Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) Learning, Development and Educational Theory Syllabus

Define the spacing effect.

The spacing effect is the finding that learning is more durable when study sessions on the same material are distributed over time (spaced) rather than massed together in a single session (cramming).

What is interleaving and how does it differ from blocked practice?

Interleaving mixes different topics or problem types within a study session (e.g. ABCABC), whereas blocked practice studies one type to mastery before moving on (AAABBB). Interleaving improves discrimination and long-term retention despite feeling harder.

What is the core idea of Paivio's dual coding theory?

Dual coding theory proposes that information can be encoded in two distinct channels, verbal and visual; presenting material in both forms creates more retrieval routes and improves learning compared with a single channel.

State Mayer's coherence principle in multimedia learning.

The coherence principle states that people learn better when extraneous, decorative or irrelevant material (words, pictures, sounds) is excluded, because such 'seductive details' overload working memory and distract from key content.

State Mayer's modality and redundancy principles.

Modality: people learn better from graphics with spoken narration than graphics with on-screen text. Redundancy: people learn better from graphics with narration than from graphics with narration plus identical on-screen text, which overloads the visual channel.

Why is the 'learning styles' theory considered a neuromyth?

There is no robust evidence that matching teaching to a pupil's supposed visual/auditory/kinaesthetic 'style' improves learning. Teaching is best matched to the content, not to a fixed learner style; learning styles is a debunked neuromyth.

Give two other common neuromyths besides learning styles.

Examples: 'we only use 10% of our brains'; 'left-brained vs right-brained learners'; 'children must drink water to oxygenate the brain (Brain Gym)'; and the idea that intelligence is fixed and unchangeable.

Distinguish intrinsic from extrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation is doing an activity for its inherent satisfaction, interest or enjoyment; extrinsic motivation is doing it to obtain a separable outcome such as rewards, grades, praise or avoiding punishment.

What is the overjustification effect?

The overjustification effect is when offering an external reward for an already intrinsically enjoyable activity reduces the person's intrinsic motivation to do it.

Name the three basic psychological needs in Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory.

Autonomy (feeling in control of one's actions), Competence (feeling effective and capable), and Relatedness (feeling connected to others). Satisfying these fosters intrinsic motivation and wellbeing.

In self-determination theory, what is the motivation continuum?

It runs from amotivation (no motivation), through extrinsic motivation of increasing internalisation (external, introjected, identified, integrated regulation), to intrinsic motivation, with autonomous forms being most self-determined.

Define Dweck's growth mindset versus fixed mindset.

A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, strategies and learning; a fixed mindset is the belief that ability is innate and unchangeable. Growth mindset is linked to greater resilience and effort.

What are the key dimensions of Weiner's attribution theory?

Learners attribute outcomes along three dimensions: locus (internal vs external), stability (stable vs unstable), and controllability (controllable vs uncontrollable). For example, attributing failure to lack of effort (internal, unstable, controllable) is more adaptive than to lack of ability.

Define self-efficacy and name the theorist.

Self-efficacy, defined by Albert Bandura, is a person's belief in their own capability to succeed at a specific task or situation. Higher self-efficacy increases effort, persistence and resilience.

List Bandura's four sources of self-efficacy.

Mastery experiences (past successes), vicarious experiences (seeing similar others succeed), verbal/social persuasion (encouragement), and physiological/emotional states (interpreting arousal as confidence vs anxiety).

Define metacognition and its two main components.

Metacognition is 'thinking about one's own thinking.' Its two components are metacognitive knowledge (awareness of oneself as a learner, of tasks and of strategies) and metacognitive regulation (planning, monitoring and evaluating one's learning).

What are the three phases of self-regulated learning?

Forethought/planning (setting goals and selecting strategies), performance/monitoring (applying strategies and tracking progress), and reflection/evaluation (judging outcomes and adjusting future approaches).

Name Piaget's four stages of cognitive development with approximate ages.

Sensorimotor (0–2 years), Preoperational (2–7 years), Concrete operational (7–11 years), and Formal operational (11+ years).

What cognitive milestone marks the sensorimotor stage's end, and what limits the preoperational stage?

Object permanence (understanding objects exist when unseen) develops in the sensorimotor stage. The preoperational stage is limited by egocentrism and a lack of conservation (failure to grasp that quantity stays constant despite changes in appearance).

Differentiate assimilation and accommodation in Piaget's theory.

Assimilation is fitting new information into an existing schema; accommodation is changing or creating a schema when new information does not fit. Together they restore cognitive equilibrium through adaptation.

Outline the typical sequence of physical, cognitive and social development across school phases.

Physical: rapid early growth, then steady gains, with a pubertal growth spurt in adolescence. Cognitive: from concrete to increasingly abstract reasoning. Social: from parallel play and adult-focus, to peer friendships, to identity-focused peer groups in adolescence.

What is the typical sequence of early language acquisition stages?

Cooing (around 2 months), babbling (around 6 months), one-word/holophrastic stage (around 12 months), two-word stage (around 18–24 months), then telegraphic speech and rapid vocabulary expansion.

Contrast Chomsky's and Skinner's accounts of language acquisition.

Chomsky argued language is innate, supported by a Language Acquisition Device and universal grammar; Skinner argued language is learned through operant conditioning (imitation and reinforcement). Most modern views combine innate capacity with social interaction.

What is virtuous error (overregularisation) in language development?

Virtuous errors are mistakes such as saying 'goed' or 'mouses' that show a child has internalised grammatical rules and is applying them logically, rather than simply imitating heard speech.

What is the central task of adolescence in Erikson's psychosocial theory?

Identity vs role confusion: adolescents work to develop a coherent sense of self and personal identity. Successful resolution yields a stable identity; failure leads to confusion about one's role and direction.

What emotional and identity changes are typical in adolescence?

Heightened self-consciousness and emotional intensity, identity exploration (Marcia's statuses), increased importance of peer approval, growing autonomy from parents, and ongoing development of emotional regulation as the prefrontal cortex matures.

Name the four attachment types identified by Ainsworth's Strange Situation.

Secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-resistant/ambivalent, and (added later by Main and Solomon) disorganised attachment.

According to Bowlby, what is an internal working model and why does it matter for learning?

An internal working model is a child's mental template of relationships, formed through early attachment, that shapes expectations of others and of self. Secure attachment supports the trust, exploration and emotional regulation that underpin engaged classroom learning.

How can insecure attachment or adverse early experience affect a pupil's learning?

It can impair emotional regulation, trust, attention and stress responses, leading to difficulties with concentration, relationships and exploration. Attachment-aware practice (consistent, secure relationships with adults) can buffer these effects and support learning.

Compare retrieval practice and spacing as 'desirable difficulties.'

Both are desirable difficulties: strategies that make learning feel harder and slower in the moment but produce stronger long-term retention. Retrieval practice strengthens recall by forcing memory reconstruction; spacing strengthens it by allowing forgetting and re-consolidation between sessions. They are often combined as spaced retrieval.