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Theory and Hypothesis

THEORY 

A theory is an attempt to develop a general explanation for some phenomenon. It is a well-established principle that has been developed to explain some aspect of the natural world. 

It defines non-observable constructs (mental abstractions such as personality, creativity, intelligence, etc.) that are inferred from observable facts and events and that are thought to have an effect on the phenomenon under study. A theory describes the relationship among key variables for purposes of explaining a current state or predicting future occurrences. A theory is primarily concerned with explanation and therefore focuses on determining cause-effect relationships.

A theory arises from repeated observation and testing and incorporates facts, laws, predictions, and tested hypotheses that are widely accepted.

Researchers engaged in pure/basic research devote their energies to the formulation and reformulation of theories and may not be concerned with their practical applications. However, when a theory has been established, it may suggest many applications of practical value. Indeed, ‘there is nothing more practical than a good theory’ (John Dewey).

HYPOTHESIS

A hypothesis is the researcher’s tentative predictions of the results of the research findings. Hypothesis is a specific, testable prediction about what the researcher expects to happen in her/his study. For example, a study designed to look at the relationship between study habits and test anxiety might have a hypothesis that states, ‘This study is designed to assess the hypothesis that students with better study habits will suffer less test anxiety.’ Unless the study is exploratory in nature, the hypothesis should always explain what the researcher expects to happen during the course of her/his experiment or research.

While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably in general practice, the difference between a theory and a hypothesis is important when studying experimental design. Some important distinctions to note include:

• A theory predicts events in general terms, while a hypothesis makes a specific prediction about a specified set of circumstances.

• A theory has been extensively tested and is generally accepted, while a hypothesis is a speculative guess that has yet to be tested.

Hypotheses are more common in quantitative than qualitative research. Hypotheses are formulated prior to the execution of the study. They are formulated on the basis of the knowledge gained from a theory or review of related literature. 

Functions of Hypotheses

In scientific inquiry, hypotheses serve two important functions; the development of theory, and the statement of parts of an existing theory in testable form.

Hypotheses formulation is considered as the first of the six levels of theory generation (Snow, 1973). 

The most common use of hypotheses is to test whether an existing theory can be used to solve a problem.

Characteristics of a Good Hypothesis

• A good hypothesis is based on a sound rationale; it is not a ‘wild guess’ but a reasoned prediction. It is a tentative but rational explanation for the predicted outcome.

• A good hypothesis states as clearly as possible the expected relationship or difference between two variables in measurable terms.

• A well stated and defined hypothesis must be testable.

Types of Hypotheses

• Inductive Hypothesis is a generalization made from a number of observations.

• Deductive Hypothesis is derived from theory and is aimed at providing evidence that supports, expands, or contradicts aspects of a given theory.

• Research Hypothesis (H) is a formal affirmative statement predicting a single research outcome. It is a statement regarding the expected relationship or difference between two variables. It states the relationship the researcher expects to verify through the collection and analysis of data. 

• For example, a number of years ago the hypothesis was formulated that ‘there is a positive causal relationship between cigarette smoking and the incidence of coronary heart disease’. In behavioural sciences one might propose the hypothesis that ‘UGC-NET aspirants taught research methodology through discussion and problem solving method would score better in the UGC-NET exam than those taught through the conventional method’.

Research hypotheses can be Nondirectional, Directional or Null.

• Nondirectional Hypothesis indicates that a relationship or difference exists but does not indicate the direction of the difference.

• Directional Hypothesis indicates that a relationship or difference exists and indicates the direction of the difference.

• Null Hypothesis (N) is a statement of the research hypothesis in negative or null form. It states that there will be no significant relationship or difference between variables. For example, the statement that ‘there is no positive causal relationship between cigarette smoking and the incidence of coronary heart disease’; or, ‘there will be no significant difference between the UGC-NET exam scores of UGC-NET aspirants taught research methodology through discussion and problem solving method or the conventional method’.

• The Null hypothesis relates to a statistical method of interpreting conclusions about population characteristics that are inferred from the variable relationships observed in samples. 

• The null hypothesis asserts that the observed differences or relationships result merely from chance errors inherent in the sampling process. 

• Most hypotheses are the opposite of the Null hypothesis. In such a case if the researcher rejects the Null hypothesis, s/he accepts the research hypothesis, concluding that the magnitude of the observed variable relationship is probably too great to attribute to sampling error. 

TYPES OF RESEARCH

Research can be classified into many different types. Some important ones are discussed in the following sections. 

