PRAGMATISM-LEARNING BY DOING

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PRAGMATISM-LEARNING BY DOING
Introduction
Of all educational philosophies being practised and studied worldwide, pragmatism is the only one that originated in North America (Barbules and Biesta n.d.). This is an educational philosophy that stresses on ‘learning by doing`. Pragmatism as an educational philosophy was the result of the work of scholars whose work spanned throughout the late 19th century all the way to the twentieth century. They include John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Auguste Comte, Charles Darwin, Charles Sanders Pierce (1839-1914), William James and James Dewey (1859-1952).
This philosophy came to become the United States` traditional method of teaching. It has several learning configurations and arrangements that assign the instructors and learners with specific roles. These arrangements found in pragmatism are all geared towards preparing the students for the real world by providing them with adequate problem solving skills so that they can be competent in the dynamic world that awaits them after school (Educational Philosophy, n.d.).
Features of pragmatism
Pragmatism advocates for the unification of theory and practice. This is to say that in a pragmatic education system, the theories being taught by the instructors should be demonstrated practically so as to enhance the student`s learning experience (Ozmoh, 2004).
This philosophy proposes that scientific methods should be employed in the solutions of people`s problems. This is to say that when dealing with challenges, solving of problems needs to be based on actual facts rather than myths or other rudimentary approaches (Bohac et al n.d.). In my opinion, an education system that is based on pragmatism has democracy as one of its features. This is to say that there are no absolutes so to say in the learning process. In pragmatism, change is the essence of reality. This is also known as progressivism.
Progressivism
Progressivism is based on a school of thought that describes the ideal learning environment in which pragmatism is being applied. Progressivism has six key assertions that are used to ensure the education process meets first and foremost the needs of the learner. What sets pragmatism apart from other educational philosophies is the fact that it supports the use of modern scientific methods in the development of philosophies.
Under progressivism, education should not just be looked at as preparation for life. Education is actually life. This means that learning experiences need to be tailored according to real life experiences such that even after a learner is out of school, he or she continues with the learning process that was started in the classroom. What this means is that finishing a stage of education, say university, should not be seen as an end to learning. It should just be a seamless transition in which the environment changes but the process conti...