Object lesson

Last updated
An Object Lesson by Boston Public Library An Object Lesson by Boston Public Library.jpg
An Object Lesson by Boston Public Library

An object lesson is a teaching method that consists of using a physical object or visual aid as a discussion piece for a lesson. Object lesson teaching assumes that material things have the potential to convey information. [1]

Contents

Description

The object lesson approach is promoted in the educational philosophy of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who held that teaching should begin with observation of objects which help students recognize concepts. [2] In his teaching and writing he emphasized the concept of Anschauung , which may be understood as "sense training." [3] Pestalozzi taught that children were first to develop sensation, then perception, notion, and finally volition, learning how to act morally based on an individual view of the world. [1]

History

Object lessons were important elements in teaching during the Victorian era of the mid- to late-nineteenth century. [4] Elizabeth Mayo's books Lessons on Objects and Lessons on shells, which were about object lessons and were published during the Victorian Era, were revolutionary as they were the first to explain education to infant teachers. Mayo's book Lessons on Objects showed how young children could be introduced to new ideas by examining 100 objects like a wooden cube, a pin, a rubber or a piece of glass. The book supplied example dialogues between teacher and child and a list supplied for an object like a pin to get the children to recognize the parts and the qualities of this object. [5]

By the early twentieth century object lessons were widely used in religious instruction. [6] The popular Baptist educator, Rev. Clarence H. Woolston wrote a number of books about using everyday objects to aid instruction, including Seeing Truth: A Book of Object Lessons with Magical and Mechanical Effects, Penny Object Lessons: 25 Lessons for 25 Cents, and The Bible Object Book: A Book of Object Lessons Which Are Different, Written in Plain English and in Common Words. [7]

Related Research Articles

Progressive education, or educational progressivism, is a pedagogical movement that began in the late 19th century and has persisted in various forms to the present. In Europe, progressive education took the form of the New Education Movement. The term progressive was engaged to distinguish this education from the traditional curricula of the 19th century, which was rooted in classical preparation for the early-industrial university and strongly differentiated by social class. By contrast, progressive education finds its roots in modern, post-industrial experience. Most progressive education programs have these qualities in common:

Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences in intelligence, cognitive development, affect, motivation, self-regulation, and self-concept, as well as their role in learning. The field of educational psychology relies heavily on quantitative methods, including testing and measurement, to enhance educational activities related to instructional design, classroom management, and assessment, which serve to facilitate learning processes in various educational settings across the lifespan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phonics</span> Method of teaching reading and writing

Phonics is a method for teaching reading and writing to beginners. To use phonics is to teach the relationship between the sounds of the spoken language (phonemes), and the letters (graphemes) or groups of letters or syllables of the written language. Phonics is also known as the alphabetic principle or the alphabetic code. It can be used with any writing system that is alphabetic, such as that of English, Russian, and most other languages. Phonics is also sometimes used as part of the process of teaching Chinese people to read and write Chinese characters, which are not alphabetic, using pinyin, which is.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suzuki method</span> Music teaching method

The Suzuki method is a mid-20th-century music curriculum and teaching philosophy created by Japanese violinist and pedagogue Shinichi Suzuki. The method claims to create a reinforcing environment for learning music for young learners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedagogy</span> Theory and practice of education

Pedagogy, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infant school</span> School for young children

An infant school is a term which is used predominantly in England and Wales. It has been used since the 19th century to refer to schools or school departments that cater for children up to seven years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi</span> Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer (1746–1827)

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach.

A didactic method is a teaching method that follows a consistent scientific approach or educational style to present information to students. The didactic method of instruction is often contrasted with dialectics and the Socratic method; the term can also be used to refer to a specific didactic method, as for instance constructivist didactics.

A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction or "learning trajectory" for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teacher, subject being covered, and the needs of the students. There may be requirements mandated by the school system regarding the plan. A lesson plan is the teacher's guide for running a particular lesson, and it includes the goal, how the goal will be reached and a way of measuring how well the goal was reached.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audiovisual education</span> Method of education with audiovisual elements

Audiovisual education or multimedia-based education (MBE) is an instruction method where particular attention is paid to the audiovisual or multimedia presentation of the material with the goal of improving comprehension and retention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zone of proximal development</span> Difference between what a learner can do without help and what they can do with help

The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is a concept in educational psychology. It represents the space between what a learner is capable of doing unsupported and what the learner cannot do even with support. It is the range where the learner is able to perform, but only with support from a teacher or a peer with more knowledge or expertise. The concept was introduced, but not fully developed, by psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) during the last three years of his life. Vygotsky argued that a child gets involved in a dialogue with the "more knowledgeable other", such as a peer or an adult, and gradually, through social interaction and sense-making, develops the ability to solve problems independently and do certain tasks without help. Following Vygotsky, some educators believe that the role of education is to give children experiences that are within their zones of proximal development, thereby encouraging and advancing their individual learning skills and strategies.

