1. John Dewey The Man, The Thinker, The Teacher.
Cecile Pelaez
Cecile Pelaez
EDF3111
Professor Pam Tabor
Educational Psychology
Place photo here
John Dewey The Man, The Thinker, The Teacher.
John Dewey is regarded as the Father of Progressive Education, a term that I will define in the upcoming slides. This man was known as a most influential figure in education because of his contributions to how America perceives education and how he helped to hone the way educational psychologist approach the connections between children and learning. He founded the Laboratory School at the University of Chicago (Woolfolk, 2007, p. 8).
First, a little background about John Dewey and his own education.
He was the student of G. Stanley Hall, the founder of the American Psychological Association.
Hall’s interest in psychology were greatly influenced by his Harvard professor, Williams James, who was the founder of the field of Psychology in America and developed a series of lectures, entitled, Talks to Teachers about Psychology, dedicated to teachers. These lectures were offered during the summer months and gained much popularity as he presented them around the country. He later had them published in I suppose that we can view these lectures as the first of what today is referred to as Professional Development”. He had a great following and influenced other theorists, including, E.L. Thorndike, which we will study later on.
As a student under James, Hall researched and wrote his dissertation on children’s understanding of the world; he used teachers to help him collect the data. This of course allowed Hall to correlate psychology to the field of education directly. Hall later founded the American Psychological Association.
It is important to note that this era brought many principles about psychology and education and it was a time of great development in both fields, “guiding science of the school” (Cubberly, 1919, as cited in Woolfolk). Today, educational psychology can be defines as a distinct discipline with its own theories, research methods, problems, and techniques. Since its inception educational psychologists study learning and teaching and, at the same time, help to improve educational practices (Pintrich 2000, as cited in Woolfolk 2007, p. 9).
“Education is not preparation for life; it is life itself”
John Dewey

2. Biography Born 1859, Burlington, Vermont, USA. Died 1952.
Cecile Pelaez
Biography
Born 1859, Burlington, Vermont, USA.  Died 1952.
American philosopher and regarded as the foremost educator of his day.
Major books include
"Democracy and Education" (1916)
"Logic" (1938)
"Experience and Education" (1938).
Had a profound impact on progressive education.
Rejected authoritarian teaching methods.
His educational theories were permeated by his primary ethical value of democracy.
Regarded education in a democracy as a tool to enable the citizen to integrate his or her culture and vocation usefully.
To accomplish these aims, Dewey said radical reform was need of both pedagogical methods and curricula.
He lectured all over the world and prepared educational surveys for Turkey, Mexico, and the Soviet Union.

3. Summary of his Philosophy
Cecile Pelaez
Summary of his Philosophy
Dewey's philosophy was called instrumentalism which is related to pragmatism and cognitive-constructivism.
Instrumentalism believes that truth is an instrument used by human beings to solve their problems. Students need to be taught to be problem-solvers.
Since problems change, then so must truth. Since problems change, truth changes, and therefore there can be no eternal reality.
He believed that the key to motivating students was not making the learning “fun”, but making it relevant to them by connecting the experience to prior knowledge.
According to our Textbook, (p 295) Dewey’s ideas are consistent with the “en-vogue” emphasis in making students “problem-solvers”.
He actually discussed “inquiry learning back in 1910.
This process is more commonly seem in Science, but can be applied to many content areas. Here are the steps:
Formulate a hypothesis to explain the event or solve a problem
Collect data to test the hypothesis
Draw conclusions, and
Reflect on the original problem and the thinking processes needed to solve it.
He believed that the key to motivating students was not making the learning “fun”, but making it relevant to them by connecting the experience to prior knowledge.

4. Cecile Pelaez
Other Important Views
Considered a “rebel” during his time because he denounced formal and traditional schooling, he felt that children cannot be given total freedom to choose what to experience in learning.
He believed in the individuality of each learner. Strengths and personal interests are crucial for intrinsic motivation.
Dewey’s philosophy stemmed from two ideals:
Continuity refers to the notion that humans are affected by their experiences (Neill 2005).
Interaction builds upon the notion of continuity and explains how past experience interacts with the present situation, to create one's present experience (Neill 2005). 

5. Dewey’s Pedagogic Creed
Cecile Pelaez
Dewey’s Pedagogic Creed
Ironically, he was considered the Father of Progressive Education, yet he often criticized it:
Progressive education, according to Dewey, was a wild swing in the philosophical pendulum, against traditional education methods.  In progressive education, freedom was the rule, with students being relatively unconstrained by the educator.  The problem with progressive education, said Dewey, is that freedom alone is no solution.  Learning needs a structure and order, and must be based on a clear theory of experience, not simply the whim of teachers or students (Neill, 2005).
John Dewey's famous declaration concerning education. First published in The School Journal, Volume LIV, Number 3 (January 16, 1897), pages (Attachment 1)
See Attachment #1

6. Cecile Pelaez
Other Noted Titles
Dewey, J. (1916) Democracy and Education. An introduction to the philosophy of education (1966 edn.), New York: Free Press.
Dewey, J. (1933) How We Think. A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process (Revised edn.), Boston: D. C. Heath.
Dewey, J. (1938) Experience and Education,New York: Collier Books. (Collier edition first published 1963).

7. John Dewey: His Life and Work
Cecile Pelaez
Clip of John Dewey
John Dewey: His Life and Work
I close with a short clip reflecting on Dewey’s contributions to educational psychology.
This film introduces students to his philosophy and his critical studies of education, the arts and the implications of democracy for the lives of individuals and their communities. Dewey lived in a different era of history than we do, but many of his concerns are very relevant to life today (Davidson Films).

8. Resources Cecile Pelaez
Woolfolk, A. (2007). Teachers, teaching, and educational psychology. In P. A. Smith (Ed.), The role of educational psychology (p.8 ). The Ohio State University: Pearson Education.
Woolfolk, A. (2007). Teachers, teaching, and educational psychology. In P. A. Smith (Ed.), The role of educational psychology (p. 9). The Ohio State University: Pearson Education.
Video: Hickman, L. (2001). John dewey: His life and work. In The giants ((This is a 4-Minute Sample Clip). This Film is Part of the Series Called GIANTS, Which Includes Documentaries on Mary Ainsworth, Albert Bandura, Erik Erikson, Maria Montessori, Jean Piaget, B.F. Skinner and Lev Vygotsky.). Retrieved September 15, 2007, from Davidson Films:
Dewey, John (1897) 'My pedagogic creed', The School Journal, Volume LIV, Number 3 (January 16, 1897), pages Also available in the informal education archives,
Neill, J. (2005, January 26). John Dewey, the modern father of experiential education. In John Dewey: philosophy of education resources on the web. Retrieved September 11, 2007, from Experiential Learning and Experiential Education:
Smith, M. K. (1997, May 8). John Dewey and Informal Education. Retrieved September 11, 2007, from Infed: