Pedagogy or Didactics?

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Josep Oton

When a Physical Education teacher joins a school, their first question is often about the sports facilities. They need to know whether there is a properly equipped gymnasium, a multi-purpose sports court, or a space where students can run, exercise, and engage in sports. Not just any room or playground will suffice; minimum requirements must be met. Similarly, specific resources essential to the subject—such as balls—are indispensable. Footballs, basketballs, and volleyballs are integral to their lessons, as it would be impossible to teach the subject effectively without them.

However, the same balls that are vital in a Physical Education class may become a distraction and a hindrance in a History lesson. Except in rare, difficult-to-justify cases, balls have no place in a Social Sciences classroom.

Each subject requires its own specific spaces. Physics laboratories are not the same as those for Chemistry, Biology, or Geology, nor do they resemble a Technology workshop. Music lessons necessitate a room equipped with instruments and sound systems, while Visual Arts requires larger tables than those used in other subjects.

To teach a subject effectively, teachers need access to appropriate spaces and specific tools. While some subjects can share general-purpose classrooms, this often necessitates teachers transporting books and other materials pertinent to their discipline. Nevertheless, to properly deliver a subject’s curriculum, certain dedicated spaces and resources are essential, tailored to its contents and competencies.

This relationship between spaces and resources is analogous to methodologies in teaching. Each subject employs specific teaching and learning techniques. For instance, project-based learning is particularly effective in Technology classes. The use of interdisciplinary learning pathways might be suitable for related subjects taught in the early educational stages. Competency-based learning is highly useful in language instruction, while learning scenarios can be seamlessly implemented in Geography lessons. However, we must remember that each subject relies on its own methodologies, and imposing teaching techniques borrowed from other disciplines—or worse, from the corporate world—can lead to detrimental outcomes.

Just as a ball can disrupt a History lesson, an inappropriate methodology can also distort learning. The scientific method or hermeneutic approach must be taught by professionals who have demonstrated mastery of the academic knowledge specific to their discipline, along with the ability to convey it effectively. Teaching is not about applying trendy solutions or using so-called fail-proof educational algorithms. For example, interpreting a historical text has its own particularities, which cannot be homogenised with the analysis of poetry or the reading of a mathematical problem. Each subject entails unique methodological nuances that develop through its specific didactics.

Teaching Mathematics is not the same as teaching Latin. Giving a Physical Education lesson differs significantly from teaching music theory. Conducting a project in Technology requires different guidelines than conducting a syntactic analysis in a language class.

Of course, overlaps exist in the didactics of different disciplines, and there are areas of intersection and interaction. However, each subject not only encompasses unique content but also demands specific methodologies.

Addressing student diversity within an inclusive educational system also highlights these distinctions. Clearly, diversity must be approached differently in Physical Education than in Music, Mathematics, or Language lessons. Learning difficulties in each subject can vary significantly, as can the corresponding educational interventions.

In my view, we have conflated pedagogy with didactics. Pedagogy examines the principles, aims, and foundations of education, while didactics focuses on the methods, techniques, and strategies of teaching. Pedagogy analyses education in a broad sense, whereas didactics focuses on the teaching and learning processes of specific content. Pedagogy is a more theoretical discipline; didactics is practical and competency-driven.

The contributions of pedagogy should not be underestimated. However, teachers must be trained in the specific didactics of their subject. Attempting to create a globalised educational esperanto—grouping all knowledge into a single approach without recognising the unique characteristics of each learning process—is akin to disregarding the need for subject-specific classrooms. It would be like assuming Physical Education could be taught in a Technology workshop or Chemistry experiments could be conducted in the library.

Source: educational EVIDENCE

Rights: Creative Commons