“Psychological and social sides are organically related and that education cannot be regarded as a compromise between the two, or a superimposition of one upon the other” ~John Dewey
While reading Dewey I couldn’t help but think back at my own
elementary and secondary education. He brings up the point that both
psychological and social experiences are essential to learning. He also points
out that you cant give one more importance and neglect the other, this will not
allow for efficient learning. I remember that in high school most of my
teachers neglected the social aspect of learning. I wondered how different high
school would have been had the school implemented both social and psychological
experiences in the classroom.
I think this is relevant to technology in the aspect that
Dewey supports social experiences. Working in groups can sometimes be
challenging especially if students have to work in groups outside of the
classroom. This is where technology comes in; students don’t necessarily have
to be in the same room to collaborate with each other. Now notes can be shared
and discussions can take place simultaneously through technology.
Another
point that Dewey mentioned was that schooling ‘s focus should be on preparing
students to be able to live on their present society since the future is
uncertain and we can’t make predictions on what the future society will look
like. It might be that I have been brought up with the idea that what I do in
the present will affect the future that I disagree with Dewey on this. How can
we only prepare students to live on the current environment and not for the
future? In today’s society, technology is noticeably present but how can
students be prepared for the future if they limit their learning to just
today’s technology and not in the advancement of technology?
Dewey took a stance against the "sage on a stage approach of teaching science. I agree with Dewey, science education is diminished when students are used as pools to be filled. Instead I believe students should learn by also being active in hands on activities. A student can read about an experiment but would retain and learn more from actually doing the experiment and having that experience to apply the scientific method. Some of the more engaging classes I took included hands on learning and I noticed that the class was involved more than those classes who only lectured. Technology plays an important role here, the computer labs can be used to do virtual experiments.
Dewey took a stance against the "sage on a stage approach of teaching science. I agree with Dewey, science education is diminished when students are used as pools to be filled. Instead I believe students should learn by also being active in hands on activities. A student can read about an experiment but would retain and learn more from actually doing the experiment and having that experience to apply the scientific method. Some of the more engaging classes I took included hands on learning and I noticed that the class was involved more than those classes who only lectured. Technology plays an important role here, the computer labs can be used to do virtual experiments.
You raise an interesting point in the beginning of the post when you said you wonder how your school experience would have been different if your teachers would have incorporated more social experiences in the classroom. In my opinion, I don't know if it is really the teacher's job to give students social experiences. I would propose that students make their own social experiences just by being in a school setting surrounded by their peers and teachers where they encounter many social interactions every day. Then, they use those experiences to build on their education (in the sense that Dewey uses the word education.)
ReplyDeleteJeremy you bring up a good point and It might have seemed like I said that the classroom should be the source of social interactions but I by no means meant that. Yes students should also create their own social experiences outside of the classroom but you also have to think about those who don't. As teachers we can create social experiences in our classrooms. Group work, discussions, working together to reach a goal.This can help on top of the students' own experiences. How can we run a classroom with no social experiences?
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ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your posting, Lulu. I wanted to comment to add something to your understanding of Dewey's argument in "My Pedagogic Creed." You write that "(i)t might be that I have been brought up with the idea that what I do in the present will affect the future that I disagree with Dewey on this. How can we only prepare students to live on the current environment and not for the future? In today’s society, technology is noticeably present but how can students be prepared for the future if they limit their learning to just today’s technology and not in the advancement of technology?"
ReplyDeleteIn truth, I think that you and Professor Dewey are seeing things similarly. What Dewey was responding to was the change that had been brought about by immigration, movements of people (rural to urban) and changes in the nature of work. Whereas once parents could teach their daughters and sons to do the work that they themselves did, these changes meant that we were far less likely to know what kind of work our children would do. In addition, parents were increasingly moving to new places and situations where they lacked the "social capital" that they once had. The upshot, Dewey believed, was that educators didn't know what kind of work young people would do when they grew up, and this in turn meant that education had to equip them to a variety of things, rather than something specific. Thus began the discussion about what were those skills, affects, and ways of thinking that would equip kids well in a variety of work and social contexts.