• Basic/Fundamental/Pure Research is conducted to develop or refine theory, not to solve immediate practical problems. It involves developing and testing theories and hypotheses that are intellectually challenging to the researcher but may or may not have practical application at the present time or in the future. The knowledge produced through pure research is sought in order to add to the existing body of research methods. While this type of research contributes to our understanding of the human mind and behavior, it does not necessarily help solve immediate practical problems. 

• Applied Research is conducted to find solutions to specific, practical problems; for policy formulation, administration and understanding of a phenomenon. It is interested in finding solutions to problems that impact daily life. 

Applied research can be carried out by academic or industrial institutions. Often, an academic institution such as a university will have a specific applied research program funded by an industrial partner interested in that program. 

• Most researches in social sciences are applied in nature. 

• Quantitative Research. The purpose of quantitative research is to generalize about or control phenomena. 

An important assumption that underlies quantitative research is that the world in which we live and carry out our research is relatively stable, uniform and coherent; therefore it can be measured, understood and classified. 

Key features of qualitative research include defining the problem or question to be studied and formulating hypotheses predicting the results of the research before the study begins; controlling contextual factors that might influence the results of the study; collecting data from samples of participants; and using numerical, statistical approaches to analyse the collected data. 

Quantitative Research approaches are intended to describe current conditions, investigate relationships, and cause-effect phenomena. 

• Qualitative Research. The purpose of qualitative research is to provide in-depth descriptions of unique settings and people. 

An important belief that underlies qualitative research is that the world is neither stable, coherent, nor uniform, and therefore, ‘truth’ as sought by qualitative researchers cannot be obtained because perspectives and understandings differ from group to group. 

Qualitative methods involve the collection and analysis of primarily nonnumerical data obtained from observation, interviews, tape recordings, documents and the like. 

In recent years, qualitative research methods have become popular and have attracted many advocates. 

Qualitative approaches include a number of methods such as ethnology, ethnomethodology, case study, phenomenology and symbolic interaction. The focus of these methods is on deep description of aspects of people’s everyday perspectives and contexts. 

Both Quantitative and Qualitative approaches of research use methods (quantitative/qualitative) to describe what is. Both these approaches collect data to describe the current status of the subject of research. Thus, both these approaches are descriptive in nature and are also called Descriptive Researches. 

• Historical Research describes what was. It is a form of qualitative research that attempts interpreting past events. The process involves investigating, recording, analysing and interpreting the events of the past for the purpose of discovering generalizations that are helpful in understanding the past and the present and, to a limited extent, in anticipating the future. 

Historians work with data that already are available in a variety of forms. Primary Sources of data are provided by first person eyewitnesses or authors. They are reported by an actual observer or participant in an event. Documents, Remains or Relics and Oral Testimony are examples of Primary Sources of historical data. 

Non-first-person accounts are called Secondary Sources of historical data. These are accounts of an event not actually witnessed by the reporter. Because of the distortion in passing on information, historians prefer to work with primary sources of data. 

External Criticism is used to assess the authenticity of data. Internal Criticism is used to assess the truthfulness of data. 

Although Historical Research usually employs qualitative techniques, it can also use quantitative techniques. 

• Experimental Research seeks to investigate cause-effect relationships. It describes what will be when certain variables (factors/quantities which are liable to change) are carefully controlled or manipulated. The focus is on variable relationships. 

The experimental researcher controls the selection of participants by choosing them from a single pool and assigning them at random to different causal treatments. Deliberate manipulation is always a part of the experimental method. The researcher also controls contextual variables that might interfere with the study. 

Because of random selection and assigning of participants into different treatments, experimental research permits true cause-effect statements to be made. 

• Survey Research is a kind of descriptive research which is very popular in social sciences, humanities and education. In Survey Research, numerical data are collected to know the preferences, attitudes, practices, concerns, or interests of some group. Data are collected by self administered instruments such as questionnaires, opinionnaires, rating-scales, interviews etc. 

The decennial census is an example of Survey research. 

A major problem complicating Survey research and other descriptive researches is the failure of participants to return questionnaires or cooperate in interviews. 

• Correlational Research is a kind of quantitative descriptive research. It examines the degree of relationship that exists between two or more variables (Variables are factors/quantities which are liable to change; academic achievement, emotional intelligence, parental support, career choices, socioeconomic status, quality of life,etc. are examples of a few variables studied in social sciences, humanities and education). 

A correlation is a quantitative measure of the degree of correspondence between two or more variables (e.g., parental support and academic achievement). The degree of relationship is measured by a correlation coefficient. A correlation coefficient of + 1.00 indicates that two variables are highly related and a coefficient of .00 indicates that there is no relationship between the variables. 

