 American

philosopher and an
educator
 a founder of the
philosophical
movement known as
pragmatism
 a pioneer in
functional psycholog
y
 a leader of the
progressive moveme
Dewey (1963), who is often referred to as the
“father of educational psychology,” believed
that all aspects of study (i.e., arithmetic,
history, geography, etc.) need to be linked to
materials based on students every- day life-
experiences.
Francis W.
• He believed that education should include the complete
development of an individual — mental, physical, and
moral. John Dewey called him the "father of progressive
education."
• He worked to create curriculum that centered on the
whole child and a strong language background.
• He was against standardization, isolated drill and rote
learning.
• He helped to show that education was not just about
cramming information into students' minds, but about
teaching students to think for themselves and become
independent people.
Parker was the superintendent of schools in Quincy, Massachusetts, and later
became the head of the Cook County Normal School in Chicago (Webb et. al.,
2010).
He was the superintendent of schools in Quincy, Massachusetts (Webb,
2010). Between 1875 – 1879, Parker developed the Quincy plan and
implemented an experimental program based on “meaningful learning and
active understanding of concepts” (Schugurensky, 2002, p. 1).
When test results showed that students in Quincy schools outperformed the
rest of the school children in Massachusetts, the progressive movement
began.
Francis Wayland Parker (October 9, 1837 – March 2, 1902) was a pioneer of
the progressive school movement in the United States.
The Quincy method is a radical reform in the whole system
of teaching in the common schools. Instead of loading the
memory of pupils with a mass of abstract rules and
principles, it aims to develop their perceptive and creative
faculties, and reasoning powers. The system pursued can
best be explained by illustration. Take, for instance, the
subject of grammar. The Quincy trustees, in examining the
merits of the old system, found that while most of the pupils
could explain superficially and were well acquainted with the
rules of syntax, most of them could not express themselves
well and correctly in a simple letter or other form of
composition. And so, with other studies.
The new method aims to
teach children to do
things correctly, rather
than to fill their minds
with rules for analyzing
what is done.

In composition its object

is to enable the pupil to
write a perfect sentence,
instead of teaching him
to analyze and correctly
A mother in the kitchen DOES NOT show the
daughter how to make good bread by giving
her a loaf and telling her to analyze it. She
gives her materials, shows her how and in
what proportions to mix them together,
and after repeated trials the girl at length
learns how to make bread. She might
spend her whole life in analyzing loaves of
bread to learn their constituent elements, and
yet never be able to make a good one. In that
way she might become a skillful analyst, but
not a good bread maker.
Thought leaders in this educational philosophy include:

William H. Kilpatrick
Maria Montessori
Rudolph Steiner
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
 What is
progressivism?
 • focuses on real-world problem
solving and individual development

• a theory of education that is concerned with

Learning by Doing and profess that children
learned best when pursuing their own interests
and satisfying their own needs. (Foundation of American
Foundation)
 PROGRESSIVISM is a political
philosophy and movement that seeks to
advance the human condition through
social reform – primarily based on
acknowledged advancements in social
organization, science, and technology.
 Progressivists believe that people learn
from what they consider most relevant to
their lives.
Progressivists center curriculum on their
needs and experiences, interest and
abilities of the students. Provokes
curiosity in students.
 Progressivism in education:
• is a pedagogical movement that began in the late 19th
century as a reaction to the alleged narrowness and
formalism of traditional education.
• It emphasizes educating the “whole child,” including
physical, emotional, and intellectual growth.
• The philosophy advocates teaching children how to
think rather than relying on rote memorization.
• It is student-centered, focusing on real-world problem-
solving activities in a cooperative learning environment.
 It is an educational philosophy that is
based on the positive changes and
problem-solving approach.

 that individuals with various educational

credentials can provide their students.
 PROGRESSIVIST EDUCATORS
-are outcome focused and don’t simply impart learned
facts.
- Teachers are less concerned with passing on the existing
culture and strive to allow students to develop an
individual approach to tasks provided to them.
- Progressivists believe that teachers should foster the
development of the whole child through hands-on
learning, experimentation and play.
- Progressive educators also advocate for student
autonomy and the cultivation of democratic values and
principles by empowering students to make their own
decisions as much as possible.
• The progressivist classroom is about exploration and
experience.
• Teachers act as facilitators in a classroom where
students explore physical, mental, moral, and social
growth.
• Common sights in a progressivist classroom might
include small groups debating, custom-made activities,
and learning stations.
• Teachers typically walk freely among the groups, guiding
them using suggestions and thought-provoking
questions.
Guiding Minds of Progressivism
 Jean-Jacques
Rousseau
maintained that people are good by nature
and that society is responsible for corrupting
them

