Great teaching theory
Magna Didactica (1632) is written in Czech. During the period of 1635- 1638, he listened to the suggestions of his friends, translated them into Latin, and revised and supplemented them at the same time. 1657, he published the book as the first volume of the Complete Works of Education. The book arrived in China very late. At the beginning of the 20th century, China scholar Wang Guowei briefly introduced its contents. 1939 the commercial press published a Chinese translation of fu rengan's great career, which was later translated into great teaching theory. 1957, People's Education Publishing House published a new L version. Before the translator died, the translation was greatly revised. As a series of foreign educational masterpieces, People's Education Publishing House published a new edition in 1984. The book has 760 pages and more than 200,000 words.
This book is an important educational treatise written by Comenius after long-term conception and many revisions on the basis of critically summarizing the previous research results. As the author wrote at the beginning of this book, this book mainly expounds all the arts that teach all mankind. The purpose of writing is: to seek and find a teaching method, so that teachers can teach less but students can learn more; Let the school be less noisy, disgusting and useless, and more leisure, happiness and solid progress; In this way, Christian society can reduce darkness, trouble and conflict, and increase light, order, peace and tranquility.
In addition to the preface "Greeting readers", the book consists of 33 chapters, the main contents are as follows.
The first chapter to the fifth chapter mainly discusses the purpose of life. Based on Genesis and traditional teleology, the author thinks that man should not only know himself, but also know God, because God is the root of eternal life, wisdom and happiness, and man is God's creation, love and image. The ultimate goal of man is to combine with God in the afterlife after death. Man's life and residence are threefold, that is, mother's womb, earth and heaven. From the first to the second, people experience birth; From the second to the third, people experience death and resurrection; At the third weight, you can't move any more. Rest there.
He believes that strictly speaking, worldly life is not life, but a prelude to eternal life. The worldly life is only the preparation for eternal life, and its purpose is to let the soul take the body as the intermediary to prepare all kinds of useful things for the future life. The ultimate goal of man is to share eternal happiness with God. Therefore, man should be a rational animal, the master of all creation, and the image and love of the creator in tangible creation. Life achievement: I am familiar with everything and have the ability to control everything and myself; God who brings himself and everything to the source of all things. All the advantages of human beings are fully manifested in the three qualities of erudition, virtue and piety, which are the basis of this life and the next life and the main points of our life.
Chapters 6 to 9 discuss the purpose of education and the role of education and schools in human development. The author believes that the seeds of knowledge, virtue and piety are born in us, but they should be obtained from prayer, education and action. Only through proper education can a person become a person. The purpose of education is to develop people from four aspects: knowledge, morality, filial piety, art and physique. Everyone who is born to be human needs an education. The higher a person is educated, the more he can surpass others in an accurate proportion. To mold and educate people, we should start from an early age, because at this time, our desires are boiling, our thoughts are fast and our memories are firm. Therefore, at a very young age, it is necessary to cultivate people who meet the wisdom standards and develop good habits.
The author believes that the emergence of schools creates the necessary conditions for children to receive education. He suggested that not only the children of rich and powerful people should go to school, but all boys and girls in towns and villages, rich and poor. He firmly believes in the possibility of human development through education and refutes the argument that mentally retarded children are not suitable for learning. Point out that the more dull and weak a person is, the more he needs help in order to get rid of rudeness and stupidity as much as possible. There is no one in the world whose intelligence is too weak to be improved through enlightenment.
Chapters 10 to 14 demonstrate the necessity and possibility of reforming old education and the basic principles of establishing new schools. The author believes that everyone should receive a comprehensive education and should do so with the help of the school: train our talents through scientific and artistic research; Learn Chinese; Form sincere virtue; Worship God devoutly. Schools should become workshops to train people and realize the real purpose of life. Comenius pointed out that there was no perfect school at that time, and the school was not set up for the whole society, but only for the rich; The method of teaching young people in schools is very harsh. Schools have become a place of terror for children and a slaughterhouse to show their talents. Most students hate study and books. Those who continue to study have not received serious or extensive education, but only an absurd and harmful education; Schools can't cultivate moral quality, but only cultivate a hypocritical moral appearance, a nasty foreign cultural fur and some eyes, hands and feet dedicated to secular vanity.
Comenius particularly emphasized the necessity of reforming old education and building new schools. The new education system mainly includes the following contents: (1) All young people can receive education; (2) They can learn everything that can make people wise, virtuous and pious; (3) Education is the preparation of life and can be completed before adulthood; (4) Education should adopt gentle, relaxed and natural methods, not strict or compulsory methods; (5) This kind of education should be true and thorough; (6) Education is easy. Classroom teaching lasts only four hours a day. A teacher can teach hundreds of students at the same time, and the degree of hard work is less than that of teaching a student now 10 times. According to the movement of the sun and the moon, animal activities, human body structure, state organization and the mechanical principles of carriages, cannons, printing presses and clocks, he proved that there is a universal natural order in all things in the universe, and took education conforming to nature as the leading principle of school reform. He asked teachers, like gardeners, painters and architects, to follow the footsteps of nature and seek the order of education from nature. Order is the first principle of teaching art, teaching everything to all people. After this principle is thoroughly mastered, the progress of art will be as easy as the operation of nature. The author puts forward five teaching principles: (1) life extension principle; (2) the principle of simplifying subjects in order to acquire knowledge more quickly; (3) the principle of seizing opportunities and ensuring the availability of knowledge; (4) the principle of developing the mind and making knowledge easy to obtain; (5) The principle of sharpening judgment and making knowledge thorough.
