Pedagogy

Pedagogy is the discipline that deals with the theory and practice of education; it thus concerns the study of how best to teach. Spanning a broad range of practice, its aims 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 schools of thought.

The teaching of adults, as a specific group, is referred to as andragogy.

Johann Friedrich Herbart (4 May 1776 – 14 August 1841) is the founding father of the conceptualization of pedagogy, or, the theory of education. Herbart's educational philosophy and pedagogy highlighted the correlation between personal development and the resulting benefits to society. In other words, Herbart proposed that humans become fulfilled once they establish themselves as productive citizens. Herbartianism refers to the movement underpinned by Herbart's theoretical perspectives. Referring to the teaching process, Herbart suggested 5 steps as crucial components. Specifically, these 5 steps include: preparation, presentation, association, generalization, and application. Herbart suggests that pedagogy relates to having assumptions as an educator and a specific set of abilities with a deliberate end goal in mind.

The word is a derivative of the Greek (paidagōgia), from (paidagōgos), itself a synthesis of ἄγω (ágō), "I lead", and παῖς (país, genitive παιδός, paidos) "child": hence, "to lead a child." It is pronounced variously, as /ˈpɛdəɡɒdʒi/, /ˈpɛdəɡoʊdʒi/, or /ˈpɛdəɡɒɡi/. Negative connotations of pedantry have sometimes been intended, or taken, at least from the time of Samuel Pepys in the 1650s.

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