ERIC Number: EJ1410103
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0030-9230
EISSN: EISSN-1477-674X
The Object Lesson: Evolution and Transformation of a Didactic Method in Global Pedagogy
Paedagogica Historica: International Journal of the History of Education, v60 n1 p74-86 2024
The "object lesson" is a particular teaching method that was widespread in Europe and the westernised world during the nineteenth century, which was variously adapted according to national contexts under the name of "Anschauungsunterricht, leçon de choses, lezione di cose, and lección de cosas." Based on the intuitive (sometimes known as natural) method, it established itself as a direct product of Pestalozzi's pedagogy, although its genealogy has been reconstructed differently from country to country. This makes it an interesting case of translation and transformation in education or, perhaps, simply an example of "maquillage" motivated by revanchism. The aim, in general, is to introduce abstract ideas to infant and primary school pupils through the observation of concrete objects. The leading theorists (the early followers of Pestalozzi in Germany and England, the educationalist Marie Pape-Carpentier in France, the Italian and Spanish positivists, etc.), gave it, in most cases, the form of a maternal conversation, where adults and children prompt each other with questions and answers. Many school programmes have given it a place in the curriculum, others have maintained it in freer and more spontaneous forms. This paper offers, on the basis of the most recent literature, an analysis of the different national traditions, using the main pedagogical dictionaries published in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Descriptors: Teaching Methods, Elementary School Students, Intuition, Infants, Questioning Techniques, Educational History, European History, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: EnglishFrench
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Europe
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A