John DeweyEducation Revolutionized:

An Interactive, Pragmatic Approachto Learning

Ana BrownVCT5660

Brief BioBorn 1859. Family were merchant class,

religious, from New England- mother believed all her children should finish schooling through college

Married Alice Chipman, four of six children survived to adulthood

Married Roberta Louitz nearly 20 years after Alice’s death; adopted two Belgian orphans

Died 1952 of pneumoniaStrong supporter of social causes:

women’s suffrage, NAACP, teachers’ union in New York, Humanism, progressive education, and world peace

Education and InfluencesUndergraduate philosophy degree from

University of Vermont in 1879; Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1884 (finished in two years)

Natural Selection theorists Charles Darwin, G.H. Perkins, and T.H. Huxley

H.A.P. Torrey (Philosophy Professor)Hegelian Proponents W.T. Harris (St. Louis

Publisher) and G. Stanley Hall, Charles S. Peirce, and George Sylvester Morris (Mentors at Johns Hopkins)

William James (Pragmatism and Radical Empiricism)

Philosophies and IdeasEducation should be a guided, hands-on,

trial-and-error experience for learnersEducation should be as individualized as

possible, recognizing the abilities, needs, and interests of the learner

Education should develop a critical, socially engaged intelligence that encourages collaboration, participation in the community, and contribution to society (the common good)

Education is a life-long process that should balance science and philosophy

ImpactDirectly influenced Coyle, Kolb, Lindeman,

Rogers, Quine, Rorty, and HabermasFather of both progressive education (directly)

and experiential education (indirectly)Many ideas influenced vocational education:

◦ daily classes in reading, writing, and math◦ building (industrial arts) and cooking and

sewing (home economics) courses provided directly applicable skills and enhance reading/measuring skills focused sharing and communication skills experience being part of a community

CriticismsHow is learning assessed?How well do the students actually learn

the material?How do teachers maintain order and

control in the classroom when they seem to be confined to an observational role?

The processes seem to be more confusing than clarifying and more based in idealism rather than the naturalism that Dewey claimed.

Dewey in Action Outward Bound and other outdoor education programming Adult learning classes Experiential therapies (art therapy, music therapy, dance

therapy and psychodrama) In-school education programs such as COSI on Wheels:

”The COSI On Wheels truck arrives at the school the afternoon or early evening on the day before the event.  The COSI demonstrator and 2-4 adult volunteers unload the truck and set up the program in the gymnasium, cafeteria, or large room at the school…

After the orientation, the COSI On Wheels demonstrator performs a large group assembly for the entire school (COSI can perform two assemblies if needed based on the size of gymnasium and school population).  The dynamic 45-minute presentation serves as an introduction to the topic the students will be exploring.

Once the assembly is finished, students will return to the gymnasium in smaller groups (60 students per session) to explore the different hands-on stations.   The hands-on sessions (scheduled for 30-45 minutes dependent on school size) continue throughout the day until all students have had an opportunity to experiment.”

Source Websiteshttp://www.johndewey.orghttp://dewey.pragmatism.org/http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-dewey.h

tmhttp://wilderdom.com/experiential/JohnD

eweyPhilosophyEducation.htmlhttp://www.utm.edu/research/iep/d/dewe

y.htmhttp://www.siuc.edu/~deweyctr/http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psy

cweb/history/dewey.htmhttp://www.radicalacademy.com/phildew

ey.htmhttp://www.uvm.edu/~dewey/articles/pr

oged.htmlhttp://www.cosi.org/educators/cosi-on-w

heels/about-cosi-on-wheels/