Education

• University of Vermont, 1879
• John Hopkins, Ph.D. 1884

Career Highlights

• Professor, University of Minnesota (1888-89)
• Professor, University of Michigan (1884-88, 1889-94)
• University of Chicago (1894-1904)

Major Contributions to Instructional Development

• Established the Chicago Laboratory School for the purpose of testing his educational theories and their sociological implications
• Beliefs resulted in a curriculum based on student interests and designed to teach the social origins of knowledge and cooperation

Findings, Research, Studies

John Dewey was way ahead of other theorists of his time. His ideas described in The School and Society (1899) has remarkable significance to the field of education as we now know it. Dewey believed that the development of curricula should be based on student self-interests. He rejected the idea that children are primarily motivated by rewards and punishments, rather, children are motivated by what they are most interested in. Often misrepresented to be associated with child-centered education.

Publications

• The School and Society (1899)
• The Child and the Curriculum (1902)
• How We Think (1910)
• Experience and Education (1938)

Sources

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/d/dewey.htm
article by Richard Field on John Dewey that includes information on his life and works; knowledge, ethical, and social theories; metaphysics; aesthetics; and influence

Essays on the Philosophy of John Dewey
http://www.fred.net/tzaka/democ.html
a collection of essays on the philosophy of John Dewey