If two variables are highly related, it does not necessarily mean that one is the cause of the other; there may be a third factor (variable) that ‘causes’ both the related variables. 

• Causal- Comparative Research is a kind of descriptive research that seeks to investigate cause and effect relations between two or more different programmes, methods, or groups. 

The activity thought to make a difference (the programme, method,or group) is called the causal factor, treatment, or independent variable. The effect is called the dependent variable. 

In most causal-comparative research studies, the researcher does NOT have control over causal factor because it already has occurred or cannot be manipulated. This makes cause-effect conclusions tenuous and tentative. 

Causal- Comparative research is similar to Ex-post-facto research (in which the researcher cannot manipulate the independent variable because it already has occurred in the past) and different from experimental research (in which true cause and effect statements can be made because the researcher can deliberately manipulate the causal factor/independent variable). 

Causal-comparative research is useful in those circumstances when it is impossible or unethical to manipulate the causal factor. 

The conclusion that, because two factors or variables go together, one must be the cause and other the effect, is termed as the post-hoc fallacy. For example, earned income as an effect of the number of years of education completed. Post-hoc fallacy is one of the most serious dangers of descriptive research that uses ex-post-facto and causal-comparative procedures. 

Research as a method of gaining knowledge

INTRODUCTION

Human beings have always been curious to explore their biological, physical, and social world. This inquisitiveness of human nature has helped generate a lot of information regarding the biological physical and social aspects of the world we live in. 

In their quest to know the ‘truth’ or reality of the world in which human beings live, they have employed a variety of methods to gain understanding of the world. 

In early times tradition and personal experiences were the only methods of gaining knowledge. Later, revealed knowledge (as given in religious scriptures), and expert advice became the methods of knowing.

Aristotle proposed deductive logic (the process of deriving logical conclusions about particular instances from general premises or statements) as the method of knowing. 

Francis Bacon on the other hand, advocated inductive logic (the process of inferring a generalised conclusion from particular instances).

Charles Darwin popularised the inductive-deductive approach as a method of knowing.

In recent times science (the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment) has emerged as a discipline. Philosophers like John Dewey have advocated that an approach based on the methods of science should be employed for gaining knowledge of the physical and natural world.

This scientific and disciplined inquiry approach, which has helped the mankind in gaining objective understanding of the natural and social world, is called research. 

The Scientific and disciplined inquiry approach is made up of many steps. The four crucial steps are:

1. Recognize and identify a problem to be studied;

2. Describe and execute procedures to collect information about the questions or problem being studied;

3. Analyse the collected information;

4. State results or implications based on analysis of the information.

Compared to other methods of knowing, such as tradition, expert advice, personal experience, and inductive and deductive logic, a scientific and disciplined inquiry approach provides the most unbiased and verifiable understandings.

MEANING OF RESEARCH

The word research is composed of two syllables, ‘re’ and ‘search’. re is a prefix meaning ‘again, anew or over again’; search is a verb meaning ‘to examine closely and carefully, to test and try, or to probe’. Together they form a noun describing ‘a careful, systematic, patient study and investigation in some field of knowledge, undertaken to establish facts or principles’.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines research as ‘the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions’. 

Simply stated, research is the application of scientific and disciplined inquiry approach to the study of problems and issues of the natural and social world.

The primary goal of research is to explain or help understand relevant issues, questions and processes.

Secondary goals of research are to help others understand, predict future outcomes, improve future research and practice, and raise new questions to research.

Rarely does any single study produce definitive answers to research questions. Rather, understandings accumulated from many studies are the basis of progress and understanding.

Research is a process of collecting, analysing and interpreting information to answer questions. But to qualify as research, the process must have certain characteristics: it must, as far as possible, be controlled, rigorous, systematic, valid and verifiable, empirical and critical.

MODALITIES OF TEACHING

TEACHING AS DIFFERENT FROM INDOCTRINATION, INSTRUCTION, CONDITIONING AND TRAINING

DICTIONARY MEANINGS

TEACHING: 

1. Impart knowledge to or instruct (someone) in how to do something, especially in a school or as part of a recognized programme.

• Give instructions in (a subject or skill)

• Cause to learn by example or experience

2. Advocate as a practice or principle.

INSTRUCTION:

1.A direction or order.

• (instructions) Law

directions to a solicitor, counsel or jury.

2. (instructions) detailed information about how something should be done.

