John DeweySandra Buehler, Jaclyn Clark, and Tonya Lynch

Overview of Presentation

“The self is not something ready-made, but something in continuous formation through choice of action.” – John Dewey

? s to ponder Background In summary…

Books &

articles

Theories

School connections

opposition

Dewey’s Lab School

Interactive Activity

Questions to Stimulate Learning

John Dewey was titled the Modern Father of ______?

In what fields did Dewey contribute significantly to?

How can we measure school performance without standardized tests?

Background Information• Born in 1859 in Burlington, VT• Graduated from University of VT and became a high

school teacher in PA for 3 years• In 1884 Dewey received his doctorate at Johns

Hopkins University and joined the faculty at University of MI until 1894

• From 1894-1904 he was the chairman of the Philosophy and Psychology Department at the University of Chicago

• In 1896 Dewey founded the New School and served as director of the School of Education until 1904

• From 1904-1930 Dewey was professor of Philosophy at Columbia University Teachers College

• Retired in 1930 until his death in 1952

Notable Works The School and Society (1899)

The Child and the Curriculum (1902)

How We Think (1910)

Schools of To-morrow (1915)

Democracy and Education (1916)

Art as Experience (1934)

Experience and Education (1938)

Knowing and the Known (1949)

Art and Education (1954)

Theory Explained“Knowledge which is mainly secondhand…tends to become merely verbal. It is no objection to information that is clothed in words: communication necessarily takes place through words. But in the degree in what is communicated cannot be organized into the existing experience of the learner, it becomes mere words: that is…lacking in meaning. Then it operates to call out mechanical reactions…” (Wiggins & McTighe, p. 139).

Schema !

Theories •Conti

nuity•Intera

ction•“We

only think when we are confronted with a problem”  – John Dewey

text -- to – text

•http://wilderdom.com/experiential/ExperientialDewey.html

•“Dewey (1933) argued that a fact requires apprehension, whereas an understanding requires comprehension” (pg. 132).

Knowledge

Experience

•“We go beyond the information given to make inferences, connections and associations – a theory that works” (pg. 86).

Understanding

Big Picture Ideas

Education Is about More Than Test Scores

Children Are Not Citizens-in-Training

Behavior in Schools Reflects Community

Behavior

Democratic Community Must Be the Context of

Education

Schools Are Arenas for Change

Dewey

Behaviorist

stimulus-response

Social constructionist

Interactions with others & world

Reader-response theorist

active interaction with text

Constructivist

Assimilate & Accommodate

“We acquire knowledge – we learn – by processing experience” by John Dewey (1965).

Cognitive Development: Construction of Thought Processes (Making meaning)

Current School UseTypes of Use

• Hands on learning• Experimental

Education• Project based learning

Curriculum examples: K-12 Science Curriculum: shift from rigid use of scientific method to active involvement of student in the problem with addition of students’ personal knowledge into reflective thinking (Barrow, 2006)

Comparison

Graphic Organizer

Connects to… Bloom’s Taxonomy

Divides educational objectives into three domains:

1. Cognitive domain: revolves around knowledge, comprehension, and critical thinking of topic

2. Affective domain: awareness & growth in attitudes, emotions, & feelings

3. Psychomotor domain: development in behavior and/or skills (physically manipulate)

*Goal is to create a more holistic form of education

• Note 1• Note 2• Note 3

This thinking would seem to relate to the method of problem-based learning.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

“As far back as the early 1900s, John Dewey supported the "learning by doing" approach to education, which is the essential element of PBL. Today, PBL is viewed as a model for classroom activity that shifts away from teacher-centered instruction and emphasizes student-centered projects.”

• Complex question, problem, or challenge

• Extended process of inquiry

• Collaborate, plan, communicate, manage

• Create high-quality, authentic products & presentations

Project-Based Learning (PBL)

“This model makes learning relevant to students by establishing connectionsto life outside the classroom and by addressing real world issues.”

  Question Area 1 Question Area 2 Question Area 3 Question Area 4

What I Think         

        

        

        

Source #1         

        

        

        

Source #2         

        

        

        

Source #3         

        

        

        

Summary         

        

        

        

Inquiry Chart

http://www.readingquest.org/strat/ichart.html

Opposition to Theory

• Interest / Impulse relationship can lead to promotion of teaching towards individual student interest as opposed to scholarly material (Jonas, 2006) • Dewey’s ideas about education were unrealistic• Dewey was rigid in his opposition to lecture style of teaching• Advocates of the traditional school felt that Dewey was too liberal and extreme• Dewey’s educational philosophy never attracted a strong following, though it has inspired many modifications in the traditional curriculum

Early Implementations• Teachers are educational guides, without imposing

their ideas and beliefs onto students through lecture• Education should be based on students’ interests• Learning should involve meaningful experiments and

investigations to promote critical thinking and cooperative learning

“The curriculum becomes actual subject matter to the learner when, if, and as it is used in purposeful activities. It is the situation, not the teacher, school, or recitation schedule that makes subject matter of vital concern to the learner.” (1916).

