Week 1 - John Dewey, “My Pedagogic Creed”
In his well-known article “My Pedagogic Creed”, Dewey (1987) discusses a new perspective in education ahead of his time. He proposes that education “is a process of living and not a process of future living” (p.77). This approach could be controversial and demanding to implement in some educational institutions even in the present day. As a language instructor, I have been part of a variety of language departments in higher education and K-12. In the last decade, all of them adopted and implemented the communicative approach to emphasize authentic interactions and to use the language in almost close to real scenarios. In other words, there is a very important correlation between the language lessons and the current situations happening in the world. For example, last year, more vocabulary related to the pandemic was included in the daily lessons of regular Spanish classes. Applying Dewey's concept to the language field seems to be more natural and intuitive compared to other fields.
Dewey has a unique vision of how important is the role of interactions within a community in the process of acquiring relevant knowledge. He claims that when language is "treated simply as a way of getting individual information, or as a means of showing off what one has learned, it loses its social motive and end" (Dewey, 1987, p.78). Currently, I work in a place where the vision of our language department appears to be aligned with Dewey's approach. We prepare learners to communicate, explore and connect across cultures, as we accompany them in developing lifelong curiosity and appreciation for other languages and cultures. We want our students to become global citizens by acquiring knowledge, awareness, and empathy that allows them to uphold Jesuit’s principles of service and social justice. Even when an educational institution encourages students to focus more on learning than obtaining high grades, it is difficult to separate the internalization of knowledge from a peer competition. The grading systems do not help to create meaningful interactions between students to share knowledge and to grow as individuals and as part of a community.
As I mentioned before, Dewey's approach was ahead of his time and it could still be controversial after more than one hundred years. Nowadays, we have more knowledge to acquire and to teach, but we have not yet been able to find better techniques or systems to impart that knowledge for the benefit of our society. It seems more difficult for individuals to work as a team and to understand that no one is truly self-sufficient.
Dewey, John (1897, January). My pedagogic creed. School Journal, 54, pp. 77-80.Retrieved from http://dewey.pragmatism.org/creed.htm
The application of Dewey's creed to how educational institutions have changed teaching language is key especially in the United States. The vast majority of Americans where English is their first language do not speak any other language though they most likely learned French, Spanish or German for 2-3 years in secondary school. This may be due to how they were taught the language. So using Dewey's creed to stress real world application and authentic interactions especially with native speakers could change how Americans learn languages. I do wonder in an educational system focused on testing learners to prove knowledge gained does Dewey's creed translate will in modern times. Though the answer could be "authentic" assessments like conversations does that truly show the real world.
ReplyDeleteChanika
I cringe a little at the type of rote learning to which Dewey is most likely referring when discussing language pedagogy. I remember having to write vocabulary words in English and French classes and thinking how utterly devoid of meaning the practice was even then. I appreciate your efforts to provide practical application and meaning to language education. It is important to know syntax if studying a written language, but it is less useful if this is a purely "logical" exercise (Dewey, 6) rather than one that relates to interpersonal communication. Putting words in the correct order and using proper punctuation can be taught in a fun way, especially if one can point out the potential blunders to be avoided. However, the appreciation of these lessons and literature writ large is probably lost on students, possibly even through secondary education.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Dewey’s approach was ahead of times. This article hits home for me since I struggled in school with spelling tests. In 1st grade, I was required to retake spelling tests which caused a significant amount of anxiety. One topic that is missing from Dewey’s article is the negative psychological impact one experience with a grading system. Like you mentioned, separating the internalization of peer competition is difficult. That being said, a grading system can create barriers whether or not it is focused more on learning than obtaining high grades.
ReplyDelete-Chris