3. Computing A code in a programme which defines and carries out an operation.

4. Education. 

INDOCTRINATION:

1. Causing someone to accept a set of beliefs uncritically through repeated instruction.

2. archaic teach or instruct.

CONDITIONING:

1. Having a significant influence on.

• Training or accustoming to behave in a certain way.

[as adj. conditioned ] relating to or denoting automatic responses established by training to an ordinarily neutral stimulus.

2. Bring into the desired state for use. 

TRAINING:

1. Teaching (a person or animal) a skill or type of behavior through regular practice and instruction.

• Being taught in such a way

2. Make or become fit through a course of exercise and diet. 

TEACHING AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

• When one person imparts information or skill to another, it is common to describe the action as teaching.

• But not every way of bringing about learning in other counts as teaching, and not every act of teaching has a place within a programme of education.

• Philosophers of Education have analyzed the concept of Teaching in its generic sense and have attempted to distinguish educative teaching from related concepts such as Training, Conditioning and Indoctrination. 

• A central theme of these efforts have been to show that these related activities result in a defective form of learning because they fail to engage adequately the rational powers of students. 

TEACHING

• In its generic sense, Teaching denotes action undertaken with the intention of bringing about learning in another and is different from merely telling or showing how.

• Teaching , in fact, is a term which lacks well- defined boundaries. Teaching aims at learning and hence at knowledge, although, falsehoods can be taught and learned.

• Classifying an action as Teaching implies no judgments about the moral or educational worth of the content or about the methods employed.

• In its more distinctive sense, ‘Teaching’ is used to denote effort directed towards bringing about learning of a certain kind or quality—typically learning which is part of a programme of ‘education’.

• By ‘education’ in this context, is meant a special transformation of thought, feeling, and action distinct from mere socialization. 

• Often ‘education’ in this sense is understood as a process whose goal is the development of critical, reflective agents.

• It is in this context that ‘Teaching’ is commonly distinguished from related activities (such as Training, Conditioning and Indoctrination).

• Training, Conditioning and Indoctrination may also involve the intent to bring about learning, but of a kind or quality which is judged to be defective on a range of criteria from the standpoint of shared educational ideals.

TRAINING

• ‘Training’ has a more substantial area of overlap with ‘educative teaching’. In many contexts, ‘teaching’ can be substituted for ‘training’ without a change in meaning.

• The focus of ‘Training’ is on the development of skills, on knowing-how rather than on knowing-that.

• Sometimes, ‘training’ is reserved for use in the context of teaching of routine tasks which allow total mastery, but not always.

• When ‘ training’ does have a negative connotation by contrast with ‘educative teaching’, the focus is on learning which is narrow, inflexible, and uninformed by the point of the activity undertaken. 

• Example: ‘He has been merely trained rather than taught to think for himself’. 

• [Sometimes ‘drill’ is used as the negative term and ‘train’ as the positive one.]

• tasks which allow total mastery, but not always. 

• ‘Teaching’ someone a skill, on the other hand, requires developing the learner’s capacity to respond to the unexpected, to understand what he/she is doing and why, to be intelligent and reflective in the exercise of his/her skill.

• Such ‘Teaching’, therefore, involves the giving of reasons rather than (or in addition to) drill. 

CONDITIONING

• Conditioning is of two types– Classical and Operant. In Classical Conditioning, the reinforcer determines the kind of behavior, while in Operant Conditioning the occurrence of a response determines the kind of reinforcement an organism will get.

• Classical Conditioning is not compared with Teaching because in this type of conditioning an organism comes to elicit a response (naturally) and is not taught to do that!

• Normally, it is Operant Conditioning which is compared with Teaching because it simply seems to be a systematic form of training and hence teaching. 

• Common school practices such as giving rewards for good behavior can be described as setting up a situation in which a reinforcer(reward) depends upon the occurrence of a response( good behavior) [and that is the procedure for Operant Conditioning].

• This description of the situation implies nothing about how the stimulus (particular circumstances) brings about the response (good behavior) or why the frequency of the child’s behavior increases (except that it was given reward). 

• It seems possible, then, that a child’s behavior could be altered through conditioning without the child’s being consciously aware of the change or having any notion of why behaving in this way might be appropriate in the particular circumstances. 

• This makes it clear that the child in the above situation, does not behave because of any judgments she/he has made about what she/he ought to do. The child acts simply because of her/his conditioning!

• The process of Conditioning, therefore, seems to by-pass human rationality and is generally held to be unacceptable in a programme of education. 

