Augustine of Hippo was a philosopher, teacher, and bishop born in 350 AD in Thagasta, northern Africa. He was educated in Carthage and later taught rhetoric in Milan, where he converted to Christianity at age 31. He then moved back to northern Italy to start a monastery in Hippo where he lived until his death in 430 AD. He was one of the most prolific Latin authors and wrote extensively on theology, philosophy and pedagogy. He advocated for the value of community in learning and believed that knowledge is a journey.

1. Philosopher, Teacher, Bishop
350-430 AD

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Born in Thagasta, northern Africa 350 AD
Educated in Carthage
Taught rhetoric in Milan
Converted to Christianity in Milan at age 31
Moved back to northern Italy to start
monastery
• Lived at his monastery until death at 430 AD
Hippo
Thagasta

3. • Wrote Confessions – an autobiography of his life
and conversion; considered to be one of the best
Latin classical texts
• One of the most prolific Latin authors with more
than one hundred separate titles. These include
De Doctrina Christiana (On Christian Doctrine);
commentaries on Book of Genesis, the Psalms
and Paul's Letter to the Romans; the
Retractationes, a review of his earlier works which
he wrote near the end of his life; De Civitate Dei
(The City of God); and De Libero Arbitrio (On Free
Choice Of The Will) addressing why God gives
humans free will that can be used for evil
• Believed knowledge is a journey
• Advocated value of community in learning

4. • 4 major ways of encountering learning:
• Learning through Transforming
Experiences
• Learning as a Journey in Search of
Understanding/Meaning/Truth
• Learning with Others in Community
• Building the Habits (Love) of Learning
• The idea that there are different kinds of
learners and the teacher should try to
accommodate each type
• The idea that students learn at different rates
and a good teacher is aware and helps each
student learn independently
• Taught that a teacher should guide the student
in finding truth instead of just telling him/her

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Augustine of Hippo. (2013, October 15). Retrieved from
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_hippo
Augustine of Hippo/Augustine's Theory of Knowledge. (2013,
July 24). Retrieved from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo/Au
gustine's_Theory_of_Knowledge
anonymous. (2013, October 10). Augustine. Retrieved from
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
http.//www.iep.utm.edu
Augustine, S. (CE 397). The Confessions of Saint Augustine.
McCloskey, G. N. (2008). Encounters of Learning: St.
Augustine on Education. Retrieved from St. Augustine
Institute for Learning and Teaching Merrimack College:
http://www.merrimack.edu/academics/augustinian_ped
agogy/documents/encountering_0408.pdf
Mendelson, M. (2010). Saint Augustine. Retrieved from
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/augustine