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Jan 1, 1483
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was once a monk who ended up leaving the Catholic church. However, after leaving the church he still found it important to study the bible and wanted children to be able to read it on their own. He promoted universal education and believed schools should educate their children on all levels. Later on, his ideas inspired many in Germany and as a result schools were constructed. -
John Comenius
John Comenius lived during the Thirty Years' War and was dedicated to writing hoping to inspire others. His work contained some of the earliest writings of educational material, as well as the first childrens picture book. He believed early learning experiences had the most impact on a childs life and that everyone was entitled to education. He though that material should expand in difficulty as children got older and as a result came up with the first schooling system such as "grades". -
John Locke
John Locke thought that children were born with a blank mind and that their experiences create who they become and what they learn. As a result, he came up with the theory "Tabula Rasa" which believes that children learn from watching and that the actions and motions of the caregiver should show signs of love and respect. -
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Unlike John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that children would make the right decision naturally without as much guidance. He thought that children learn best in situations where they have the freedom to explore their environement and that educators teach based off the level and interest of the child in their current situation. -
Johann Pestalozzi
Johann Pestalozzi believed that through sensory exploration children were able to learn at their own pace and reach their full learning potention. He created "object lessons" that allowed children to explore their senses through feeling, touching, measuring and counting. -
Robert Owen
Robert Owen believed that the enviornment was one of the biggest factors of how children learn, esentially that children are a product of their environment. During the Industrial Revolution, he was determined to better the lives of children and their families who worked long hours in cotton mills. To do so, he opened the first infant school that gave children a safe and nurturing place to go. -
Friedrich Wilhelm Froebel
Friedrich Forebel opened the first Kindergarten in hopes to provide a loving and nurturing environment where children were free to play and explore their surroundings. Froebel emphasized "unfolding" and believed that teachers ought to study the interests of the childen and to provide them with the proper materials and activites when they were ready to learn on their own time. -
John Dewey
John Dewey was one of the leaders in progressive education and believed that learning ought to be "child centered" by following the interests of the children. He thought that their learning environment should be a place where they learn about their world but also their daily life. He wanted to focus not just on the future, but the present moment as well. -
Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget focused mainly on childrens intelligence and how they actually learn. He found that they will be a guide for how and what they learn by experimenting and observing their actions and cognitive developement. Through constructivism, Piaget believed that learning should be always changing based on how the children change. -
Maria Montessori
Having her medical degree, Maria Montessori began working with children who were delayed in developement. She found that children learn best in an environment that is lead by the children in sensory exploration. She thought that teachers should be more of a guide and provide children with a respectful environment with materials that were relevant to what the children were learning at their stage of life. -
Abraham Maslow
Through self-actualization, Maslow believed children would reach their full potential in learning. In order to reach their potential children need to have their basic needs met first. -
Urie Bronfenbrenner
Urie Bronfenbrenner believed the Ecological Theory has the most impact on a childs development. According to Bronfenbrenner there are five distinct environmental systems that all react to eachother that in whole make up a childs own environment.