1. Psychological Dimensions of
Curriculum Development
SHERYL P. VALDEZ
Presenter

2. • Sound curriculum development can be
effected only from a sound psychology of
learning. Knowledge about psychology of the
learner and of the learning process is
relevant to the three different matters of the
curriculum.
1) Selection and arrangement of content
2) Choice of the learning experiences
3) Plans for the optimum conditions for
learning

3. •The curriculum must be a means of initiating
learners into activities and experiences which are
worthwhile for them. For this purpose it must draw
upon analyses of the nature of learning and the
inherent human abilities it intends to develop.
The Main Theories of Learning
1) Association Theories
2) Field Theories
3) Perceptual Theories

4. Association Theories
• Stimulus-Response Theory (connectionism)
According to Thorndike, the “association
between sense impression and impulses to
action” is the basis of learning.
Conditioning can either be:
1) respondent
2) operant

5. Association Theories
Respondent Conditioning
• Ivan Pavlov experiment (1927) found that dogs
could be trained to salivate to a variety of stimuli
such as a tone, a bell, or a touch on the paw.
• He found that if you repeatedly rang a bell and
then presented food to a hungry dog, soon just
the ringing of the bell alone was enough to
produce salivation. Pavlov and others found that
a certain sequence of events seemed to produce
the most effective learning.

6. Association Theories
Operant Conditioning
• It refers to the “strengthening of a stimulus
response pattern by following the response with
a reinforcing stimulus.”
• Defenders of the Association Theories hold that
learning is non-purposive habit formation and is
conditioned. Situation and connected responsereward and/or satisfaction reduce the need and
hasten the learning or performance. Learning
takes place when any change in behavior occurs.

7. Field Theories
• Holds that experiences, information, and
activities group themselves in a pattern or
field new to the learner, forming a
configuration, or gestalt.
• It emphasizes “wholes,” the grasping of the
whole field or idea and its surroundings.
• The parts get meaning from membership in
the whole.
• It is learning by insight.

8. Perceptual Theories
• Consider learning as self-perception.
• They are more concerned with “knowing”
and “perceiving” activities.
• Tolman states that the learner is following a
sort of map, a cognitive map, which involves
learning meanings.
• The organism expects one stimulus (the sign)
to be followed by another (significate) if a
familiar route is to be developed.

9. The Nature of Learning
• Learning – a process which brings about a change
in the individual’s way of responding as a result of
practice or other experience or as a relatively
permanent change of behavior.
• Behavior changes with experience. New patterns
of behavior take place when the organism senses
its world, interprets it, responds to it, and then
responds to the consequences of its own
responses. Once the organism has undergone this
cycle, it is never the same again. It hereby learns.

10. Factors to be considered in every
learning situation:
1) The raw data of sense perception from stimuli of
the present situation.
2) The learning's attached to these stimuli, coming
from the past experience of the learner.
3) Data furnished by various organs of the body
that are more or less concerned with the
learning.
4) Feeling-tone resulting from the above, and
feeling connected with the present situation or
attitudes.

11. Conditions Affecting Learning
• Learning will be most effective when the learning
situations are related to life as realistically as possible.
• Learning will be most effective when the learner gains
confidence in his ability and also acquires favourable
attitudes positively to the learning situation.
• Learning will be most effective when the environment
contributes positively to the learning situation.
• Learning will be most effective when the learning
experiences help the learner gain an insight through
practical use of the relationship with which he is having
experiences.

12. Conditions Affecting Learning
• Learning will be most effective when the learners
feel the need for the experiences and outcomes.
• Learning situations will be most effective when
they are adapted to the needs, capacities, and
interests of learners.
• Learning will be most effective when the students
are free from emotional tensions.
• Learning will be most effective if they are
adapted to the normal growth of the learners.
• Learning will be most effective in situations that
provide satisfactorily for student participation in
planning and learning.

13. Four Levels of Learning
1) Motor learning involves muscle control, like
learning to jump or run.
2) Sensorimotor learning requires the cooperation
of muscles and senses.
3) Ideomotor learning is the combination of higher
thought processes with muscular actions.
4) Ideational learning involves the use of ideas
and intangible factors and learning to handle
people.

