HUMANIS

M
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 Focus of Humanism

• Focus placed on the affective

dimension of the learning process

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 View of Learning

• Cognitive skills must be

developed within the context of
the learner’s feelings, needs and
emotions

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 View of Learning

• Education is the development of

the whole person not merely the
transmission of knowledge and
skills

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 Erik Erikson

• Identified 8 predetermined stages

in human psychological
development, each with its
particular challenges.

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 Erikson’s Stages

• Each stage deals with thoughts,

emotions, feelings that must be
handled appropriately to facilitate
a person’s learning

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 • Challenges well handled –
moves smoothly to the next
stage, in a strong position to deal
with the challenges there

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 Dealing with the Challenges

• Challenges well handled –

moves smoothly to the next
stage, in a strong position to deal
with the challenges there

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 Dealing with the Challeges
• Challenges inadequately
handled – will constantly
reappear throughout the person’s
life, hindering his being able to
deal appropriately with
subsequent stages and their
challenges

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 Competence, Fidelity
• Challenge (Adolescence) –
search for personal identity
• Successfully handled –
develops a strong sense of self-
identity / self acceptance, less
susceptible to peer pressure, has
high hopes for the future

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 • Inadequately handled – role
confusion, anti-social behaviour,
aimlessness, no fixed goals
towards which to aspire

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 Implications for learning

• Encourage learners to think for

themselves, come to conclusions,
to express themselves in
constructive ways

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 Bases of Maslow's theory

• Human beings are motivated by

unsatisfied needs

• Certain lower needs need to be

satisfied before higher needs can
be addressed.

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 Abraham Maslow

• Follow the link for an illustration of

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and
some related factors

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 Deficiency needs

• Psychological, biological needs. If

these are not satisfied or
fulfillment is disrupted the higher
order needs cannot be met

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 Being Needs

• Personal fulfillment in terms of

cognitive and aesthetic
development and the realization
of one’s full potential

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 Revised Structure
– Self actualization
– Aesthetic needs
– Cognitive needs

– Need for self-esteem

– Need for interpersonal closeness
– Need for safety / security /
belonging
– Basic biological needs
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 Implications for the
Classroom

• Learners may experience

difficulties in learning because
basic needs are not catered for
either at home or at school

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 Implications

• Importance of establishing a
secure environment where
learners feel that they belong,
receive / give respect,
encouraged to be creative

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 Implications

• Should be able to experience a

sense of freedom with a
counterbalancing sense of
responsibility

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 Implications

• Activities should be challenging,

encourage curiosity, structured to
facilitate the development of
critical thinking skills, to help
learners realize their potential

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 Application

• Maintain a low affective filter

• Cater for psychological elements

– feelings, emotions. Treat errors
tactfully

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 Application
• Design purposeful tasks

• Encourage creativity and initiative

• Enable learners to develop as

individuals in their own right

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 Social Interactionism
• Combination of Cognitive and
Humanist perspectives of
learning processes

• Cognitive, social and emotional

development inextricably linked in
the learning process

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 • Focus placed on the importance
of the learning context (climate,
environment) and the nature of
social and communicative
interaction in the classroom

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 Domains of the Learning
Environment / Context
• Physical – physical aspects of
the classroom
• Social – competitive, cooperative,
individualistic
• Instructional – selection of
content, materials, methods,
teaching and assessment
strategies

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 • Psychological – concerns the
creation and maintenance of a
positive and warm classroom
environment which supports
learning and the development of
confidence and self-esteem.
Learners are willing
– to use the language, to learn from
mistakes
– try out new ways to express
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meanings
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 Lev Vygotsky
• Children are born into a social
world and learning occurs through
interaction with people
• Supports a communicative
approach to language teaching –
learning the language through
using the language for meaningful
communication

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 • Effective learning results from the
interaction between two persons
with different levels of knowledge
– teacher or more competent peer
/ learner

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 SUMMARY
• Learning is a complex process
with cognitive, affective and social
dimensions. It is linked with
feelings, attitudes and self-
concepts
• Learning cannot take place in a
vacuum. Physical and
psychological conditions must
support learning
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 • Learning is influenced by the
context in which it occurs
(physical, psychological, social,
learning task)
• Learning differs from individual to
individual
• Learning is a lifelong process

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 Forms of Learning
• A quantitative increase in
knowledge
• Rote learning, memorization
• Acquisition of facts and
procedures to be retained and / or
applied
• Abstraction of meaning
• Interpretive process
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 Factors affecting
Learning

LEARNING

Cognitive Affective
Dimension Dimension

Psychological Phys and soc aspects

Piaget, Bloom, Ausubel
Factors - emotions, of the learning env,
Learning styles
attitudes, motivation C/room culture
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