JOHN DEWEY

Sarah, Christa, Dylan, and Kelly“Education is not preparation for

life; education is life itself.”

Biography

• 1859- 1952• Born in Burlington, Vermont• Attended University of Vermont• Doctorate in philosophy from Johns

Hopkins University• Worked at University of Minnesota, University of

Chicago, University of Michigan, and Columbia University

What was happening?

• Lincoln was elected president– Civil War

• World War I and II– Industrial Revolution

• Korean War• Beginning of the Cold War

He lived a long time!

Major Contributions

• Functional Psychology• Progressive Education

– Theory of Experience• Theory of Truth• Reflex Arc Theory

Theory of Truth

• Pragmatism- facts not ideals• William James• Is God real?

– Beliefs Truth• Clarify difficult subjects• “whatever produces results we happen to like.”

Psychology

• Published first two books in 1887 while working at the University of Michigan

• Functionalist Psychologist• American Psychological Association President

in 1899• First psychologist to be on a USA postage

stamp

Functional Psychology

• Psychology philosophy that considers mental life and behavior in terms of active adaptation to the person’s environment

• Alternative to structuralism

Reflex Arc Theory

• so-called response is not merely to the stimulus; it is into it

• A circuit not an arc• sensory-motor feedback loop• Dewey was arguing that the behavior involved in a

reflexive response can not be meaningfully reduced to a basic sensorimotor elements anymore than consciousness can be meaningfully analyzed into elementary component parts.

•School itself is a social institution through which

social reform can and should take place

• Changes in the world

• Needed a curriculum for individuals

•Students should have a say

Father of Modern Education

Theory of Experience

Continuity• Education is essential to real

life skills• We learn something from

every experience

Interaction• Past experiences affect our

present experiences• Non-educative experience

– Don’t get anything out of it

• Mis-educative experience– Distorts growth for other

experiences

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Biographical Information

Major Contributions

Interesting Facts

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Dewey was the first psychologist to be on what?

US Postage Stamp

How many wars was Dewey alive for?

4 or 5

Dewey was the president of what association?

American Psychological Association

What were two of Dewey’s Theories?

• Theory of Experience• Theory of Truth• Reflex Arc Theory

Dewey was the father of what two subjects?

Modern Education and Functional Psychology

What are the two sections of the Theory of Experience?

Continuity and Interaction

What college(s) did Dewey attend?

University of VermontOr

Johns Hopkins University

Name 2 colleges Dewey worked at?

•University of Michigan•University of Minnesota•University of Chicago•Columbia University

How old was John Dewey when he died?

92