would likely produce the desirable results rather than the punishments. Similarly, E.L. Thorndike is of the opinion that the learners can learn effectively through the Trial and Error learning theory. It is based on the age-old concept that an individual learns via mistakes and repeated practices. Therefore, a child can effectively learn a certain aspect through repeated trials (Illingworth, 2013). Motivation is one of the most important parts that comprise the emotional intelligence of the individuals. The emotional intelligence is formed together with the emotions and intelligence. When a child grows up and meets various factors of cognition, he develops the capability to regulate his emotions in accordance with the situations. Motivation is the foremost requirement that helps in shaping the behaviour and actions of the individuals. The Expectancy -Value theory states that when the individuals expect to reach their aims and possess interest in certain activities, then they can easily be inspired to set their goals accordingly and go forward with their respective tasks (Carter McCarthy, 2014). A child is easily motivated when he gets the opportunity to satisfy his needs and the situation is such that it suits his demands. When a teacher approaches, the students present in a class, he or she should get acquaint with the needs and attitude of the children. Intrinsic motivation is very much effective in regulating the positive behaviour among the individuals. An individual student may be interested in specific subject and may enjoy learning the same, which may likely fetch him good marks. Intrinsic motivation is thus very important in making the students achieve their respective purpose. Whereas, the factors that trigger the extrinsic behaviour constitute the rewards and incentives, which may motivate the individuals or may not. An educator must always be very alert while deciding the motivators for stirring extrinsic motivation among the learners. Application of extrinsic motivators should be judicious enough so that all the students or the learners engaged in a particular situation are able to feel that they are treated equally and on the basis f their merit and skills, excluding any kind of bias. On one hand, the extrinsic motivators can proficiently raise the possibility of gaining success among the learners. It is a quite usual fact that that we frequently visualize in the educational institutions, especially at schools, that the learners get instigated to perform in their best possible ways as and when they are rewarded , their urge to perform well rises largely(Arndt, 2016). However, often partiality and bias enter the environment and the teachers maintain discrimination among the students instead of judging them in a justifiable manner and giving them the space to explore the possibilities and cherish them. These situations create a adverse or negative consequences out of the attempts to extrinsically motivate the students. Teachers should always strive and make attempts to generate curiosity among the students that can approach their fantasies and wishes. An optimistic attitude on the part of the educators is very important, which will in turn create an urge in the learners to work hard and learn in a cooperative environment. From the given case study in module 2, we come to know that both Jessica and Matt would like to motivate their students, but in different ways. Jessica likes to give her students the opportunity to make verbal presentations on the chosen topic and express their opinions freely after and conduct discussions with their fellow classmates on the same, rather than imposing her own views on them (Brodzinsky Pinderhughes, 2013). On the other end, Matt is of the opinion that rewards in the form of marks can be given to the students depending upon their performance levels so that they try hard to perform well and give their best (Halfon et al.2014). Piaget has viewed children as independent discoverers and learners. He assumes them as little scientists who if left to act on their own without being dependent can discover various facts of life that can help them progress in their lives. He says that children should be allowed to explore and learn in the process. This is associated with the theory of constructivism which says that the children should be encouraged to involve in self regulated learning. The children should be taught in such a way which can match their abilities and they can identify themselves with the same. Piaget has made a commendable contribution to the world of psychology by stating that a child passes through 4 different stages of development. They are Sensori -motor stage, Pre operational stage, Concrete operational stage and Formal operational stage. In the first two stages, the child passes through very tender years and is hardly able to take part in the logically reasoning certain aspects, the child only observes objects and activities around and tries to firm his images accordingly. He is of the opinion that the children since 7 years of age can start understanding and applying the basic logical theories. From 7 to 11 years of age the children come under the concrete operational stage. During this stage, the children can understand conservation and other logical operations and they can try to solve some complex problems. From 11 years of age the children come under the purview of formal operational stage in which the children start entering the adolescent period and can think in a more complex manner as well as find solutions to the problems. They can think even in the abstract ways (Monk et al. 2013). Thus, children should be given adequate scope to develop knowledge and discover the factual aspects of life on their own. However, at the same time we should take into consideration Lev Vygotskys view regarding social constructivism, that says that the social and cultural development play a very important role in shaping the entire personality development of an individual. Lev Vygotsky, also made an outstanding contribution in the arena of education along with the Swiss psychologist Piaget. This Russian psychologist had devised the Social Constructivism theory. He put forth his opinions that a child requires the immediate assistance from the elders members of the society in order to proceed in his or her life. The culture and the customs in which he is born highly influence the positive and negative growth of the child (Adan, 2014). In the given case study in Module 4,it is shown that the Ann who is an education student is trying to incorporate her own methodology in dealing with the students in an Early Childhood centre. She wants to make children perform their activities on their own and come up with certain questions or queries if there are any. However, Ms. Brown, who is the supervising lecturer at the university in which Ann is also engaged, come up with the ideas that defy those of Ms. Brown. Ms. Brown represents or favour the concept stated by Piaget. Therefore, according to Ms. Brown an educator should give enough space to the learners to form their own views rather than interrupting or coming in between their own discoveries or independent view points (Lewis, 2013). Whereas, Ann wants the students to form and develop their own queries while studying, along with the help from the educators or the teachers who guide them. Now, what we see is that this approach of the both the educators may be perfect for the students to pursue their studies unhindered (Barrett, 2016). However, it is Anns position that should be favoured. It is because students or the learners should be given the opportunity to ask questions to their teachers while at the same time discussing among themselves on any particular topic. It creates a healthy atmosphere in the classroom. The students can feel free to interact with each other as well as with their teachers, which required the most. Emotional Intelligence grows in a child as and when he learns to develop that level of cognition that can regulate his or her feeling or intense outflow of emotions (Dabbagh Kitsantas, 2012). It is the knowledge and innate abilities of the individuals that help the students to engage their emotions effectively in the correct manner. This is how the individual learners should fix their emotions. Social relationship and emotions therefore, depend upon each other (Drnyei Ushioda, 2013). The children spend most of their time in the classrooms or in their schools; therefore it becomes the responsibility of the teacher, as I feel to pay heed to the emotions of the children. In the case study which is given in the module 5, it becomes clear that Ms. Love was in favour of encouraging the students through their active participation in different activities that can produce a cooperative and emotionally healthy atmosphere. The methods used by Ms. Love in engaging the various activities according to their likes and dislikes can make them learn not through compulsion that they have to learn. She made the students express themselves with the starters like, I work best when I am...:, When I work on my own I feel.... Thus, individual stances are given the chief value instead of over burdening them to think and react as per the norms of the institution or the educational needs. Ms. Loves point of view and strategies, I feel should be followed in gaining success on the part of any educational institution that strives to form productive relationship between the educators and the learners. Creativity becomes the chief means through the learners can use emotions in productive purposes. Creativity does not remain confined to any particular group of individual or individuals. Creativity defies perfection and it involves various facets. It is not confined to any particular arena, it may switch over from one thought process to another. Therefore, creativity involves confronting experiments, challenges and risks. Conclusion: Thus, it becomes evident and we can infer that both the relationship and between the learners and the educators and its mode determine largely the extent of the social and psychological development of the individuals, that effectively shapes the future progress of a child or an individual learner. References: Monk, C., Georgieff, M. 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