John Dewey Education Revolutionized: An Interactive, Pragmatic Approach to Learning Ana Brown VCT5660

Brief Bio Born 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 pneumonia Strong supporter of social causes: women’s suffrage, NAACP, teachers’ union in New York, Humanism, progressive education, and world peace

Education and Influences Undergraduate 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 Ideas Education should be a guided, hands-on, trial- and-error experience for learners Education 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

Impact Directly influenced Coyle, Kolb, Lindeman, Rogers, Quine, Rorty, and Habermas Father 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

Criticisms How 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 minutes dependent on school size) continue throughout the day until all students have had an opportunity to experiment.”

Source Websites yEducation.html yEducation.html wey.htm wey.htm cosi-on-wheels/ cosi-on-wheels/