He supported education in nature

= away from the city and the influences of
civilization.
= the child’s interests, as opposed to a written
set of guidelines, would guide the curriculum.
 Jhon Dewey
proposed that people learn by
social interaction and problem-
solving
developed the scientific method
of problem-solving and
experimentalism.
As a result of the varied opinions
emerging from the movement
= progressivism was not developed
into formalized, documented
educational philosophy.
 Progressivists did
= agree that they wanted to move
away from certain characteristics of
traditional schools.
They were eager to remove themselves from the
textbook-based curriculum and the idea of teachers as:
disseminators of information, in
favor of viewing teachers as
facilitators of thinking.
The progressivist classroom:
• is about exploration and experience
• Teachers act as facilitators in a classroom
= where students explore physical, mental, moral, and
social growth.

COMMON SIGHTS IN A PROGRESSIVIST CLASSROOM

MIGHT INCLUDE:
o Small groups debating
o Custom-made activities
o Learning Stations
Teachers typically walk freely
among the groups
guiding them using suggestions
and thought-provoked questions
 Progressivists believe that individuality, progress,
and change are fundamental to one’s education
that people learn best from what they
consider most relevant to their lives.
They center their curricula on the needs,
experiences, interests, and abilities of
students
the progressivist teachers try to make
schools interesting and useful by planning
lessons that provoke curiosity.
That education should be a process of ongoing
growth not just a preparation for becoming an
adult.

An obvious example would be our class:

 We are in groups most of the time and we actively learn
through discussion.
 We talk about how what we read can be incorporated
into our future teaching careers.
 Professors or teachers consider the suggestions of
students from the previous semester and modify their
class accordingly.
In a progressivist school:
• Students are actively learning
• Students interact with one another and
develop social qualities
olike cooperations and tolerance for different
point of views.
• Students solve problems in the classroom
like those they will encounter in their
everyday lives.
 Traditional: Leaning towards an
emphasis on content, structures,
ordered systems, formal learning,
measurable outcomes

Progressive: Leaning towards an

emphasis on processes, experiences,
organic systems, informal learning,
intangible outcomes
Some of the key instructional methods
used by Progressivist teachers include:
• Promoting discovery and self-directly learning.
• Engaging students in active learning.
• Collaboration: Teacher to Student
• Integrating socially relevant themes.
• Promoting values of community, cooperation, tolerance, justice, and
democratic equality.
• Encouraging the use of group activities.
• Promoting the application of projects to enhance learning.
• Engaging students in critical thinking.
• Challenging students to work on their problem-solving skills.
• Developing decision making techniques.
• Utilizing cooperative learning strategies. (Webb et. al., 2010).
 Students Role
Students in a Progressivist classroom are empowered to take
a more active role in the learning process. In fact, they are
encouraged to actively construct their knowledge and
understanding by:
 Learning by Doing
 Interacting with their environment.
 Setting objectives for their own learning.
 Working together to solve problems.
 Learning by doing.
 Engaging in cooperative problem solving.
 Establishing classroom rules.
 Evaluating ideas.
 Testing ideas.
One of the strong voices in that element of
Progressivism was that of John Dewey, who was
influential in changing the focus of education from the
school to the student. He believed that an
authoritarian, formal, stultifying school environment
was an inadequate preparation for life in a vibrant
democracy.
He understood that children were naturally playful
and curious, and held that it was through these
qualities that the most meaningful learning could take
place.
 However, Dewey (1938) cautioned that not
all experiences are equal:
“The belief that all genuine education comes about through experience does
not mean that all experiences are genuinely or equally educative.
Experience and education cannot be directly equated to each other. For
some experiences are mis-educative. Any experience is mis-education that
has the effect of arresting or distorting the growth or further experience.”
An example of miseducation would be that of a bank robber. He or she
many learn from the experience of robbing a bank, but this experience can
not be equated with that of a student learning to apply a history concept to
his or her real-world experience.
THANK YOU!
References:
• Progressivism - EDU221 - Introduction to Education -
LibGuides at Paradise Valley Community College
• Chapter 4.1: Progressivism – Foundations of American E
ducation: A Critical Lens (Texas Version) (pressbooks.pu
b)
• Progressivism: Explanation and Examples (philosophyter
ms.com)
• Progressivism – Wikipedia
• John Dewey | Biography, Philosophy, Pragmatism, & Edu
cation | Britannica