Go Back to Classics:
Foundations of Educational Psychology and Technology

"If I have seen farther, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."-- Sir Issac Newton

This project, part of foundation courses in instructional design and technology, is to provide information of theoriests who influence current research in the field of educational psychology and technology. The assumption underlying this project is the importance of intensive studying theorists and significant ideas.


Johann Comenius
(1592-1672)

       

 

 

        

John Dewey
(1859-1952)

Edward Thorndike
(1874-1949)

Jean Piaget
(1896-1980)

Lev Vygotsky
(1896-1934)

 

 

Burrhus Skinner
(1904-1990)

Alexei Leont'ev
(1904-1979)

 

 

Benjamin Bloom
(1913-1999)

Jerome Bruner
(1915-

Robert Gagne
(1916-2002)

Seymour Papert
(1928-

 

Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1672)
Life:

( Adapted from Marvin Haggenmüller, LFR Oberderdingen, class 8a, January 2002 from http://action1.de/jan_amos_comenius.htm ). Comenius was born in March 28th , 1592 in Nivnice (Southeastmähren/ Czech Republic). His father’s dead was in 1602 and his mother’s in the following year. That’s why he moved to his aunt in Stráznice in 1603 and before he went to the latinschool in Prerau in 1608, which was finished in 1611. From 1611 till 1614 he studied at the universities of Herborn and Heidelberg. As teacher and principal, he taught and led his “own” latinschool from 1614 till 1618. In 1616 he became priest and did his work from 1618 till 1621 as preacher and teacher in Fulnek. ‘cause of the Thirty Year War, which began in 1618, he had to change his places from 1621 till 1628, where he stood. A new country decree for Mähren was the reason, why he moved in 1628 to Lissa in Poland, where he stayed until 1641. Comenius was also from 1641 till 1642 in London and the Netherlands. From 1642 till 1648 he worked for Sweden and helped for the education reforms, but when he was elected bishop of the university, in the same year, and when the Thirty Year War was finished, he returned to Lissa in 1648. In the following two periods of ten years the Czech theologian and pedagogical reformer had to move very often. In 1650 he left Lissa to Sárospatak for four years and then came for two years to Lissa back. When Lissa was burned in 1656 he was escaping for 14 years to Amsterdam, where he had in 1669 a quarrel with another theologian. Finally he died in Amsterdam in November 15th , 1670. Jan Amos Komenský was buried in Naarden, not far from Amsterdam. He supported the christian education and the reforms of the school (pictures, not the teach of books), especially in the language instruction. He is best known for his contribution about teaching. A century before the Enlightenment, Johann Amos Comenius was a theologian, philosopher and pedagogue who believed that only through education could man achieve his full potential and lead a truly harmonious life. He was one of the founding fathers of modern education, and also a cosmopolitan and universalist who strove incessantly for human rights, peace between the nations, social peace and the unity of mankind.

Major Concepts:
 "Father" of modern education
Theory:

In all the operations of nature, development is from within.

Classic Works:

Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart
World in Pictures
The School of Infancy (1631)
Janua Linguarum Reserata (1632)
The Way of Light (1641)
Lux en Tenebris (1650)
Opera Didactrica (1657)
Orbis Pictus (1658)

Online Resources:
 http://action1.de/jan_amos_comenius.htm

 

John Dewey(1859-1952)
Major Concepts:
 Major Concepts: Pragmatism, Progressive education movement, Democratic Education, Learning by doing.
Life Style:
Dewey is a phiolosopher, not a researcher; he is interested in progressive ideas, not experimental validation.
Theory:
 Schools and classrooms should prepare students to be qualified citizens for the democratic society, and therefore, schools and classroom should provide a democratic environment in which students could make decision and learn by doing.
Classic Works:
 My Pedagogic Creed (1897)
School and Society (1900)
Child and the Curriculum (1902)
Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education (1916)
How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Educative Process (1933)
Experience and Education (1938)
Online Resources:
 http://www.siu.edu/~deweyctr/chrono.html

 

 Edward Thorndike(1874-1949)
Major Concepts:
 Behavism, Transfer, Individual Difference, Animal Psychology, experimentalist.
Life Style:
Workaholic, Brillant in ideas, Hardwork, Somewhat unsocialable, Lack of mechanical skills. "He was not actively involved in politics, religion, or social life but he would rather be getting or analyzing data than most anything else". (Mayer, 2003).
Theory:
 1. Learning is a mechanism between a stimulus and a response.
2. Transfer are specific, rather than general.
3. Intelligence depends on specific domain knowledge.
Classic Works:

Thorndike, E. L. & Woodworth, R. S. (1901). The Influence of Improvement in One Mental Function upon the Efficiency of Other Functions. Psychological Review, 8, 247-261, 384-395, 553-564.

Thorndike, E. L. (1913). Educational Psychology (Vols. 1-3). New York: Mason.