• On the other hand, it has been argued that processes such as a person’s learning some fact by reading or hearing statements in its favor and evaluating the evidence (rational process) can be described as a process of Operant Conditioning. 

• If this is so, then educative teaching would not be incompatible with conditioning students but only with some ways of doing so. Thus ‘Conditioning’ (Operant) can be thought of as a possible cousin of ‘Teaching’. 

INDOCTRINATION

• The concept of ‘Indoctrination’ has received extensive treatment by philosophers of education. 

• ‘Indoctrination’ is sometimes mistaken for genuine education. Some have thought that ‘indoctrination’ is always to be avoided. Others have held that its use is inevitable (even if lamentable) with young children. 

• Thus the place of ‘indoctrination’ in a genuine programme of education is in doubt! 

• Etymology suggests that ‘indoctrination’ is connected with the teaching of doctrines.

• A doctrine may be defined as a system of beliefs that provides an explanation or interpretation of the world and indicates how humans ought morally to act in light of the general features of existence that the system has identified.

• A doctrine , as opposed to a Scientific Theory, contains assertions which are, in principle, not open to empirical investigation; are not known be true ; and it would be difficult to say what states of affairs would count for or against their truth. 

• Some have thought that any attempt to teach a doctrine (except in the sense of teaching a student what statements form part of the doctrine) is necessarily ‘indoctrination’. 

• Others, however, have left open the possibility that the content of a doctrine could be either educatively taught or indoctrinated depending upon the methods the instructor uses.

• ‘Indoctrinators’ are thought of as permitting no questions or expressions of doubt from the students. He /she uses methods which go beyond rational appeal, if necessary and misrepresents the weight of the evidence which is available. 

• In contrast, one who is educatively teaching tries to engage the reason of students, to encourage them to hold their beliefs on the basis of the available evidence, to subject their beliefs to appropriate tests, and to stand ready to revise their beliefs in light of new discoveries.

• In areas in which there are alternative points of view equally supported by the evidence, the ‘teacher’ must makes this known. 

• Some argue that when systematic distortion and irrational persuasion of this sort are in evidence, indoctrination is taking place regardless of the intention of the instructor.

• Others have claimed that, however, miseducative these methods are, the result is not indoctrination unless the instructor has certain special intentions.

• Self-conscious indoctrinators, it is generally agreed, aim at implanting beliefs within their students in such a way that the beliefs are immune to change. 

• They are interested in fixity of belief because of the connection the beliefs they are inculcating have with actions they are endeavoring to promote.

• Some have held, however, that instructors need not have such explicit intentions for a charge of indoctrination to stick. 

• For suppose that the worldview which forms the content of instruction is the predominant ideology of the society of which the school is a part. 

• The teachers, along with other members of the society, may have uncritically taken on these socially dominant beliefs and be transmitting them to students (either consciously or unconsciously) in good faith.

• The failure of teachers in scrutinizing these societal beliefs is appropriately labeled as ‘indoctrination’ by some. 

• In this case, the need to distinguish genuinely educative teaching from indoctrination is greatest. It is here that the self-awareness and independence of thought and action that education aims at is most crucial.

EDUCATIVE TEACHING

(The Concluding Remarks)

• The above discussion reveals that ‘educative teaching’ is a practice which engages the rational faculties of students and respects them as independent centers of thought and action. 

• ‘Educative teaching’ aims not only at encouraging beliefs which are supported by the evidence, but also at developing the power of students to gather the evidence and asses its adequacy for themselves. 

• This means that a programme of education must include the acquisition of the most reliable methods humans have developed for discovering the truth about themselves and the world.

• When teaching skills, the educative teacher (or educator) makes the students aware of the reasons for what they are doing and encourages them to be intelligent and reflective in the exercise of their skills. 

• Although the environment (and schools and teachers are part of that environment) may shape the behavior of students through Operant Conditioning, educative teachers desire students to act because of their perceptions of what they ought to do rather than merely because of their history of reinforcements.

• Educative teaching prepares students to develop their own rational life plans and act upon them. 

APPROACHES OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

There are 3 main approaches of studying Educational Technology:

I.HARDWARE APPROACH

• Its origin is in Physical Sciences & Applied Engineering and it is based on the concept of Service.
• It adopts a Product-oriented Approach.
• It is concerned with the production and utilization of audio-visual aid material[ such as CHARTS, MODELS, SLIDES, FILMSTRIPS, AUDIO CASSETTES, etc.], sophisticated instruments and gadgets[ such as RADIO, TELEVISION, FILMS, PROJECTORS, TAPE-RECORDERS, VIDEO PLAYER, TEACHING MACHINES , COMPUTERS, etc.] and mass media.
• Hardware Technology utilizes the products of Software Technology [such as teaching strategies, teaching learning material, etc.] for its functioning.
• Hardware technology has the potential to hand over the educational benefits to the mass with greater ease and economy Too much use of technical gadgets may mechanize the process of teaching-learning as the Hardware approach tries to enter education from outside, operating more in isolation than in combination.

