Group 4: John Dewey

Education has yet to Catch up to the Wisdom Dewey Offered Long ago
Generally, society’s thinking about different topics will advance incrementally, as various individuals make their contributions to the
foundation of our understanding. From time to time however, one individual will have a significant impact on an important aspect of society,
pushing it forward by leaps and bounds.

John Dewey was just such a person. This philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer was instrumental in advancing education.
Throughout his life he worked tirelessly to advance our understanding of what a student-focused educational system should look like, and how it
should work.

Dewey is best known for his work in creating a more progressive educational system, but that isn’t the only field he wrote about. In fact, he was
quite prolific. He wrote in such fields as epistemology, metaphysics, aesthetics, art, logic, social theory and ethics. To get into all of those,
however, we’d need a whole book!

Today we’re going to focus on what he’s best known for – his insights into teaching and learning.

“Education is not preparation for life; it is life itself”

Dewey wrote about education throughout most his life and he regularly argued that education and learning, rather than being only between the
teacher and the student, are really much larger than that. Schools are social institutions, which can and should serve to provoke and create a
better society.

What’s more, if the students – instead of being passive learners – are encouraged to interact with the curriculum and are allowed to take part in
their own learning, they can advance their understanding and their social roles far more effectively. This would allow them to become far more
engaged with both what their learning and with society as a whole.

Schools, according to Dewey, are not just places where we learn facts and numbers, but also places where we learn how to live. In other words,
the point is not just to learn a certain set of skills (though that helps as well) but rather to realize one’s full potential, and use what you’ve learned
for the greater good.

How did we lose sight of this?

“Were all instructors to realize that the quality of mental process, not the production of correct answers, is the measure of educative growth,
something hardly less than a revolution in teaching would be worked.”
Dewey understood that the best way was the middle way between the two conflicting schools of thought of his time. The first school was that of
being curriculum focused and had as its primary goal to move through the material being taught.
The big drawback of this school of thought, according to Dewey, was the inactivity of the student, or – to use his words – “the child is simply the
immature being who is to be matured; he is the superficial being who is to be deepened.” This he believed was the wrong approach. For
education to be at its most effective, he believed, content must be presented so that the information the student is learning is actually connected
to their prior experiences.

The secondary education philosophy was that of child centered excesses. Here he believed that being too focused on the child and too reliant on
their previous experiences could be detrimental as well. The problem here was that in this educational philosophy the role of both the material
and the teacher was overtly minimized.

His belief was that a balance between the two philosophies must be found.

“The child and the curriculum are simply two limits which define a single process. Just as two points define a straight line, so the present
standpoint of the child and the facts and truths of studies define instruction.”
This realization led him to advocate hands-on learning, for he believed that it is through our interaction with natural objects that we can learn
best, as opposed to simply thinking about them abstractly. In this way, students are engaged to consider the lesson actively and – when the
question is asked correctly – to come up with the answer by themselves.

In fact, this directly contributed to the very popular modern-day educational model of Problem Based Learning, where learning is achieved
through active inquiry rather than through the passive absorption of abstracted facts.

“If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.”

His influence did not stop there, however. He also realized that the schooling system as it had existed was not up to the task of teaching the
students of his time. Previously, students were taught a basic set of skills so that they could excel at specific jobs.

Dewey realized that this was no longer a suitable way to educate our children. That instead of teaching them a set of simple skills, they needed
to learn how to learn. This meant not just that students needed to be taught differently but that teachers needed to be taught differently as well.

Because how can a teacher teach students how to learn if they themselves do not possess that skill themselves? And so it was necessary to
change education so that students became active and vocal citizens rather than people who simply complied with authoritarian government.

For Dewey and his followers, students taught in the wrong manner actually end up worse off than if they’d never gone to school, as the wrong
kind of teaching – in which knowledge only goes in one direction and is not questioned – ends up stifling individual autonomy.

For him the most important facets of a teacher were not a set of mechanical skills, but rather a natural love of working with children, a natural
propensity to inquire about a subject in order to understand it, and a desire to share what they had learned and how to learn it.
“The path of least resistance and least trouble is a mental rut already made. It requires troublesome work to undertake the alteration of old
beliefs. ”
In effect, Dewey pioneered the idea that teachers were to a degree social service workers, who were tasked with creating the social and
psychological goods to promote the present and future progress of society. Teachers, he said, were there to increase the intelligence of society,
while the school system should strive to maximize the opportunities for students to acquire this intelligence. Children should think in creative
ways because that way their brains can develop faster.

The main goal was for people to leave the school system equipped to act intelligently and wisely, no matter what profession they ended up in.
What’s more, this didn’t just measure the success of the school system, it measured the success of the civilization in which the school system
was based.

Last thoughts
Most of these thoughts Dewey wrote about in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And yet we can still learn much from them today – or to put it
in a stronger light – we still don’t seem to have fully learned the lessons he’s supplied.

In this modern era, technology and society is moving so fast that it is very challenging to provide people the technical skills they need, as some
will be obsolete before the person even leaves school. It has never been more evident that an educational philosophy that encourages
continuous learning (as with many of Dewey's other ideas) was well ahead of it's time.

