A Primer on John Dewey

2. Who is John Dewey?
An American philosopher,
psychologist, and educational
reformer whose ideas have
been influential in education
and social reform

3. What Did Dewey Believe?
• Dewey had huge ideas starting from the turn of the
century until his death in 1952.
• He considered two fundamental elements - schools and
civil societies - as major topics that needed attention and
reconstruction.
• He hoped to encourage experimental intelligence and
plurality in schools.
• This is why a lot of his theory is focused on the impact
students will have on society as a result of their
education.

4. What was John Dewey Saying?
If you had difficultly reading Democracy
and Education, you weren’t alone.
Here is a quick video summarizing his position:

5. Transmission of Education
Life is a self-renewing process through the action upon the environment.
Through the communication of education human-beings acquire the
necessary abilities to survive.
Education reproduces life and allows man to join society.
Community forms in things men have in common through:
• ASPIRATIONS
• COMMON UNDERSTANDING
• BELIEFS
• KNOWLEDGE
• AIMS
However, schools are only one means
of transmission.

6. To make it simple…
Dewey had some general ideas:
• Good Education = Societal Purpose + Purpose for the
Individual
When students receive a good education, it is good for
them AND the well-being of society.
The long-term goals are really important but the value of
short-term quality in an educational experience should also
be appreciated.

7. To make it simple…
(continued)
 Educators are responsible for providing students with
experiences that are “immediately valuable.” Student
experiences are important!!!
While it is the student’s job to acquire the knowledge, teachers
have a greater responsibility to make the material relatable
instantly.
Mannplaces a HUGE emphasis on student experiences and how
those experiences should impact their learning and how that
knowledge will impact society.

8. To make it simple…
(continued)
Schools are ONLY one method of transmission!
According to Dewey “Only as we have grasped the
necessity of more fundamental and persistent modes of
tuition can we make sure of placing the scholastic
methods in their true context” Basic resources have to be
learned first.
Children have to be enabled to share in common life to
be part of a social life – “process of living together
educates.”
"Seek first to understand, then to be understood,“
recommends Stephen Covey (1990). Refer to the first three
paragraphs
Formal education then becomes necessary to transmit all the
resources and achievements of society.

9. Skills Learned at Skills Learned at
Home School
The Four C’s • Social: learn to share
• Confidence • Emotional: self-esteem grows
• Physical: improve motor skills
• Cooperation
• Intellectual
• Curiosity
• Language
• Communication
• Imagination

10. Good So Far?
Here’s a video of Dewey explaining his view
on education to a fellow teacher

11. Dewey’s Pedagogic Creed
This text is quite long but you should at least
skim through (or read the first few
sentences of each paragraph) to
get an idea of how John Dewey
believed education should be:

12. Two Extremes in Education
Dewey argued that there were only two approaches to
teaching:
Traditional vs. Progressive

13. Traditional Education
“Traditional education would just
funnel the knowledge accumulated
through history into the student
through books and instruction from a
teacher without connecting the past
to the reality of the student”
- John Dewey

14. Traditional = Didactic
As we all know:
• Traditional education lacks holistic understanding of the
student
• Can be too structured
• Tends to be focused on discipline.
• Students memorize the textbook
and other information.
• There is little assessment for
enduring understanding.

15. If all instruction is
traditional…
There is little room for
creativity or originality.
All students are the
same and are
expected to learn the
same.

16. Progressive = Freedom
Is this view too
reactionary?
According to Dewey,
Progressive education
Will it take away
is:
from the power
of teachers?
-Unstructured
Should we allow
-Flexible students to
question
presented
-STUDENT DIRECTED
material?

17. This is NOTwhat Dewey meant…

18. Education as a Social Function
• Dewey defines education as “the
process of leading or bringing up
and is thus a fostering,
nurturing, and cultivating process.”
• Our environment affects our activities
and makes us adapt to our surroundings.
• A person has a social environment by
associating their activities with others.

19. Training vs. Educative
Teaching
 Immature humans are being trained like animals
instead of being educated!
 Human beings in sense have the ability to control
(train) their environment
Dewey used the example of a burnt child
who dreads fire. If a parent controls
(train) the condition so that every time
a child touched a certain toy he got
burned the child would learn to
automatically avoid that toy

20. In order for students to get a real education…
• We need to focus on content and process.
• In order to do this, teachers must understand
the nature of human experience.

21. Dewey wrote, "It is a cardinal precept of the newer
school of education that the beginning of instruction
shall be made with the experience learners already
have; that this experience and the capacities that
have been developed during its course provide the
starting point for all further learning
Educators should focus their curriculum on their
present situation as a basis for lessons
The teacher should set focus on helping a student
develop their purpose

22. As societies become larger and more complex, the need
for formal teaching becomes a necessary
"The way out of scholastic systems that made the past an
end in itself is to make acquaintance with the past a means
of understanding the present" (Dewey)
This past knowledge that is to be brought into the minds of
students should only be done if it is actually relevant to the
student's present situation.
Communication through education therefore needs to be
more directly associated with the experiences a child has
already gained

23. Do Student Experiences
Count?
Of course they do! But how, might you ask?
First we need to look at how students have experiences.
“Experience arises from the interaction of two
principles- Continuity and Interaction”

24. But Remember,
No Past Experience has a Preordained
Value.
A rewarding experience for one individual might be
damaging for another-- this all depends on how it
affects their present future AND how they can use
that experience to contribute to society
“The belief that all genuine education comes about
through experiences does not mean that all experiences are
genuinely or equally educative”- John Dewey

25. Continuity Interaction
Situational influences on
Each experience a person has one’s experiences
will influence his/her future for
better or for worse “One’s present experience is a
function of the interaction
between one’s past
experiences and the
present situation.”
There should be a subjective quality of student's experiences-
We as teachers should understand students so we can “design a sequence of
liberating education experiences” that give individuals an opportunity to fulfill
their potential as a productive member of society