U N I T 2 TEACHING AND LEARNING THEORIES Teaching is a science with its own theories. In this Unit we will discuss the ideas of great pedagogues and different learning theories, including modern developments that put the learner at the centre of the learning process. A. DIFFERENT APPROACHES IN PEDAGOGY Pedagogical approaches have varied greatly throughout the centuries, from the idea of studying a list of notions or acquiring culture, to a new vision of human development free from religion, and the idea of pedagogy as a true science. During the Middle Ages, happiness and education did not go together. Strict education in monasteries was the only option for people who wished to broaden their knowledge, until Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536) made learning marginally more pleasant. As a result of his influence, the purpose of education became to teach the humanistic aspects of culture, such as literature, arts and science. For Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1670), education should be at the same time intellectual, moral and religious, and the religious element remained fundamental in education until JeanJacques Rousseau (1712-1778) proposed a natural way of teaching and freed education from the indoctrination of the dominant culture and moral and religious teaching. For Rousseau, the purpose of education was to create members of society. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) followed Rousseau s natural way, but insisted on moral laws and trust in science. With Johann Pestalozzi (1746-1827), there was a change in perspective, with the accent on family education as the basis of education, to be implemented with technical teaching, including physical education. Friedrich Froebel (17821852) agreed on the importance of family education; in fact, for him the family was where children could develop in a natural way and the role of the mother was fundamental. However, Froebel is famous Teacher with children (Jan Steen, 1668) 54