Online Resources:
  

 

 Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
Major Concepts:
 Developmental stages, constructivism
Life Style:
 
Theory:

1. Shema, accommodation, and assimilation

2. Four Development Stages
Piaget’s four age-related stages are the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational,and formal operational stages, which is universal for all children..

Classic Works:
 The Psychology of Intelligence (1947)
Psychogenesis and the history of science (1983)
Play, dreams and imitation in childhood (1945)
Online Resources:
 http://mi.essortment.com/jeanpiagettheo_rnrn.htm

 

 Lev Semenovich Vygotsky (1896-1934)
Major Concepts:
 The zone of proximal development, Cultural-historical approach
Life Style:
 
Theory:
 A reflection of dialectical materialism in educational psychology.
Classic Works:
 Thoughts and Language (1962)
Mind in Society (1978)
Online Resources:

Vygotsky vs. Piaget:
http://www.massey.ac.nz/~alock/virtual/colevyg.htm

Overview of Activity Theory: The Vygotsky Approach
http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~cs5724/g5/activity.html

The Vygotsky Internet Archive:
http://www.marxists.org/archive/vygotsky/

Social Development Theory:
http://tip.psychology.org/vygotsky.html

Vygotsky Resources:Review and Analysis of Vygotsky's Thought
and Language:
http://www.kolar.org/vygotsky/

Social Constructivism:
http://www.kolar.org/vygotsky/

 

 Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904-1990)
Major Concepts:
 Operant Condition, Teaching Machine, Programmed Instruction
Life Style:
 
Theory:
 1. Learning process should be arranged in several natural consequences and be positively reinforced in each step.
2. Programmed instruction: individualized pacing and reinforcement.
Classic Works:
 The behavior of organisms: An experimental analysis(1938)
Science and Human Behavior(1953)
Online Resources:
  

 

 Alexei Leont'ev (1904-1979)
Major Concepts:
 Activity Theory
Life Style:
 
Theory:
  
Classic Works:
  
Online Resources:
 http://www.marxists.org/archive/leontev/

 

 Benjamin Bloom (1913-1999)
Major Concepts:
 Taxonomy of Educational Objectives; Formative and Summative Evaluation
Life Style:
He was one of 25 exchange scholars of East China Normal University in Shanghai in 1986. "one of my primary responsibilities was to conduct a series of seminars. During these seminars, the Taxonomy was described and discussed. Liu Fonian [the president of the univeresity] was so impressed with the Handbook that he had it translated into Chinese and distributed a millon copies to educators throughout China. The magnitude of this effort is truly mind-boggling." (Bloom, 1994, p.6)
Theory:

1.The Taxonomy of Learning
Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor. or Knowledge, Attitude, Skills(KAS)
A 6-level classification for intellectual development,
Knowledge; Comprehension; Application; Analysis; Synthesis;
Evaluation.

"The purpose of education is to change the thoughts, feelings and actions of students."
Classic Works:

Stability and Change in Human Characteristics (1964)

Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.(1956)

Learning for Mastery (1968)
Problem-solving processes of college students (1950)
Online Resources:
  

 

Jerome Bruner (1915-

Major Concepts:
 Discovery Learning; Structure of the Subject Matter
Life Style:
 
Theory:
  
Classic Works:
 Bruner, J. (1960). The process of education.
Bruner, J. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction.
Bruner, J. (1971). The relevance of education)
Bruner, J. (1974). Going Beyond the Information Given. New York: Norton.
Bruner, J. (1986). Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of Meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Online Resources:
  

 

 Robert Gagne (1916-2002)
Major Concepts:
 Instructional Design, Learning Conditions, Taxonomy of learning outcomes, nine events of instruction.
Life Style:
 
Theory:

1. Conditions of Learning
2. Outcomes of Learning
verbal information
intellectual skills - concepts
intellectual skills - rules
intellectual skills - problem solving
cognitive strategies
motor skills
attitudes

3. Nine Events of Instruction
Gaining Attention
Informing the learner of the objective
Stimulating recall of prior learning
Presenting the stimulus
Providing learner guidance
Eliciting performance
Providing feedback
Assessing performance
Enhancing retention and transfer


Classic Works:
 The Conditions of Learning (1965)
Instructional Technology: Foundations
Principles of Instructional Design (1974)
The Conditions of Learning: Training Applications (1996)
Online Resources:
  

 

 Seymour Papert (1928-)
Major Concepts:
  
Life Style:
 
Theory:
  
Classic Works:
  
Online Resources:
 http://web.media.mit.edu/~papert/

 

Biobiography

Zimmerman, B. J. & Schunk, D. H. (2003). Educational Psychology: A Century of Contributions

Saettler. P. (1990), The Evolution of American Educational Technology

For comments or questions regarding this webpage contact xiaopeng@uga.edu
Last updated: 12/4/2004.