Johann Pestalozzi

By: Mike Ehnot, Ashley Parker, Sam Hallock and Ashlee Brown

Background Information…

• Was a Swiss educator

• Full name was Johann

Heinrich Pestalozzi

• Born on January 12, 1746

and died February 17, 1827

- Did not enter school until

he was 9

- Interesting fact: His

elementary school record

was not impressive

because of his tendency to

day dream

Background Info. Continued…

• Pestalozzi entered and completed most of his studies at the University of Zurich

• Began as a student for the Ministry, but his shyness led him away from theology into law

After college…

• In 1775 he began a social experiment in which he hoped to make his newly purchased farm a center of humanistic activity

• Took in a group of orphans and abandoned children

• He used teaching methods that he learned from experiences with his son Jacobi

• The instruction he gave these children were very successful

• Five years later he went bankrupt and began to write

“How Gertrude Teaches Her Children”

• A book written by Pestalozzi• Describes his philosophy: - stated that teachers must study

child development - learning proceeds through stages,

with children needing to master skills and knowledge before moving to the next stage

- promoted the “whole child” point of view- that children’s physical, emotional, social, moral and intellectual development are integrated and united

- called these the “the hand, heart and head”

Other important ideas of Pestalozzi…

• Believed that all children- including the ones who lived in poverty- could benefit from education

• Children need to discover ideas for themselves through their own activity

• Rejected punishment as a motivator and felt that instead children are motivated to learn by their interests

• Viewed development as a natural unfolding or blossoming fro within, with teachers acting as gardeners who nurture the process rather than direct it

Methodology• METHODOLOGY. The following are the chief points of Pestalozzi's

method:

a. Child Centered.  b. Direct Experience. The teacher must never teach by words when a

child can see, hear or touch an object for himself. Nature can teach the child better than man can.

c. Activity. The child is expected to be continually active in seeing for himself, making and correcting mistakes, describing his observations, analyzing objects and satisfying his natural curiosity.

d. Induction. The child must observe, learn to express his impressions of concrete objects perceived by the senses and must learn to formulate new generalizations for himself.

e. No Books. Early elementary education needs direct and concrete experience rather than books. In this way the child proceeds from the concrete to the abstract.

  f. Simplify All Subjects. All subjects are reduced to their simple elements. The child proceeds, through experiencing the simple parts, to formulate more abstract generalizations.

Impact of his work…• Ideas directly influenced schools for

young children in the 19th century• A well-known school influenced by

Pestalozzi was founded by Robert Owen • The superintendent of schools in

Oswego, New York, Dr. Edward A. Sheldon, imported the materials developed in England and Canada from Pestalozzi. This led to the establishment of a teacher normal school to prepare teachers in the application of Pestalozzi's method. The Normal School at Oswego (established in 1861), became the center of Pestalozzi education in the United States.

Works Cited

• Bredekamp, Sue. Effective Practices in Early Childhood Education: Building a Foundation. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Print.

• "PESTALOZZI." Http://harvest.cals.ncsu.edu. NC State University. Web. 06 Feb. 2012. <http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agexed/aee501/pestalozzi.html>.