Pedagogy

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Contents
 1 Definition
 2 The History of Pedagogy in Education
 3 Learning Theories and Pedagogy
o 3.1 Behaviorism
o 3.2 Cognitivism
o 3.3 Constructivism
o 3.4 Learning styles
 4 Learning in Different Age Groups
o 4.1 Preschool
o 4.2 Elementary school
o 4.3 Middle school and high school
o 4.4 College
o 4.5 Adult learners
 5 Modern Teaching Methods
 6 Notes
 7 References
 8 External links
 9 Credits

Definition
Pedagogy, literally translated, is the art or science of teaching children. The word
comes from the ancient Greek paidagogos, a compound comprised of "paidos"
(child) and "agogos" (leader). While the term is often used to mean the art of
teaching in general, some prefer to make the distinction between pedagogy
(teaching children) and andragogy (teaching adults). The terms "pedagogy" and
"andragogy" are also used to describe teacher/subject based instruction and
student centered/directed instruction, respectively.

"Critical pedagogy" is traditionally defined as educational theory and

teaching/learning practices designed to raise learners' critical consciousness
regarding oppressive social conditions. Heavily influenced by the work
of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, critical pedagogy is particularly concerned with
reconfiguring the traditional teacher/student relationship using meaningful
dialogue.[1]

An honorary degree, Ped.D. (Doctor of Pedagogy), is awarded by some American

universities to distinguished educators. The term is also used with earned degrees
to denote an emphasis on education within a specific field (for instance, a Doctor of
Music degree "in piano pedagogy").

The History of Pedagogy in Education

From the very beginning, educators have tried to find interesting ways to bring out
the possibilities of intelligence and a love of learning from their pupils. The advent
of writing circa 3000 B.C.E. resulted in a style of education that was more self-
reflective, with specialized occupations requiring particular skills and knowledge:
scribes, astronomers, and so forth. In ancient Greece, philosophy helped questions
of educational methods enter national discourse. In
both Republic and Dialogues, Plato advocated a system of instruction using
the Socratic method of teaching through questions. Through the clever use of
questions and answers, Plato's teacher, Socrates, was able to show even an
uneducated slave boy how the logic leading to the Pythagorean Theorem was
within him.

Since the time they launched their first school in 1548, the Jesuits believed that a
high quality education is the best path to meaningful lives of leadership and
service. The Jesuits adapted available educational models while developing their
own pedagogical methods to become the "schoolmasters of
Europe." Ignatian pedagogy, which embodies five key teaching elements—context,
experience, reflection, action, and evaluation—is the process by which teachers
accompany learners in the lifelong pursuit of competence, conscience, and
compassionate commitment. This method aims to support teachers to be the best
teachers, motivates students by personalizing their learning experience, and
stresses the social dimension of both learning and teaching. Underlying the
educational process in its entirety is the religious dimension, for the ultimate
purpose of such education is considered to be the discovery of God. [2]

During the mid-1600s in what is now the Czech Republic, the

educator Comenius wrote the first children's textbook containing vivid illustrations,
entitled The Visible World in Pictures. Known as the "Father of Modern Education,"
Comenius believed in a holistic approach to education. He taught that education
began in the earliest days of childhood and continued throughout life, and that
learning, spiritual, and emotional growth were all woven together. Unlike most of
society at the time, he also advocated the formal education of women. Well
respected throughout northern Europe, he was asked to restructure
the Swedish school system.[3]

During the 1700s, the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau presented his

methodology on the education of children in his novel Emile, the story of the
education of a young boy. Within his novel, Rousseau described the importance of
having a focus on both environment and personal experience. Different learning
stages are described: for example, during the "the age of nature" (from ages 2 to
12), Rousseau argued that a boy should receive no moral instruction or verbal
learning, as the mind should be "left undisturbed until its faculties have
developed." Instead, education during this stage should be focused on physical and
sensory development. Books are eschewed during Emile's education, with the
exception of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, a novel that reinforced Rousseau's
ideal of the solitary, self-sufficient man.[4]

