Pedagogy

Not to be confused with Education sciences or Educational research.
Detail of a scene in the bowl of the letter 'P' with a woman with a set-square and dividers; using a compass to measure distances on a diagram. In her left hand she holds a square, an implement for testing or drawing right angles. She is watched by a group of students.
Woman teaching geometry (detail of a XIV-century illuminated manuscript, at the beginning of Euclid's Elementa, in the translation attributed to Adelard of Bath)

Pedagogy (/ˈpɛdəɡɒdʒi, -ɡoʊdʒi, -ɡɒɡi/), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as an academic discipline, is the study of how knowledge and skills are imparted in an educational context, and it considers the interactions that take place during learning. Both the theory and practice of pedagogy vary greatly as they reflect different social, political, and cultural contexts.[1]

Pedagogy is often described as the act of teaching.[2] The pedagogy adopted by teachers shapes their actions, judgments, and teaching strategies by taking into consideration theories of learning, understandings of students and their needs, and the backgrounds and interests of individual students.[3][4] Its aims may range from furthering liberal education (the general development of human potential) to the narrower specifics of vocational education (the imparting and acquisition of specific skills).

Instructive strategies are governed by the pupil's background knowledge and experience, situation and environment, as well as learning goals set by the student and teacher. One example would be the Socratic method.[5]

  1. ^ Li, G., 2012. Culturally contested Pedagogy: Battles of literacy and schooling between mainstream teachers and Asian immigrant parents. Suny Press.
  2. ^ "Definition of PEDAGOGY". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Blueprint for government schools. Flagship strategy 1: Student Learning. The Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12 Background Paper" (PDF). Department of Education and Training Victoria. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  4. ^ Shulman, Lee (1987). "Knowledge and Teaching: Foundations of the New Reform" (PDF). Harvard Educational Review. 15 (2): 4–14. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  5. ^ Petrie et al. (2009). Pedagogy – a holistic, personal approach to work with children and young people, across services. p. 4. Archived 15 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine