Pedagogy; it’s one of those words you hear all the time in the education. It is a ponderous word that seems loaded with meaning and authority but it is hard to pin down its meaning.
Even the dictionaries seem vague and slightly inconsistent:
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- The method and practice of teaching. Oxford
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- The principles, practice, or profession of teaching. Collins
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- The function, work or art of teaching and instruction. Macquarie
- The study of the methods and activities of teaching. Cambridge
It somehow deftly defies definition.
For me, the most useful explanation came from an education lecturer many years ago:
“Teachers learn so many theories and methods at university; the practice of pedagogy is bringing it all together to position the student in such a way that they might actually learn something; it’s how we trick them into learning”.
Somehow this, rather odd statement, clarified a lot of things for me at the time.
Firstly, “bringing it all together…” implies that there are many, often divergent, educational models, theories and teaching methods that can be used in conjunction with each other. Traditionally we are inclined to see learning theories in isolation and as being in competition with each other, and even as being mutually exclusive but there is no reason that the different theories cannot be used to support and complement each other.
Secondly, that teachers “position” the student. This implies that teaching is really about creating a situation that primes the student to learn. In so doing it recognises that the student is the active agent in the learning process. The traditional way of looking at it has the teacher as the active subject and the student as passive object.
Finally, teachers “trick” students into learning. Implies that we can learn without being conscious of it and that even, if the student is not inclined to learn, she might do so without realising it. It is also suggesting that there is an element of cunning deception in how the teacher surreptitiously directs the student.
I’m still not sure how the quote adds to our understanding of the word pedagogy accept that it opens the concept up to some of the different underlying facets.
What I am sure about is that education is a hugely complex and multifaceted process and this places great demands on teachers. There are so many dynamically dependent variables at play in any classroom. There are also constraints, particularly on time.
Teachers have to draw on all the tools they have at hand including all their knowledge and understanding of the theories and processes, and all their intuition, inspiration and energy.
My conclusion: Firstly that pedagogy is the teaching part of teaching – there are a lot of other parts. Further, I would define it as both the art and science of teaching. The science part is understanding the principles and theories and knowing how to use them in a strategically structured and purposeful way. It involves being highly objective and organised.
The art component requires perception and sensitivity. The teacher needs to be able to read the student and to sense the where the class is going. They need to be resourceful and responsive to everything that is happening to be able to leverage all the elements and having them working together. This is where the magic happens
Teaching is a real-world profession and at the end of the day, teachers have to find a way that works. Pedagogy is how the teacher makes it happen.