II.SOFTWARE APPROACH

• It is sometimes referred to as Teaching Technology, Instructional Technology or Behavior Technology.
• Its origin is in Behavioral Sciences and the applied aspects of Psychology of learning.
• It is a Process-oriented Approach. It utilizes the knowledge of the Psychology of Learning to produce learning material, teaching – learning strategies, etc.[Software Technology] for the betterment of the process of teaching-learning
• It does not provide direct services to its users. Instead, it helps in the production of various Software materials which are used for developing the hardware appliances.
• It includes TEACHING STRATEGIES, LEARNING MATERIAL, EVALUATION TOOLS, TEACHING MODELS, PROGRAMMED INSTRUCTION, etc.
• Software technology does not require any aid form the hardware technology for its delivery. It becomes more useful and productive when assisted by the Hardware Technology.
• Software technology does not have mass appeal and is costlier in the long run, as compared to Hardware technology.

III. SYSTEMS APPROACH

• SYSTEM: A complex whole; a set of things working together as a mechanism or interconnecting network.
• A System is a set or arrangement of things so related or connected as to form a unity or organic whole. It’s a regular, orderly way of doing things. Schools are viewed globally as social systems. Instruction/ Teaching are considered as a sub-system within the social system of the school.
• Classroom, faculty, student groups, informal groups, etc. are other subsystem within.
• Education is considered a complex organization of technical, managerial and institutional systems.
• The instructional system has three parts: The Instructor, the Learner, and the goals of Instruction.
• The System- Approach to education, thus, considers education as an Input-Output System.
• Instructor & his qualities, Learners and their qualities èfeedback process system, technique, method, etc.èChanged learners (cognitive, affective & psychomotor transformation).

Systems Approach to education emphasizes:

• Identifying and stating the goals to be achieved;
• Identifying the processes, methods, techniques and strategies that may be most relevant to achieving the predetermined goals;
• Building up theoretical foundation justifying the relevance of these processes to achieving the goals;
• Determining specific interactions visualized existing among various other components of inputs;
• Specifying the various kinds of controls needed in the total system at different points; and
• Keeping the whole in mind all the time while preparing the model or the system.

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

ORIGIN & DEVELOPMENT: 

International Exhibition in Vienna [1873]- Exhibit from an American School with maps, charts, text books, and other equipments won admiration.

1955- Ford Foundation experts Dr. Alvin C. Enrich & Dr. Alexander J. Stoddard made use of technology for mass instruction using suitable machines and systems. 

MEANING OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Educational Technology is the application of scientific principles or principles drawn from any branch of knowledge to the development of some technique, method, device, model, or design which improves the quality of any existing practice in education.

ET is not confined to teaching or instruction only, but encompasses administration, testing, curriculum development, teacher training, etc.

DEFINITIONS OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Department of Education & Science, U.K.: ‘Educational Technology is the development, application, and evaluation of systems, techniques, and aids in the field of human learning.’

G. O. M. Leith [1967]: 

‘Educational Technology is application of scientific knowledge about learning, and the conditions of learning to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching and learning.’

L. K. Davis [1971]: 

‘Educational technology is concerned with the problems of education and training and is characterized by a disciplined and systematic approach to the organization of resources for learning’.

Scottish Council Of Education and Technology: 

‘Educational Technology is a systematic approach to designing and evaluating teaming and teaching methods and methodologies; and to the application and exploitation of media and the current knowledge of communication techniques in education , both formal and informal.’

NATURE & CHARACTERISTICS OF Educational Technology : 

Educational Technology:

-is the application of scientific principles to education.

- lays stress on the development of methods and techniques for effective teaching- learning.

- stresses the organization of learning situations for the effective realization of the goals of education. 

- emphasizes the designing of measuring instruments for testing learning outcomes. 

- facilitates learning by controlling environment, media and methods.

- involves input, output and process aspect of education.

CONCLUSION:

Educational Technology is a very comprehensive term and is not to be viewed in terms of its parts or processes. 

It is not synonymous to Audio- Visual Aids in education. Nor is it confined to the use of electronic media in education. 