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi,

a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer, greatly influenced the development
of the educational system in Europe and America. His educational method
emphasized the importance of providing a loving, family-type environment in
which the child can grow and flourish naturally, balancing their intellectual,
physical, and technical abilities, with emotional, moral, ethical, and religious growth.
Pestalozzi asserted that education should be centered on the child, not the
curriculum. Since knowledge lies within human beings, the purpose of teaching is
to find the way to unfold that hidden knowledge. Pestalozzi proposed direct
experience as the best method to accomplish this, advocating spontaneity and self-
activity, in contrast to the rigid, teacher-centered, and curriculum-based methods
generally used in schools. He advocated an inductive method, in which the child
first learns to observe, to correct its own mistakes, and to analyze and describe the
object of inquiry. In order to allow children to obtain more experience from nature,
Pestalozzi expanded the elementary school curriculum to include geography,
natural science, fine art, and music.

Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel, a German educator, also made substantial

advances in children's education, particularly the invention of
the kindergarten system for young children. His own difficulties as a child, his love
of nature, and his faith in God, combined with his experiences with Pestalozzi's
educational system, were the foundation for his insights into the education of very
young children. He recognized the importance of play in order to allow
their creativity to unfold and blossom. His school included a large room for play, as
well as a garden outside for the children to grow flowers and other plants. Thus, he
developed the kindergarten—a "garden for children" where they could grow
naturally, with support from their parents and teachers.

A contemporary of Fröbel, Johann Friedrich Herbart, had a very different approach

to education. Based on his views of philosophy, which were based on a
philosophical realism, and psychology, that all mental phenomena result from the
interaction of elementary ideas, Herbart believed that a science of education was
possible. Herbart's work and his belief that a science of education was possible led
to the establishment and acceptance of pedagogy as an academic discipline
studied on the university level.

In his work Universal Pedagogy (1906), Herbart advocated five formal steps in

teaching,[5] which were translated into a practical teaching methodology:

1. preparation – relating new material to be learned to relevant existing ideas

(memories) to stimulate the student's interest (prepare students to be ready
for the new lesson)
2. presentation – presenting new material in the form of actual experience of
concrete objects (present the new lesson)
3. association – comparison of the new idea with existing ideas to find
similarities and differences and thus implant the new idea in the mind of the
student (associate the new lesson with ideas studied earlier)
4. generalization – procedures designed to take learning beyond perception
and experience of the concrete into the realm of abstract concepts (use
examples to illustrate the lesson's major points)
5. application – using the newly acquired knowledge so that it becomes an
integral part of the life of the student (test students to ensure they learned
the new lesson).

Herbart's ideas were widely adopted in Germany and also the United States,
translated into the simple five-step teaching method that became the basic
pedagogical practice in the nineteenth century. By the twentieth century, however,
the steps had become mechanical and Herbart's underlying ideas on ethics,
psychology, and aesthetics had been forgotten. In their place, new pedagogical
theories, such as those of John Dewey in the United States, which freed the child
from what had become a controlled learning environment, grew in popularity.

Although his teaching methodology was overtaken by new ideas, Herbart's

institution of pedagogy as an academic field has remained. The idea of a science of
education, including psychology as a source of information about the nature of the
learner as well as the learning process, has continued to advance teaching
methods.

Learning Theories and Pedagogy

The importance of psychology in understanding the interest, abilities, and learning
processes of students, has become an integral part of theories of education.
Theories of learning have been developed to describe how people learn; these
theories aid in the development of various pedagogical approaches. There are
three main perspectives in educational psychology: Behaviorism, Cognitivism,
and Constructivism.

Behaviorism

Behaviorism, a term coined by American psychologist John B. Watson, is based

around the idea of a stimulus-response pattern of conditioned behavior. One of the
most famous experiments in classical conditioning was performed
by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov. By introducing the sound of a bell before
placing food in front of a dog, Pavlov was able to create a conditioned response in
the dog where the dog would salivate at the ringing of the bell alone.

Some of the most important developments in behaviorism, especially as it relates

to pedagogy, occurred in the mid-twentieth century with the work of B. F. Skinner.
Skinner studied operant, or voluntary, behavior, and called his approach "operant
conditioning." Skinner's mechanisms included: positive reinforcement, negative
reinforcement, non-reinforcement, and punishment. In a classroom setting, non-
reinforcement might consist of ignoring misbehavior in the hope that lack of
reinforcement would discourage the behavior.

