Alfred Lord Whitehead's Theory of Education

1. THE AIMS OF
EDUCATION
The Philosophy of Alfred Lord Whitehead

2. Agenda
• Attendance
• The Aims of Education Alfred Whitehead, His
Philosophy, The 3 stages of learning
• Crayon Fun Activity
• Issues essays discussion
• Next Class – Teacher-principal interviews
due. Be prepared to discuss.

3. Alfred Lord Whitehead (1861-1942)
• Mathematician & Philosopher
• Professor at Harvard
• Wide-ranging interests – math,
logic, education
• Lived at a time of great changes
–What happened?
• Invented process philosophy –
everything changes

4. How to Teach
• Beware of inert ideas –
bare facts, useless
information
• –What useless things have
you been taught?
• Make learning meaningful
- What makes learning
meaningful?
• Do not teach too many
subjects
-What subjects do you think are
the most important to teach?
• Teach those subjects
thoroughly

5. Three Stages of Learning
Whitehead said
education should be a
balance of freedom &
precision.
1. Stage of Romance
2. Stage of Precision
3. Stage of Generalization

6. The Stage of Romance
• Like Rousseau,
Whitehead believed
students should be free
to:
• Explore
• Discover
• Wonder
• Browse
• Have first hand experiences

7. The Stage of Precision
• Next students should in
small doses learn the
subject precisely. Here he
mirrors Locke’s ideas.

8. The Stage of Generalization
• When the student has
mastered the details
then:
• Their mind is
disciplined.
• They will want to use
what they learn.
• They will apply what
they know.
• They are prepared for
life.

9. Crayon Fun
• Stage of Romance – Explore
what you can do with crayons
• Stage of precision – Follow
directions to learn to use crayons
in a special way
• Stage of generalization – Use
your new knowledge to create an
original artwork

10. Our Issues Papers
Class Circle discussion
• Share what issue your wrote about and
why you chose it.
• Give your opinion.

11. Next Class
3/15
Teacher/Principal
Interviews due.
Come prepared to
discuss