LESSON 5: THE LEARNER-CENTERED APPROACHES WITH EMPHASIS ON

TRAINER’S METHODOLOGY 1

The center of the teaching-learning process is the learner. Making learning experiences
successful, productive, and meaningful is the teacher’s top priority. This necessitates
that a teacher comprehend the various philosophies and tenets of instruction. A crucial
framework for comprehending the teaching and learning process is provided by learning
theories. The principles 7-11 from the fourteen (14) learner-centered psychological
principles are the main topic of this lesson. These following are our topics in todays
lesson:
D2. Motivational and Affective Factors :Principle 7. Motivational and emotional
influences; Principle 8. Intrinsic motivation to learn; Principle 9. Effects of motivation on
effort
D3. Developmental and Social Factors: Principle 10. Developmental influences on
learning; Principle 11. Social influences on learning

B. Motivational and Affective Factors

Principle 7. Motivational and emotional influences on learning.

• What and how much is learned is influenced by the motivation. 
•Motivation to learn, in turn, is influenced by the individual’s emotional states, beliefs,
interests and goals, and habits of thinking.
-The rich internal world of thoughts, beliefs, goals and expectations for success and
failure can enhance or interfere with the learner’s quality of thinking and information
processing. 
-Student’s beliefs about themselves as learners and the nature of learning have a
marked influence on motivation. Motivational and emotional factors also influence both
the quality of thinking and information processing as well as an individual’s motivational
to learn.
-Positive emotions, such as curiosity, generally enhance motivation and facilitate
learning and performance. Mild anxiety can also enhance learning and performance by
focusing the learner’s attention on a particular task. 
-Negative emotions (e.g.,Anxiety, panic, rage, insecurity) and related thoughts (e.g.,
worrying about competence, ruminating about failure, fearing punishment, ridicule, or
stigmatizing labels) generally detract from motivation, interfere with learning, and
contribute to low performance. 
 The Eight Basics of Motivation
Students are motivated to engage in learning when:
1. They perceive stable links between specific actions and achievement
2. They feel competent to do what is expected of them
3. They value the subject and have a clear sense of purpose
4. They perceive the environment as favorable for learning
5. They experience positive emotions toward learning activities
6. Students direct their attention away from learning when they experience
negative emotions
7. Students free up cognitive resources for learning when they are able to
influence the intensity, duration and expression of their emotions
8. Students are more persistent in learning when they can manage their
resources and deal with obstacles efficiently 

Principle 8. Intrinsic motivation to learn. 

•The learner’s creativity, higher order thinking, and natural curiosity all contribute to

motivation to learn. 

•Intrinsic motivation is stimulated by tasks of optimal novelty and difficulty relevant to

personal interests, and providing for personal choice and control.

-Curiosity, flexible and insightful thinking, and creativity are major indicators of the

learners’ intrinsic motivation to learn, which is in large part a function of meeting basic

needs to be competent and to exercise personal control.

 -Intrinsic motivation is facilitated on tasks that learners perceive as interesting and

personally relevant and meaningful, appropriate in complexity and difficulty to the

learners’ abilities, and on which they believe they can succeed.

 -Educators can encourage and support learners’ natural curiosity and motivation to

learn by attending to individual differences in learners’ perceptions of optimal novelty

and difficulty, relevance and personal choice and control. 

2 types of motivation 

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Theory

 ~According to Ryan and Deci, intrinsic motivation defines an activity done for its own

sake without the anticipation of external rewards and out of a sense of the sheer

satisfaction it provides (2000).  The right level of challenge, coupled with adequate

skills, sense of control, curiosity, and fantasy, are some key factors that can trigger

intrinsic motivation. And when combined with will power and positive attitude, these

elements can help sustain motivation over time.

~ In contrast, extrinsic motivation describes activities students engage in while

anticipating rewards, be it in the form of good grades or recognition, or out of

compulsion and fear of punishment (Tohidi, & Jabbari, 2021).

• Motivation can be cultivated extrinsically at the initial stage, particularly when it comes

to activities that are not inherently interesting, as long as the ultimate goal is to
transform it into intrinsic motivation as the learning process unfolds. The rationale for

this has to do with a short shelf life and a potential dependence on rewards.

Principle 9. Effects of motivation on effort.

• Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills requires extended learner effort and
guided practice. Without learners’ motivation to learn, the willingness to exert this effort
is unlikely without coercion.

-Effort is another major indicator of motivation to learn. The acquisition of complex

knowledge and skills demands the investment of considerable learned energy strategic
effort, along with persistence overtime.

-Educators need to be concerned with facilitating motivation by strategies that enhance

learner effort and commitment to learning and to achieving high standards of
comprehension and understanding.

-Effective strategies include purposeful learning activities, guided by practices that

enhance positive emotions and intrinsic motivation to learn, and methods that increase
learners’ perceptions that a task is interesting and personally relevant.

C. Developmental and Social Factors 

Principle 10. Developmental influences on learning. 

•As individuals develop, there are different opportunities and constraints for learning. 
-Learning is most effective when differential development within and across physical,

intellectual, emotional, and social domains is taken into account. 

-Individuals learn best when material is appropriate to their developmental level and is

presented in an enjoyable and interesting way. Because individual development varies

across intellectual, social, emotional, and physical domains, achievement in different

instructional domains may also vary.

-Overemphasis on one type of developmental readiness—such as reading readiness,

for example—may preclude learners from demonstrating that they are more capable in

other areas of performance. 

-The cognitive, emotional, and social development of individual learners and how they

interpret life experiences are affected by prior schooling, home, culture, and community

factors.

 -Early and continuing parental involvement in schooling, and the quality of language

interactions and two-way communications between adults and children can influence

these developmental areas.

- Awareness and understanding of developmental differences among children with and

without emotional, physical, or intellectual disabilities, can facilitate the creation of

optimal learning contexts. 

Some Developmental Theories that are Relevant in Understanding How

Students Learn
  1. Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory

 2. Psychosexual Theory By Sigmund Freud

 3. Psychosocial Development Theory by Erik Erikson

 4. Multiple Intelligences by Howard Gardner

 5. Hierarchy of Needs of Maslow

 6. Socio-Cultural Theory By Lev Vygotsky 

 7. Ecological System Theory by Uri Bronfenbrenner 

Principle 11. Social influences on learning.

•Learning is influenced by social interactions, interpersonal relations, and
communication with others.
•Learning can be enhanced when the learner has an opportunity to interact and to
collaborate with others on instructional tasks.
•Learning settings that allow for social interactions, and that respect diversity,
encourage flexible thinking and social competence.
-In Interactive and collaborative instructional contexts, individuals have an opportunity
for perspective taking and reflective thinking that may lead to higher levels of cognitive,
social, and moral development, as well as self-esteem.

-Quality personal relationships that provide stability, trust, and caring can increase
learners’ sense of belonging, self-respect and self-acceptance, and provide a positive
climate for learning.
-Family influences, positive interpersonal support and in self-motivation strategies can
offset factors that interfere with optimal learning such as negative beliefs about
competence in a particular subject, high levels of test anxiety, negative sex role
expectations, and undue pressure to perform well.
- Positive learning climates can also help to establish the context for healthier levels of
thinking, feeling, and behaving. Such contexts help learners feel safe to share ideas,
actively participate in the learning process, and create a learning community.