Pragmatic Methods of Education

The pragmatists believe and opine that there is no one way to educate a learner or a child. Therefore, the teacher should know and apply many different methods. Again, a pragmatic teacher is not to dish out facts and opinion. Also, he is not to impose on children any pattern of behaviour rather, his core functions are to guide and help students when necessary and to provide suitable environment in which they both learn and develop their own patterns of behaviour. Thus, the teacher is a kind of democratic leader.

Pragmatists however, recommend the following methods of education.

First is the experimental method of education. The experimental method is zzvery important to this philosophical school of thought. They believe that life is not at stand-still and there is always need for improvement. Because of this, experimenting, that is, trying out new things to bring about improvements, becomes very necessary. This supports the changing of the methods and approaches by the teacher when need arises.

The experimental method then leads to discovery in education. The discovery method is that which sets the learner on the move to find out, explore or try out new things in order to gain new knowledge. This method is important in two ways - it leads to new knowledge and the skills of inquiry and self-reliance are developed.

Thirdly, the project method is another method of learning supported by pragmatists. This method enables learners to receive general education. Here, projects are decided by group discussion with the teacher as the moderator. The students are assigned roles and they work cooperatively in achieving the goals of the project.

Another important method similar to the project method is the problem-solving method. Pragmatists feel that the best way to teach children how to solve problems in life is not by theory but by developing problem-solving skills using real life situations. Children are expected to develop their plans and tackle the difficulties they see. As they overcome such difficulties, they gain useful experiences on how to solve such life problems.