<i>Lessons for Children</i> 1778/79 early reader by Anna Laetitia Barbauld

Lessons for Children is a series of four age-adapted reading primers written by the prominent 18th-century British poet and essayist Anna Laetitia Barbauld. Published in 1778 and 1779, the books initiated a revolution in children's literature in the Anglo-American world. For the first time, the needs of the child reader were seriously considered: the typographically simple texts progress in difficulty as the child learns. In perhaps the first demonstration of experiential pedagogy in Anglo-American children's literature, Barbauld's books use a conversational style, which depicts a mother and her son discussing the natural world. Based on the educational theories of John Locke, Barbauld's books emphasise learning through the senses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Educational toy</span> Plaything intended to stimulate learning

Educational toys are objects of play, generally designed for children, which are expected to stimulate learning. They are often intended to meet an educational purpose such as helping a child develop a particular skill or teaching a child about a particular subject. They often simplify, miniaturize, or even model activities and objects used by adults.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alphabet book</span> Childrens book designed to teach the letters of the alphabet

An alphabet book is a type of children's book giving basic instruction in an alphabet. Intended for young children, alphabet books commonly use pictures, simple language and alliteration to aid language learning. Alphabet books are published in several languages, and some distinguish the capitals and lower case letters in a given alphabet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Differentiated instruction</span> Framework or philosophy for effective teaching

Differentiated instruction and assessment, also known as differentiated learning or, in education, simply, differentiation, is a framework or philosophy for effective teaching that involves providing all students within their diverse classroom community of learners a range of different avenues for understanding new information in terms of: acquiring content; processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas; and developing teaching materials and assessment measures so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in their ability. Differentiated instruction means using different tools, content, and due process in order to successfully reach all individuals. Differentiated instruction, according to Carol Ann Tomlinson, is the process of "ensuring that what a student learns, how he or she learns it, and how the student demonstrates what he or she has learned is a match for that student's readiness level, interests, and preferred mode of learning." According to Boelens et al. (2018), differentiation can be on two different levels: the administration level and the classroom level. The administration level takes the socioeconomic status and gender of students into consideration. At the classroom level, differentiation revolves around content, processing, product, and effects. On the content level, teachers adapt what they are teaching to meet the needs of students. This can mean making content more challenging or simplified for students based on their levels. The process of learning can be differentiated as well. Teachers may choose to teach individually at a time, assign problems to small groups, partners or the whole group depending on the needs of the students. By differentiating product, teachers decide how students will present what they have learned. This may take the form of videos, graphic organizers, photo presentations, writing, and oral presentations. All these take place in a safe classroom environment where students feel respected and valued—effects.

The Oswego Movement was a movement in American education during the late 19th century. It was based on the methods of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi and introduced by Edward Austin Sheldon at Oswego Primary Teachers' Training School.

Johann Christoff Büss was a German bookbinder and educator who is best known for his work with Swiss educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. Büss developed a pedagogical method for drawing based on Pestalozzi's ideas.

Elizabeth Mayo was a British teacher and educational reformer. She was credited in the Hadow Reports with being one of the founders of the formal education of infant teachers in Britain. She was the first woman in England to be employed to train teachers.

The Ferrer school was an early 20th century libertarian school inspired by the anarchist pedagogy of Francisco Ferrer. He was a proponent of rationalist, secular education that emphasized reason, dignity, self-reliance, and scientific observation, as opposed to the ecclesiastical and dogmatic standard Spanish curriculum of the period. Ferrer's teachings followed in a tradition of rationalist and romantic education philosophy, and 19th century extragovernment, secular Spanish schools. He was particularly influenced by Paul Robin's orphanage at Cempuis.

Mary AtkinsonMaurice (1797–1858) was a British teacher, educationist, and writer. With her encouragement, Mary's brother F. D. Maurice, founded Queen's College, London, of which she was a generous sponsor.

References

  1. 1 2 Carter, Sarah Anne (2010). "On an Object Lesson, or Don't Eat the Evidence". The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth. 3 (1): 7–12. doi:10.1353/hcy.0.0081. S2CID   143888561 via Project MUSE.
  2. MAKINAE, Naomichi. 2010. "The Origin of Lesson Study in Japan." Paper presented at EARCOME5, Japan Society of Mathematical Education
  3. Good, Katie Day (2020). Bring the World to the Child: Technologies of Global Citizenship in American Education. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. p. 77. ISBN   978-0-262-53802-2.
  4. "Object lessons" HPS Museum Blog (at the University of Leeds), 5 December 2012 (accessed 16 March 2013)
  5. Lessons on Objects Archived 2015-01-01 at the Wayback Machine , Elizabeth Mayo, 1861, Roehampton University, download, retrieved 1 January 2014.
  6. Hasinoff, E. L. (2011). Object Lessons. In: Faith in Objects. Contemporary Anthropology of Religion. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 71. ISBN   978-1-349-29733-7.
  7. "WorldCat.org". WorldCat.org. Retrieved November 25, 2019.