Psychology and the school
All schools preparing students for the profession of teaching, whether Normal Schools or Colleges of Education are agreed that it is fundamentally necessary for these students to take as an elementary subject, practically prerequisite to all other educational courses, work in educational psychology. Psychology, as it is ordinarily taught in an elementary way, contains little, if any, special application to the problems of teaching.
Indeed, the general problem of learning is approached so indefinitely way in most of these books that the student who has not worked with specific courses of educational psychology is at a loss in the discussion of specific problems which have to do with the technique of teaching.
This volume of Professor Cameron's has been prepared to meet the specific needs of those preparing to teach. As it includes a reasonably comprehensive in- introduction to psychology, it is possible for students to work with this book to advantage, who have not had introductory courses in general psychology. It has the additional advantage of considering elementary psychological principles specifically from the standpoint of the teacher and the learner.
Throughout the book, technical and theoretical discussions are avoided, the primary purpose of the author being to give the explanation of the behaviour of school children in terms of mental life. This volume is presented in the belief that it will be of value to colleges and normal schools where there is felt to be little demand for the students to take courses in general psychology before beginning the specific task of the application of psychology to education,,
Some contents of the book:
Chapter I. Introduction
Psychology defined — Bodily and mental processes — Sensitivity, conductivity and contractility — Relation of consciousness to these functions — ^Unique character of mental processes — Methods of psychology — Education defined — Relation of education to psychology — Obviating difficulties in psychology 3
Chapter II. The Nervous System
Behaviour — ^The function of the nervous system — Embryonic development of the nervous system — Gross structure — Elementary structure — The sensorimotor arc — ^Types of sensorimotor arcs — Localization of cerebral functions — Physical basis of intelligence — Meaning of infancy — Education and behaviour 17
Chapter III. Behaviour — Native and Acquired
Unlearned activities — Modification pf instincts — List of human instincts — Fear — Curiosity — Imitation — ^Play — Con- constructiveness — Ownership — Rivalry — Habit — Rules of habit- formation — Advantages and disadvantages of habit . . 41
Chapter IV. Sensation
Sensation defined — Sensations and perceptions— Visual sensations — Auditory sensations — ^The static sense — Smell and taste — Sensations of touch, warmth and cold — Mus- cular sensations — The role of sensation 65
Chapter V. Perception
Relation between sensation and perception--the Miiller- Lyer illusion — The relating process in perception — ^The in- fluence of past experiences — Space-perception — Habits and perception— Perceptual development — Apperception . . 86
Download 6.7 MB