Cognitivism

Cognitivism became the dominant force in psychology in the late twentieth

century, replacing behaviorism as the most popular paradigm for understanding
the learning process. Cognitive theory is not a refutation of behaviorism, but rather
an expansion that uses changes in behavior as indicators for processes within a
learner's mind. The concept of cognitive theory utilizes the concept of "schema," a
structure of internal knowledge, as well as the concept of short and long term
memory. Cognitive theory suggests that meaningful information is easier to retain,
and new information is affected by context, environment, and previous schemata.
Constructivism

Constructivism is a set of assumptions about the nature of human learning. It

values developmentally appropriate teacher-supported learning that is initiated
and directed by the student.

According to the constructivist approach, learners construct and interpret their

individual realities based on their perceptions of experiences. Learning is regarded
as a process in which the learner actively constructs new ideas or concepts based
upon current and past knowledge and beliefs. Constructivist learning, therefore, is a
very personal endeavor, whereby internalized concepts, rules, and general
principles may consequently be applied in a practical real-world context. The
teacher acts as a facilitator, encouraging students to discover principles for
themselves and to construct knowledge by working to solve realistic problems.
Working with other students enables the sharing of viewpoints and an emphasis on
collaborative learning.[6] Constructivist theories are behind many modern teaching
styles, such as Generative Learning, Inquiry-based instruction, Discovery Learning,
and knowledge building, promoting the student's free exploration within a given
framework or structure.

Learning styles

The idea of individualized "learning styles" originated in the 1970s, and gained
considerable popularity. A learning style is the specific method of learning that is
presumed to allow a particular individual to learn best. With this concept, each
individual processes information in one of several manners (or a combination
thereof.)

Auditory learners process information and learn best through hearing, while visual
learners process information best through seeing it. Kinesthetic learners process
information best when it is combined with physical movement. It has been
proposed that teachers should assess the learning styles of their students and
adapt their classroom methods to best fit each student's learning style. Teachers
can use techniques like role-playing or historical reenactment in the classroom to
reinforce information through kinesthetic learning, or graphic organizers such as
diagrams and concept maps for visual learners. Older students, once aware of
which learning style fits them best, can use a variety of techniques in their studies
to help them learn. For example, auditory learners may find that reading aloud
works well for them. Many students use a combination of auditory, visual, and
kinesthetic learning styles.
Learning in Different Age Groups
Because of the differences in cognitive, physical, and social abilities of different age
groups, different pedagogical approaches are used when working with children of
various ages. A technique that works well with a five year old might not be
successful with a fourth grader. Similarly, teaching adults requires a different
approach than the education of high school teenagers, even when the subject
matter is the same. Pedagogical approaches and learning theories may be
numerous in nature, but the desire of educators to examine and discuss these
varied approaches and theories will hopefully help create the best possible learning
environment for all students, from preschool through adult.

Preschool

One of the most important debates regarding teaching preschool children is over
work versus play. While some educators advocate the beginnings of formal
education, including mathematics, reading, and foreign languages, most advocate
imaginative play over academic learning at such an early age. Physical development
is often stressed, and children are engaged in group activities that aid
in socialization. Some preschool programs may be very structured, while others
allow the children more choice in their activities.

A kindergarten in Afghanistan

Elementary school

From kindergarten through grade five or six, generally known as elementary

education, students learn most of their basic reading, writing, and mathematics
skills. Education within the public school system is generally more traditional in
nature (teacher-directed learning). Many public schools tailor their pedagogical
approaches to include different learning styles as well as cultural responsiveness.
For parents looking for a more student-directed pedagogical approach, private
schools like Montessori and Waldorf, as well as open and free schools, offer a
variety of approaches to childhood education.

Middle school and high school

Japanese high school students wearing the "sailor" uniform

Educators in many middle and high school programs often use a traditional

pedagogical approach to learning, with lectures and class discussion providing the
core of instruction. Standardized testing, while used occasionally in the lower
grades, is much more prevalent in high school. Technology is often an integral part
of instruction; in addition to multimedia and educational presentations, computer
programs have replaced activities like animal dissection in science classes. For
those seeking a less teacher-directed approach, alternative high schools generally
provide a smaller class size and more student-directed learning. Other types of
private schools, such as military schools, offer a rigidly structured approach to
education that is almost exclusively teacher-directed.