Foundations of Education

Empiricism
Prepared by: Kassele E. Llanes
 Principal Metaphors
Knowledge is … all Learner is … an
1. demonstrable truths 3. experiencer, inquirer

Learning is …
Knowing is … deriving truth from
2. experience-based
awareness
4. experience
 Etymology
The English term "empirical" derives from the Greek
word which is cognate with and translates to the Latin
experientia, from which we derive the word
"experience" and the related "experiment". The term
was used by the Empiric school of ancient Greek
medical practitioners, who rejected the three doctrines
of the Dogmatic school, preferring to rely on the
observation of "phenomena".
Etymology
The term "empiricism" has a dual etymology,
stemming both from the Greek word for
"experience" and from the more specific
classical Greek and Roman usage of
"empiric", referring to a physician whose skill
derives from practical experience as opposed
to instruction in theory (this was it's first
usage).
 WHAT IS
EMPIRICISM
Empiricism is the theory that the origin of all
knowledge is sense experience. It emphasizes the
role of experience and evidence, especially sensory
perception, in the formation of ideas, and argues that
the only knowledge humans can have is a posteriori
(i.e. based on experience). Most empiricists also
discount the nation of innate ideas or innatism (the
idea that the mind is barn with ideas or knowledge
and is not a "blank slate" at birth).
 WHAT IS
EMPIRICISM
Empiricism is a theory which states that
knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory
experience. It emphasizes the role of experience
and evidence, especially sensory experience, in
the formation of ideas, over the notion of innate
ideas or traditions; empiricists may argue
however that traditions (or customs) arise due to
relations of previous sense experiences.
 Role of
Teachers
• Teacher transmits knowledge to student
• Learning is a one-way experience from
teacher to student
• Teacher holds authoritarian role
• Teacher does the majority of the talking
• Lecture format
• Textbook based
Student’s Role
• Child born as blank slate
• Learning happens to the student- mind
is imprinted with new knowledge
• Learning is based on correct answers
Students take notes
• Don't ask questions
• Information is memorized
My Experience
• This was the way my classes were carried
out
• Lecture style
• Little teacher - student interaction
• Notes then individual class work
• No group work or projects
• This was the way I ran my classes!
• We do what we know...
Disadvantages
• A skill base is achieved through practice
and repetition
• Students may know how to do something
without knowing why it works or why it is
important
• Passive acquisition of knowledge does not
lead to being able to know when or how to
apply the knowledge
• Problem solving and reasoning skills are not
developed
 Conclusion
• Empiricism is the view that knowledge is acquired
through sensory experience/contact. It is the view that
sensory experience is the fundamental source of
knowledge.

• From the empiricist point of view, to educate implies

providing experiences which enrich a learners’ empirical
database, and so, learners should be afforded opportunities
to observe for themselves (i.e. smell, see, touch, hear
taste) especially if this does not endanger the life of the
learners after all experience is the best teacher.