Pedagogy - Etymology and Generalizations

Etymology and Generalizations

The word comes from the Greek παιδαγωγέω (paidagōgeō); in which παῖς (país, genitive παιδός, paidos) means "child" and άγω (ágō) means "lead"; so it literally means "to lead the child". The Greek παιδαγωγός (pedagogue); in which παιδί (ped) means "child” and άγω (ago) means "lead"; would also mean "to lead the child." Other relevant roots from Greek include μικρό παιδί or toddler; αγόρι or boy child; κοριτσιών or girl child; μικρό παιδί or young child, indicating that παιδί is used with very young children of both sexes.

An instructor develops conceptual knowledge and manages the content of learning activities in pedagogical settings. This is consistent with the Cognitivism of Piaget, 1926, 1936/1975; Bruner, 1960, 1966, 1971, 1986; and Vygotsky, 1962 where sequential development of individual mental processes such as recognize, recall, analyze, reflect, apply, create, understand, and evaluate are scaffolded. The learning technique is adoptive learning of procedures, organization, and structure to develop an internal cognitive structure that strengthens synapses in the brain. The learner requires assistance to develop prior knowledge and integrate new knowledge using Verbal/Linguistic and Logical/Mathematical intelligences. The learner must learn how to learn while developing existing schema and adopting knowledge from both people and the environment. This is low order learning of conceptual knowledge, techniques, procedures, and algorithmic problem solving.