“Pedagogy, literally translated, is the art or science of teaching children. In modern day usage, it is a synonym for “teaching” or “education,” particularly in scholarly writings.”
Pedagogy. (2021, January 13). New World Encyclopedia.
It is not my intention to discuss or critique “pedagogy” – there are plenty of websites, articles and media resources that do this far better than I could on this page, but I will provide an overview of the term and some examples of pedagogies which may be common to many of you. The word ‘pedagogy’ is broad umbrella term for a number of theories / approaches to learning and teaching which have informed process and practices of teachers, particularly in their roles as curriculum designers.
The dictionary defintion supports this and briefly describes it as “the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept” (Oxford Languages Dictionary).
In the context of SPaM this domain is directly drawn from the TPACK framework where it is referred to as “pedagogical knowledge” and defined as:
“Teachers’ deep knowledge about the processes and practices or methods of teaching and learning. They encompass, among other things, overall educational purposes, values, and aims. This generic form of knowledge applies to understanding how students learn, general classroom management skills, lesson planning, and student assessment.”
(Koehler & Mishra, 2009)
Some pedagogies may be strongly aligned to subject area and discipline, although some of this is historical and so broader concepts such as ‘critical pedagogy‘ specifically seeks to address imbalances and historical power structures relating to education. The foundational text for this is attributed to Paulo Freire through his writing of ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’. (Freire, 1970).
“Critical Pedagogy is an approach to teaching and learning predicated on fostering agency and empowering learners (implicitly and explicitly critiquing oppressive power structures).
(Stommell, 2014)
In both curriculum design and educational development, pedagogy is an integral component (whether a conscious design decision or not) and more so in the context of hybrid education where online pedagogies are also increasingly prevalent alongside more established traditional pedagogies.
This framework does not seek to define or critique pedagogies but merely recognise the existence of them and the fact that they are prevalent in any learning and teaching context. Pedagogy is influenced by both subject and modality and so discipline specific pedagogies that have traditionally existed for in-person teaching may need to adapt or co-exist alongside online pedagogies which have emerged more recently.
Additionally, other branches of pedagogy have emerged over the years such as Feminist Pedagogy, Digital Pedagogy and Social Pedagogy each seeking to examine learning and teaching pedagogy in a specific context. This adds increasingly complex layers of pedagogy where a number of theories and practices may intersect depending on the pedagogic influences.
Furthermore variations of the term itself have also emerged with pedagogy sometimes being confined to experiences specifically related to children learning, andragogy being associated with adult learning and and heutagogy being specifically about self-directed learning).
| PEDAGOGY CHILDREN’S LEARNING | ANDRAGOGY ADULTS LEARNING | HEUTAGOGY SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEPENDENCE | The learner is a dependent personality. | Adults are independent. They strive for autonomy and self-direction in learning. | Learners are interdependent. They identify the potential to learn from novel experiences as a matter of course. |
| RESOURCES FOR LEARNING | The learner has few resources — the teacher devises transmission techniques | Adults use their own and other’s experience. | Teacher provides some resources, but the learner decides the path by negotiating the learning. |
| REASONS FOR LEARNING | Learn in order to advance to the next stage. | Adults learn when they experience a need to know or to perform more effectively. | Learning is not necessarily planned or linear. |
| FOCUS OF LEARNING | Learning is subject centered, focused on the prescribed curriculum | Adult learning is task or problem centered. | Learners can go beyond problem solving by enabling pro-activity. |
| MOTIVATION | Motivation comes from external sources | Motivation stems from internal sources | Self-efficacy, knowing how to learn |
| ROLE OF THE TEACHER | Designs the learning process, imposes material, is assumed to know best. | Enabler or facilitator, climate of collaboration, respect and openness | Develop the learner’s capability. |
However, it is generally accepted that ‘pedagogy’ is a catch-all term for the various branches of theories, philosophies and frameworks that encompass the range of approaches to and understanding of learning and teaching. It is through this lens that SPaM positions Pedagogy as a core domain in the framework and equally as influential on any curriculum design decisions as the subject matter or mode of teaching. Whilst it might be argued that pedagogy is perhaps the strongest single influencer in the framework, what with subjects and modes often having their own specific branches of pedagogy, the framework sees pedagogy as an equally important consideration in the design process whether that be subject specific or more general.
Further Information & Resources:
Freire, P., & Ramos, M. B. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed / translated by Myra Bergman Ramos. Seabury Press.
The Online Educator: People and Pedagogy A FutureLearn Short Course
Pedagogical Best Practices: Residential, Blended, and Online – Harvard University Guidance
Pedagogy, Andragogy, & Heutagogy – University of Illinois Springfield, Centre for Online Learning
You can find a full list of references for this work on the references resource page.
To cite this work:
Thomson, S. (2022, February 3). SPaM – A Framework to support the Development of Hybrid Education. SPaM Framework. https://spam.digisim.uk
