Педагогические
науки/2. Проблемы подготовки специалистов
К.п.н. Матухин Д.Л.
Томский политехнический университет, Россия
Bases of scientific research: psychological and pedagogical approaches
The ability to pass on knowledge to others is one of the core characteristics
of human beings. Human society depends on the transfer of skills to the next
generation. Organising this learning process has a long standing tradition.
Tradesman would learn their skill in the workshop, often rum by a relative.
After a long learning period they could demonstrate their skill by performing a
“master piece”. Since ancient times, the wealthy and powerful have hired
teachers to train their young, preparing them for their future positions. Over
time these tutors or pedagogues have developed strategies to deal with their
assignment. For a long time however, the main pedagogic approach was based on
repetition. The tutor sets an example which is copied by the students in
endless practice runs.
These past years a boost of research activities
has been observed aiming to gain scientific knowledge on engineering education.
Evidently teaching and learning are examples of human behaviour. As such the
quest for knowledge in this field belongs to the domain of the social sciences.
In this paper an overview of scientific research general approaches in pedagogy
and psychology will be presented.
Aiming to improve the effectiveness of their efforts
teachers of all times proposed a variety of pedagogical methods. In the
particular at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century a
multitude of methods directed at the education of young children was proposed
by pedagogues like: Maria Montessori, Friedrich Fröbel, Rudolf Steiner,
John Dewey, Jerôme Bruner. Pedagogical theories represent an approach to
science that aim for effects in practice. At the core of their methods stands
an educational philosophy based on assumptions about human nature and in
particular the human ability to learn.
Research instigated by such pedagogical approaches is
predominantly descriptive in nature. Rather than to compare competing
alternatives a typical pedagogic study details the characteristics of one
particular method. If the collection of quantitative data is part of the study,
usually this takes the form of an evaluation study, searching for corroborating
evidence for the method in question of psychological research to our
understanding of the processes of learning and teaching. In the research
tradition of psychology experimental studies are more important. That is to
say, this is at least true for the psychologists who deem their profession an
empirical science [1]. There are also practitioners of psychology who feel that
actions in practice are paramount, just like in the field of pedagogy. In a
polemic discussion on the scientific status of psychology the Dutch
psychologist Duiker introduced the term “salutair” to designate activities of
scientist aiming to promote human well being [2]. Duiker argues that if you
want to improve a certain condition you first have to know what it is and how
it can be influenced and that therefore if you aim to help people to feel
better, psychological research is a necessity.
The early psychologists build on the research
traditions of the natural sciences with emphasis on empirical experiments. The
establishment of the first psychological laboratory by Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig
in 1879 is generally regarded as the beginning of psychology as a scientific
discipline [3]. It was not so much that Wundt and his students asked different
questions than those of the old philosophers, it was more that different
methods were used to find answers to these questions. This was the key feature
that set psychology aside as a separate discipline: different methods were used
to find answers to these questions [4]. In the second half of the 19th century
empirical experiments became an important tool in science. Wilhelm Wundt turned
psychology into a scientific discipline in its own right, by applying these
methods systematically to human experiences.
A first step in psychological research is the
definition of the relevant concepts. Before going into research on teaching and
learning we first need to agree on what we are looking at. Learning is an
activity in its origin. A broad definition of learning is to acquire new
behavioural potential [5]. People learn in all sorts of different ways. Little
children learn by mimicking their parents, and they exercise their skills by
play. When you read a book, watch a movie, or discuss something with your friends
you may learn something new. Evidently, much learning occurs without us
noticing it. This marks an important difference between learning and education.
Education involves the conscious planning of learning activities. There are
goals in terms of desired competencies and there is a programme designed to
help students attaining the objectives. Therefore education could be defined as
the intentional organization of learning.
Psychological research on
learning started with the discovery of the phenomenon of classical conditioning
by Ivan Pavlov early in the 19th century [6]. Pavlov observed that a when a dog
was exposed to a stimulus like a light and some food was offered at the same
time, the natural response of producing saliva was quickly paired with the
external stimulus. Continuing this type of research with other conditions and
other animals the American psychologist B.F. Skinner established the school of
thought labelled “behaviourism”. According to the behaviourists everything
organisms do should be regarded as behaviour and it should be investigated
based on empirical observations rather than on inferences about thoughts and
inner feelings.
Classic learning theories have contributed to the
success of technology based instruction. Skinner's introduction of programmed
instruction was one of the first attempts to implement behavioural principles
in an instructional situation. Principles of behaviourism that have found their
way into design of technology based instruction include: positive reinforcement,
feedback, errorless learning, use of complex schedules of reinforcement, the
importance of strength of associations [7].
The theory of constructivist education puts more
emphasis on the content, maintaining that learning is a process of construction
and confrontation of meaning rather than exploration and memorization of facts.
Constructivism presupposes that it brings an advantage for the students if they
acquire knowledge by building it from innate capabilities by solving problems
in an organized process and in interaction with the environment [8]. The
epistemological theory by Piaget is a developmental model recognizing a fixed
order progress through several cognitive stages. Piaget did build his theory on
close observations of his own three children. Later the concepts were validated
in more extensive quantitative research.
According to the constructivist theory is assumed that
the students construct knowledge for themselves by creative activities such as
planning and design. Within constructivism two branches are distinguished.
Cognitive constructivists give priority to sensory-motor and conceptual
activities of individual students [9] and Social constructivists prefer
building knowledge by a group of learners in social context [10]. In particular
this last version aligns well with the concepts of problem based learning in
small groups.
The main problem of empirical research in psychology
has always been that it was not possible to observe what someone else was
thinking. However, recent trend in neuropsychological research seem to promise
a breakthrough in this respect. Technological innovation like Positron emission
tomography (PET) scans and Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans make it
possible to see what part of the brain are active and consequently to identify
what part of the brain is responsible for processing certain information [11],
[12].
At the moment it is still difficult to assess the
impact of these investigations on the actual learning and teaching in the
classroom. Nevertheless, the potential is enormous as can be seen for instance
from the fact that it has been possible see the limits of free will. In an
experimental set up it has been demonstrated that the brain starts to respond
before a conscious decision to do so could have been made [13]. Even if actual
mind reading may still be far away in the future it could very well be possible
to verify the level of knowledge of a particular topic by analyzing brain
activity.
References:
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for Engineering Education: a field of applied research not a discipline;
Inaugural Speech as Adjungeret professor, Aalborg, Aalborg University,
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and S. Blakeslee, Phantoms in the
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