John Dewey: Theory of Education

#3 Ashley Thomson

John Dewey is known well for his work in education and how it changed the way students are taught now. He was known as “The Modern Father of Experiential Education.” Dewey was a pragmatist which is a person who believes that reality must be experienced. In an education setting he believed in more of a hands-on approach for the students when they were learning. Which seemed crazy to most people during his lifetime but it has now shaped the education system we have today.

 Dewey said, “You cannot teach today the same way you did yesterday to prepare students for tomorrow.”

John Dewey believed that students should not sit in a classroom listening to a teacher lecture and then be expected to retain the knowledge for a later exam that will be given. He believed that students should be involved in there learning. He knew that students learned best when they experienced learning first-hand. He also knew that when students learned in a hands-on setting then they were more likely to retain the knowledge that they learned.

John Dewey is also known for his book Experience and Education. The book is mainly about traditional and progressive views of education. The traditional focus was on curriculum and culture. The progressive focus was more about what interested the students. He did not believe that either of the view on education were good enough. He thought traditional education was too cut and dry but progressive need boundaries. So, Dewey came up with the more hands on approach.

Dewey said, “We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience.”

John Dewey’s work has made quite the impact on education today and hands-on learning is used in the classroom almost every day. It is also referred to as problem based learning where the students do an activity where the teacher is the facilitator. Problem based learning is used in every classroom now days. Problem based learning can be used in every subject and can learning more interesting for students then having to listen to their teacher talk about the topic.

Dewey has changed the way students learn and how classrooms function. I am an education major and I have seen problem based learning in classrooms a lot. It is a way for students to be involved in their learning and it shows that students actually want to learn the material. Hands-on learning is such a great thing because it can be used in any subject that students are learning about. I cannot imagine a classroom without the hands-on learning because a students’ attention span is only so long and there has to be something more to learning than a teacher standing up in front of a classroom lecturing the students.

Dewey said, “Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is, not a preparation for life; education is life itself.”

Here are a few videos on John Dewey:

https://youtu.be/P1mTImTMgq8

https://youtu.be/UT7z-ix6abM