14. Curriculum Development and
Management of Learning
•Learning is perhaps the most basic of all human experiences.
It includes intellectual, emotional, and physical learning.
•The principles through which old behavior acquired or learning is
acquired are divided into three areas:
1) The subjective principles – concerned with what the learner
brings to the learning situation and includes self-concept, past
experiences, intelligence, motivation, and emotions
2) The objective principles – deals with factors relevant to learning
situations and includes rates of learning and forgetting, reviewing,
rewards, reward schedules, self-rewards, generalization, and
discrimination
3) Special learning techniques – used to increase learning efficiency
and includes massed and distributed learning, feedback, and over
learning.

15. The Subjective Principles of Learning
1) New experiences are learned more effectively if they
agree with or enhance our self-concept.
2) What is learned is a combination of the experience
itself and the person’s previous knowledge about that
experience.
3) High intelligence or learning capacity helps one to
learn. and other factors as well.
4) When a learner is really interested and involved he
will learn better.
5) When we are enthusiastic, we tend to learn better.

16. The Objective Principles of Learning
1. People differ in their rate of learning.
2. Forgetting is more rapid than learning.
3. Review is essential to retain what has been
learned.
4. Learning is more effective when followed by
appropriate rewards.
5. Habits are better formed when the sequence
of continuous, intermittent, and variable
reward schedules are followed.

17. The Objective Principles of Learning
6. When the preceding schedules are followed,
the behavior can become self-rewarding.
7. Generalization permits the learning of large
amounts of information.
8. Discrimination permits appropriate usage of
information learned through generalization.

18. Planning the Sequence of Learning
1) Distributed Practice – learning section
by section distributing the total learning
time into separate periods.
2) Massed Practice – learning to solve a
problem or learning an entire sequence
at one time with no rest or
interruptions.

19. Learning by Feedback
• Persons learn better when they are informed
as to the correctness or incorrectness of their
responses.
• Knowledge of results helps them to learn
faster because full information is available and
the task becomes more interesting.
There is much evidence that people learn
better when they are constantly informed as
to how they are doing and shown ways to
improve.

20. Integrative Learning
• Learning by wholes tends to be better than
learning by parts.
• It is essential that the learner perceive the
relationship of what is learned to the entirety
of the situation or matter.

21. Experimental Approach to Learning
• Kolb, Rubin and McIntyre
• It focuses on the experiences and reactions of
the individuals in the group.
• The individual learners and not merely the
teacher are the sources of data for learning.
• The emphasis is on the process, not solely on
the content hence, it is a process philosophy
of education.

22. Factors Involve in the Learning Loop
CONCRETE
EXPERIENCE
(exercises)
ACTIVE
EXPERIMENTATION
(forming new questions,
behaviors )
ABSTRACT
CONCEPTUALIZATION
(readings)
REFLECTIVE
OBSERVATION
(discussion)

23. Factors Used in Experiential Education
•
•
•
•
Learning must be current.
Learning must be eclectic.
Learning must be inclusive.
Learning must deal with the essential,
not structures and forms.
• Learning must be dynamic.

24. Recalling and Learning
Recall is a very important factor in learning
because the more we can recall effectively the
more we learn.
Ways of recalling:
1) Self-recitation
2) Over learning
3) Periodic review
4) Following a logical pattern

25. Ways of recalling:
1) Self-recitation while the material is being
learned. Recall is helped by recalling during
practice.
2) Over learning helps the learner to have a
better memory since he can recall more
efficiently over learned materials.
3) Periodic review helps to cut down the effects
of forgetting.
4) Following a logical pattern makes us
remember the materials better.

26. Guidelines for Curriculum Development
1) A good curriculum must encourage inquiry and creativity.
2) A good curriculum must be democratic with regard to
procedures.
3) A good curriculum must accept individual differences.
4) A good curriculum must take into consideration scientific
and scholarly techniques and findings.
5) A good curriculum must minimize memorizing and
maximize discovery.
6) A good curriculum must take into consideration the
potential for achievement through either the individual
learner or the group.
7) A good curriculum must employ teacher resources in a
multi-dimensional role.

27. Reference
• Andres, Tomas Quintin D.; Francisco,
Felizardo Y. Curriculum Development on
the Philippine Setting. National Book
Store, Quad Alpha Centrum Bldg.
Mandaluyong City. 1989. pp. 55-77