It includes Instructional Technology, Teaching Technology, Programmed Learning, Microteaching and System Analysis, etc.

PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT: PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES

THEMATIC APPERCEPTION TEST [TAT]

•Thematic (adj. having or relating to subjects or a particular subject) Apperception (n. assimilation into the mind of a new concept) Test [TAT] was developed by Henry Murray & Christiana Morgan in 1935. 

•TAT is a little more structured than the Rorschach Inkblot Test.

•Altogether, there are 30 cards; 29 having ambiguous black and white pictures, showing one or more persons, in a variety of situations; and 1 blank card.

•Some of these cards (10) are meant for adult males and females, others (10) are used with boys and girls, and still others (9) are used in some combinations.

•20 cards (19picture cards+ 1 blank card) are appropriate for a subject, although a lesser number of cards (even 5) has also been successfully used.

•The pictures are vague about the events depicted and can be interpreted in several ways. 

METHOD

•The person taking the test is presented these (20) cards, one at a time. The test-taker is asked to construct a story about the people and objects depicted in the picture. 

•The subject is asked to describe:

i) What led up to the situation shown?

ii) What is happening at the moment?

iii) What the people are thinking and feeling?

iv) What the outcome is likely to be?

SCORING & INTERPRETATION

•Psychologists consider many factors in interpreting the stories constructed by the TAT test-takers. 

•These include the kinds of personal relationships involved, the motivations of the characters, and the degree of contact with reality shown by the characters. 

•There are no objective scoring systems for TAT, and its reliability and validity are low when used for diagnostic purposes. 

•Attempts have been made to develop standard procedures for scoring TAT responses.

•The TAT has also been modified for use with children and the aged.

•Uma Chaudhary’s Indian adaptation of TAT is also available.

Nevertheless, TAT is widely used to uncover internal conflicts, dominant drives, interests, and motives. Specific motives include the need for achievement, need for power, the need for intimacy, and problem-solving abilities. 

OTHER PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES

Apart from the Rorschach Inkblot Test and the TAT, psychologists use a number of other Projective Techniques to assess human personality. These include: 

1. Rosenzweig’s Picture-Frustration Study (P-F Study), 

2. Word-Association Test, 

3. Sentence-Completion Test, and 

4. Draw- a- Person Test

SENTENCE COMPLETION TEST

•This test makes use of a number of incomplete sentences.

•The starting part of the sentence is first presented and the subject has to provide an ending to the sentence.

•It is held that the type of endings used by the subjects reflect their attitudes, motivation and conflicts. 

•The test provides subjects with several opportunities to reveal their underlying unconscious motivations.

•Interpretations of the responses with this approach can be highly subjective.

•However, some sentence-completion tests, such as the Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank, provide for more objective scoring.

DRAW-A-PERSON TEST

•It is a simple test in which the subject is asked to draw a person on a sheet of paper.

•A pencil and eraser is provided to facilitate drawing.

•After the completion of the drawing, the subject is generally asked to draw the figure of an opposite sex person.

•Finally, the subject is asked to make a story about the person as if s/he was a character in a novel or a play.

CONCLUSION

•The assessment of personality with the help of projective techniques appears fairly interesting. 

•It helps one to understand unconscious motives, deep-rooted conflicts, and emotional complexes of an individual.

•However, the interpretation of the responses requires sophisticated skills and specialized training.

•There are problems associated with the reliability of scoring and validity of interpretations.

•Nevertheless, the practitioners have found these techniques quite useful in assessing human personality.

Projective Techniques

PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT: PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUE

PROJECTIVE TECHNIQUES

• Objective tests assume personality as consciously accessible and measure it by self-report questionnaires or personality inventories.

• Projective tests, on the other hand, assume personality as primarily unconscious and assess an individual by how he or she responds to an ambiguous stimulus. 

• Projective techniques are inspired by the Psychoanalytic Theory of Sigmund Freud, which tells that a large part of human behavior is governed by unconscious motives.

• Since direct methods of personality assessment cannot uncover the unconscious part of behavior, they fail to provide a real picture of an individual’s personality.

• Projective Techniques are indirect methods of personality assessment, developed to assess unconscious motives and feelings.

• The theory underlying projective techniques is that when a person is presented with an ambiguous stimulus, such as an inkblot, or a picture that can be interpreted in more than one way, the person will project his/her needs, fears, and values onto the stimulus when asked to describe it.

• These projections (the unconscious transfer of one’s own desires or emotions to another person) are interpreted by experts. 