Dewey’s Laboratory School

Intended mission: • To link the school experience to students’ lives• Students will attain genuine knowledge significant to their lives through inquiry• To link studies to current popular occupations• Focus on all facets of students’ overall growth

Failed because:• Lost clear sense of purpose in student growth and researcher observation• Difficult to reproduce Dewey’s method because teacher to student ratio was about 1:7

6 Hats ActivityEach hat represents: Different Ways to Think!

Yellow Thinking Hat = advantages, benefits, positives, savings.

Red Thinking Hat = emotions, feelings, hunches, intuition.

Blue Thinking Hat = Thinking about the process of thinking.

Black Thinking Hat = Caution, truth, judgment.

White Thinking Hat = Facts, figures, information.

Green Thinking Hat = Exploration, proposals, suggestions.

http://www.educationplanner.ca/files/Six%20Thinking%20Hats.pdf

6 Hats in Action

Now reconsider …

How can we measure school performance without standardized tests?

According to your given hat, develop one to two statements about the proposed question.

The key point is that a hat is a direction to think rather than a label for thinking. The key theoretical reasons to use the Six Thinking Hats are to:

• encourage Parallel Thinking • encourage full-spectrum thinking • separate ego from performance

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~charles57/Creative/Techniques/sixhats.htm

Answers to Introductory Questions

• John Dewey was titled the Modern Father of

-- Education?

• What fields was he considered an expert in? – Philosophy and Psychology

• How can we measure school performance without standardized tests? – By developing better curriculum

References• Fishman, S. M. & Mc Carthy L. (1998). John Dewey and The Challenge Of Classroom

Practice. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.•  Glassman, M. Dewey and Vygotsky: Society, Experience, And Inquiry In Educational

Practice. American Educational Research Association [Electronic Version], 30, 3-14. Retrieved March 10, 2011 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/359435

• Heilig, Cole, & Aguilar . (2010) From Dewey to No Child Left Behind: The Evolution and Devolution of Public Arts Education. Art Education Policy Review

[Electronic Version], 111, 136-145. Retrieved March 8, 2011 from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.fau.edu/journals

• Hildebrand, D. L. (2008) Brief introduction to John Dewey, from John Dewey: A Beginner's Guide. Retrieved March 20, 2011 from the John Dewey website: http://www.johndewey.org/welcome-john-deweyorg/

• Jackson, M. J. B. & Simpson, D. J. (1997). Educational reform: A Deweyan Perspective. New York, NY: Garland Publishing, Inc.

• Jenlink, P.M. (2009). Dewey’s Democracy And Education Revisited. Lanham, ML: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

• Jonas, M.E. (2011) Dewey’s Conception Of Interest And Its Significance For Teacher Education. [Electronic Version] Educational Philosophy and Theory, 43,

112-12. Retrieved March 11, 2011 from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.fau.edu/journals/03802361.html

• Kliebard, H. M. (1986). The struggle for the American curriculum: 1893-1958.Boston, MA: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

• John Dewey (1859–1952) - Experience and Reflective Thinking, Learning, School and Life, Democracy and Education (2011) Retrieved March 6, 2011, from State University.com site: http://

education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1914/Dewey-John-1859-1952.html

References• National Association of Education (2011) Research Spotlight on Project-

Based Learning. Retrieved March 20, 2011 from: http://www.nea.org/tools/16963.htm

• Project Based Learning for the 21st Century. (2011) What is PBL? Retrieved March 21, 2011, from http://www.bie.org/about/what_is_pbl

Review, 21, 1-12. Retrieved March 6, 2011, from •  Six-hat thinking: Key points. Retrieved March 6, 2011 from http

://members.optusnet.com.au/~charles57/Creative/Techniques/sixhats.htm • Strategies for Comprehension. (2006) Inquiry Graphic Organizer. Retrieved

March 3, 2011 from Reading quest.org site:  http://www.readingquest.org/strat/ichart.html

• Warde, W. F. (1960). John Dewey’s Theories of Education. International Socialist. retrieved from http://

www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/recordDetails.jsp?ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ126945&searchtype

• Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J.M. (2005). Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

• Wyett, J. L. (1998). John Dewey & Earl Kelley: Giants In Democratic Education. Education, 119, 151-160. Retrieved March 6, 2011,

from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3673/is_1998_Fall/ai_n28716041/