Source: https://www.emergingedtech.com/2016/09/5-brilliant-insights-about-teaching-from-john-dewey/

Article Main Point Connection to Dewey’s Theory

Biesta G. (2009) The value of what we measure or to measure what we “The child and the curriculum are simply two limits
Good Education in an age of value? which define a single process. Just as two points
measurement: on the need define a straight line, so the present standpoint of the
to reconnect with the Revisiting and reiterating the purpose of education child and the facts and truths of studies define
question of purpose in instruction.”
education This realization led him to advocate hands-on
learning, for he believed that it is through our
interaction with natural objects that we can learn best,
as opposed to simply thinking about them abstractly.
In this way, students are engaged to consider the
lesson actively and – when the question is asked
correctly – to come up with the answer by themselves.

In fact, this directly contributed to the very popular

 modern-day educational model of Problem Based
Learning, where learning is achieved through active
inquiry rather than through the passive absorption of
abstracted facts.

Frank (2017) Stop the individualism among teachers “Were all instructors to realize that the quality of
Realizing a Democratic mental process, not the production of correct answers,
Community of teachers: Teachers must share their strategies and best is the measure of educative growth, something hardly
John Dewey and the idea of practices to other teachers so that they can test or less than a revolution in teaching would be worked.”
a Science of Education adopt them to their learners Dewey understood that the best way was the middle
way between the two conflicting schools of thought of
his time. The first school was that of being curriculum
focused and had as its primary goal to move through
the material being taught.

The big drawback of this school of thought, according

to Dewey, was the inactivity of the student, or – to use
his words – “the child is simply the immature being
who is to be matured; he is the superficial being who
is to be deepened.” This he believed was the wrong
approach. For education to be at its most effective, he
believed, content must be presented so that the
information the student is learning is actually
connected to their prior experiences.

The secondary education philosophy was that of child

centered excesses. Here he believed that being too
focused on the child and too reliant on their previous
experiences could be detrimental as well. The problem
here was that in this educational philosophy the role of
both the material and the teacher was overtly
minimized.

The schools must reexamine their purpose “The path of least resistance and least trouble is a
Illich (1998, 2003) mental rut already made. It requires troublesome work
 Deschooling Society Pay attention or credits to programs that are not to undertake the alteration of old beliefs. ”
bounded within the four corners of the classroom In effect, Dewey pioneered the idea that teachers were
to a degree social service workers, who were tasked
with creating the social and psychological goods to
promote the present and future progress of society.
Teachers, he said, were there to increase the
intelligence of society, while the school system should
strive to maximize the opportunities for students to
acquire this intelligence. Children should think in
creative ways because that way their brains can
develop faster.

The main goal was for people to leave the school

system equipped to act intelligently and wisely, no
matter what profession they ended up in. What’s more,
this didn’t just measure the success of the school
system, it measured the success of the civilization in
which the school system was based.

Singh (1991)
Education for the twenty-first
century: Asia-Pacific
Perspective
The aim of the education is to make the students use “The path of least resistance and least trouble is a
their learnings in the advancement of political, social, mental rut already made. It requires troublesome work
cultural, and economical sectors to undertake the alteration of old beliefs. ”
In effect, Dewey pioneered the idea that teachers were
to a degree social service workers, who were tasked
with creating the social and psychological goods to
promote the present and future progress of society.
Teachers, he said, were there to increase the
intelligence of society, while the school system should
strive to maximize the opportunities for students to
acquire this intelligence. Children should think in
creative ways because that way their brains can
develop faster.

The main goal was for people to leave the school

system equipped to act intelligently and wisely, no
matter what profession they ended up in. What’s more,
 this didn’t just measure the success of the school
system, it measured the success of the civilization in
which the school system was based.

Poisson, Muriel Avoid the eight unquestioned norms of practice “Education is not preparation for life; it is life itself”
Science Education for Dewey wrote about education throughout most his life
Contemporary Society: Science must excite and stimulate students curiosity and he regularly argued that education and learning,
Problems, Issues about the phenomena and events in the world around rather than being only between the teacher and the
and Dilemmas. them student, are really much larger than that. Schools are
social institutions, which can and should serve to
provoke and create a better society.

What’s more, if the students – instead of being passive

learners – are encouraged to interact with the
curriculum and are allowed to take part in their own
learning, they can advance their understanding and
their social roles far more effectively. This would allow
them to become far more engaged with both what
their learning and with society as a whole.

Schools, according to Dewey, are not just places

where we learn facts and numbers, but also places
where we learn how to live. In other words, the point is
not just to learn a certain set of skills (though that
helps as well) but rather to realize one’s full potential,
and use what you’ve learned for the greater good.

Linda Darling-Hammond Authentic Assessment
Authentic assessment of
teaching in context The process of teaching for understanding and
application rather than rote recall creates greater
unpredictability in teaching as teacher must be able to
understand and capitalize upon student thinking in
order to manage a process of knowledge construction
that is different from each one
Schools, according to Dewey, are not just places
where we learn facts and numbers, but also places
where we learn how to live. In other words, the point is
not just to learn a certain set of skills (though that
helps as well) but rather to realize one’s full potential,
and use what you’ve learned for the greater good.
 Bray, M., Adamson, B., & Unit of comparative Approach There is no influence of Dewey’s theory found on this
Mason, M. (Eds.) (2014) journal.
Comparative education Comparing learning and international academic
research: Approaches and achievement
methods

Submitted by:

ESCLETO, MARK KEVIN

BALINO, FRANCES ANN