William James, elder brother of Henry James the novelist, asked
his younger brother to stay close for six weeks after he died, as he wanted to
try to contact him from the next world. No messages were ever received but it
showed how seriously he took real inquiry and experimentation. In fact he is
widely regarded as the father of modern psychology. His The Principles of
Psychology (1890) set the tone for future inquiry into the mind,
establishing psychology as a separate discipline; the scientific study of the
mind. Grounded in his philosophical theory of pragmatism, James’s theories emphasised
the consequences of one’s actions, rather than pure theoretical speculation.
Learning
by doing
Like Locke, he wrote a practical book Talks to Teachers
(1899), originally a series of lectures, giving practical advice to teachers.
The difference is that psychology had now become, through his efforts, a
science, and its principles could be used in practice. It was here that he put
forward his now famous theory on learning by doing. This was to heavily
influence John Dewey, and the future of educational theory through to Kolb and
others. The book doesn’t pretend to have all the answers, as psychology is a
science; teaching an art. But some psychological principles are clear.
Vocational
learning - habits
Like Locke, he believed that education is, above all, the
organization of acquired habits of conduct and tendencies to behaviour.
Children should not be expected to learn by rote. Their experiences must be
turned into useful and habitual behaviour through action. The learner must
listen, but then take notes, experiment, write essays, measure, consult and
apply.
He recommends learning through work and the creation of real
things or dealings with real people in, for example, a shop, to give you
educational experiences beyond mere theory. He was in fact a firm advocate of
vocationally oriented schools and work-based learning (relevant today or not?).
The supervision of the acquisition of habit is another of his
principles. Habit is the enormous flywheel of society,
and should be exercised until securely rooted. The result of almost all
learning is this habitual behaviour. Association, interest, attention, will and
motivation; these are James’s driving forces in education. In addition there’s
memory, curiosity, emulation, constructiveness, pride, fear and love - all
impulses that must be turned to good use. This is not to say that he favoured a
lazy, or what he called ‘soft pedagogics’. He recognized that learning was
sometimes hard, even arduous.
Conclusion
William James proved to be a turning point in the history of both
psychology and educational theory. He set both off in a more orderly fashion,
introducing the scientific study of the mind as applied to learning. This has
since proved to be by far the most fruitful approach to education and learning
theory, although still often ignored. In particular, his emphasis on learning
by doing still reverberates through Dewey, Kolb and others.
Bibliography
Myers, G (Editor). William James:
Writings 1878-1899, Library of America
Myers, G (Editor). William James:
Writings 1902-1910, Library of America
James, William. (1899) Talks to Teachers
James, William. (1899) The Principles of Psychology
James, William. (1899) Pragmatism
Putnam, Hilary. (1995) Pragmatism: An Open Question, Blackwell
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