• A variety of projective techniques have been developed. While the nature of stimuli and responses in these techniques vary enormously, all of them do share the following features:

i) The stimuli are relatively or fully unstructured and poorly defined.

ii) The person being assessed is usually not told about the purpose of assessment and the method of scoring and interpretation.

iv) Each response is considered to reveal a significant aspect of personality.

v) Scoring and interpretation are lengthy and sometimes subjective. 

THE RORSCHACH INKBLOT TEST

• Hermann Rorschach (1814-1922), a Swiss Psychiatrist, who had been fascinated by inkblots (klecks) since childhood, created Rorschach inkblot test in 1921.

• Psychologists use this test to examine a person's personality characteristics and emotional functioning. 

• It has been employed to detect an underlying thought disorder, especially in cases where patients are reluctant to describe their thinking processes openly. 

METHOD

• Ten official inkblots, each printed on a separate white card are shown to the test-taker one at a time.

• Five inkblots are of black ink, two are of black and red ink and three are multicolored, on a white background.

• In the first phase, called performance proper, the test-takers are asked to describe what they see; to note where they see what they originally saw and what makes it look like that.

• In the second phase, called inquiry, the cards are shown a second time, and the psychologist asks specific questions about their earlier answers.

• As the subject is examining the inkblots, the psychologist writes down everything the subject says or does, no matter how trivial. The psychologist notes the test-takers’ gestures, reaction to particular inkblots, and general attitude. 

• Responses can be interpreted in several ways, depending on whether the test-taker reports seeing any movement, human or animal figure, animate or inanimate objects, and partial or whole figures.

USES OF RORSCHACH

• Can detect thought disorders such as schizophrenia and manic depression, that can be detected in other valid and objective ways.

• Not equipped to identify psychiatric conditions.

• Not valid for detecting sexual abuse in children, violence, impulsiveness, criminal behavior.

• Unrepresentative of the general population, and therefore are subject to over-diagnosing psychiatric conditions. 

STANDARDIZATION OF RORSCHACH

• Attempts have been made to standardize the administration, scoring and interpretation of the Rorschach Test. 

• The most successful of these is John Exner’s, Comprehensive System (1993) which claims to lead to improved reliability and validity. 

• There is not universal agreement about the usefulness and validity of Rorschach, even with the Comprehensive System for scoring. 

• Only half of the characteristics had interscorer reliability, making this test overall unreliable and invalid.

• Validity research is generally more supportive of the MMPI than the Rorschach. 

________________________

M. J.Hussain -- The Pedagogue

The world of teaching- learning has always fascinated me and I am thoroughly enjoying it since the last 6 years. I started teaching as a hobby, which grew into a passion and finally became my career.

I have worked at all levels of school teaching and am presently working as a Teacher Educator in a university department. I have been an itinerant lecturer of education and have also been active as a Resource Person for In-service Training Programmes of TGTs, PGTs, and School Headmasters.

For me, the classroom has been a 'fascinating laboratory of life', in which I have kept growing in my ability to understand more about the subjects I teach, more about students and how they learn, and more about myself as a teacher and as an individual.

My chief areas of interest are Teacher Education, Pedagogy of Science, Educational Psychology,and Curriculum Development. In fact, these are the subjects I enjoy teaching. Educational Research and Policy & Planning in Education also interest me.

I develop great enthusiasm for the subjects I teach and strive to communicate in such a way that students are somehow infected with my enthusiasm and are stimulated into learning for themselves. There are times when I face severe setbacks in motivating my students to learn, but I have never failed in doing so! At times, the response that I get from my Students is overwhelming! This is the greatest motivation behind my efforts to evolve as a teacher who is loved and revered by his students.

Although the opportunities I got for learning were not always great, I have found myself always interested in learning; I have had an interest in and respect for diverse ideas. Being a Postgraduate in Botany and Education, I tend to apply scientific method to look into the issues that concern education and society and try to keep myself abreast with policies, issues and latest researches in Education.

I am Cooperative, Compassionate and always open to accept my mistakes [and learn from them]. As regards my weakness, I am very humble and social and at times leave my work incomplete at the cost of helping others.

I love to read literary works [in English, Urdu and Hindi] and Write [Poetry in Urdu and English] in my free times.

I have created this blog with two purposes in mind. First, to create a digital resource on various subjects of education that I teach. Second,to provide an interactive platform for discussing pertinent issues and problems that concern education and society.

All those who are concerned about education and its role in bringing out social change, are welcome on this blog.

Hope I make some sense about the theory and practice of education through the postings on this blog.