Chapters 15 to 19 focus on teaching theory and demonstrate the proposed teaching principles in detail. The author points out that a good school organization mainly lies in the reasonable distribution of work and rest, but depends on the distribution of reading, relaxation, tension and entertainment. Teachers should guide children to abide by the three principles of moderate diet, physical exercise and attention to rest, and keep their lives healthy as long as possible. In order to make children grow sturdily, the author puts forward a series of requirements and suggestions for teaching and learning. For example, people's education should start from childhood; It is best to read books in the morning; The arrangement of all subjects should be suitable for the age of students; Books and teaching materials must be prepared in advance; Examples should appear before rules; The division of time and discipline should be strictly observed. In this part, the author lists a large number of natural phenomena, demonstrates them in detail with teaching cases, and finally summarizes the laws. Comenius expounded the principles of convenience, thoroughness and quickness in teaching and put forward many valuable suggestions. For example, cancel the method of compulsory indoctrination to stimulate children's consciousness and initiative in learning; Teaching should start with observation and use intuitive methods; The arrangement of teaching content should be from easy to difficult, from simple to complex, from near to far, from general to special, so as to clear the obstacles for learning before using; Arrange courses according to students' intellectual characteristics; Strengthen practice and practice to consolidate knowledge; Implement the class teaching system, make detailed teaching plans, and so on.
Chapters 20 to 24 mainly discuss the specific teaching methods and moral and religious education methods of each subject. The author thinks that science is knowledge about nature, and the following rules must be observed in science teaching: (1) Teach students everything they should know; (2) The content taught can be applied in daily life; (3) Teaching through the causes of things; (4) Teach the truth of things first, and then teach the details of things; (5) Everything should be taught in order; (6) Emphasize the differences between things, and make the knowledge acquired by students clearer. Art is closely related to practice. To learn an art, students need three things besides preparing tools, materials and models: correct use of materials, skilled guidance and regular practice. Therefore, art teaching must emphasize imitation, practice and continuous practice. Chinese is a means for us to acquire knowledge and pass it on to others. Chinese teaching should pay attention to three problems: mastering grammar rules, linking things with learning and practicing more.
Comenius believes that schools are training grounds for human beings, and all virtues should be cultivated in young people. On the method of moral education, he put forward the following suggestions: (1) First, we should cultivate the main virtues such as prudence, temperance, perseverance and integrity; (2) Prudence should be obtained by receiving good teaching and learning the real difference between things and the relative value of those things; (3) Cultivate temperance in children's diet, sleep and getting up, work and play; (4) Perseverance should learn self-restraint; (5) Virtue should be taught early before evil takes over the mind; Virtue is gained by doing the right thing often.
Chapter 25 mainly discusses the problem of teaching materials. He believes that the Bible is the only real source of knowledge, and students should spend all their time looking for their true meaning.
Chapter 26 On School Discipline. Comenius believes that discipline is the driving force and driving force of schools, but discipline education is not mandatory and whipping. It should use good examples and gentle words to care for students sincerely and frankly. Sudden anger can only be used under exceptional circumstances, and it should be deliberately created to restore good feelings.
Chapters 27 to 3 1 discuss the unified school system and the basic scheme of schools at all levels. Comenius believes that a person from birth to 24 years old is a period of youth and talent training. Learning should start from infancy and continue until adulthood. Twenty-four years can be divided into four distinct stages: infancy, childhood, adolescence and adolescence, each of which lasts for six years. Therefore, schools suitable for their age characteristics should be established. A mother-in-law school is set up in the family, and mothers provide preschool education to children aged 65,438+0-6, mainly to exercise various sensory organs, so that they can distinguish things around them and lay a foundation for their future growth. Chinese schools have been set up in every village and town to provide primary education for all children aged 6-65. The methods of reading, writing, drawing, singing, counting, measuring, weighing and remembering all kinds of things are mainly used to train imagination, memory and develop intelligence. To set up a Latin school in every big city, students should be trained to understand and judge the knowledge collected by the senses by using dialectics, grammar, rhetoric and other sciences and arts according to the law of causality. Set up universities in every country or province to provide higher education for the "wise men" in the 18-24 age group, and study four subjects closely related to the will, that is, theology teaches us to restore the harmony of the soul; Philosophy teaches us to restore spiritual harmony; Medicine teaches us to restore the harmony of the main functions of the body; The law teaches us to restore harmony in external affairs. Comenius believes that these four schools are not only related but also different. Parenting schools and Putonghua schools accept all young men and women. Latin schools give more comprehensive education to students who have ambitions beyond the workshop; Universities train teachers and scholars so that churches, schools and countries will never lack suitable leaders.
Chapter 36 is the author's summary of improving old schools, reforming old teaching methods, establishing new schools and adopting new teaching methods. The author thinks that the new teaching method has the following advantages: (1) Compared with the previous method, more students can be taught with fewer teachers; (2) These students can be thoroughly taught; (3) Teaching can be more detailed and interesting; (4) This method is also effective for stupid and backward children; (5) Even teachers without teaching talent can use it and benefit from it.
Chapter 33 discusses the conditions for realizing his educational ideal. He called on teachers, scholars, theologians, emperors and officials to fully support and realize his educational ideal.
This book is Comenius' masterpiece. The book is not limited to the discussion of teaching problems, but also discusses various problems in educational theory and practice, summarizes the history and teaching experience at that time, and puts forward many valuable opinions and a series of educational measures conducive to the development of capitalism.
This book is the earliest systematic pedagogy work in modern western countries, marking the emergence of independent pedagogy. The pedagogy system established in this book laid the foundation of bourgeois education theory.
This book has had a far-reaching impact on the development of education all over the world, and the class teaching system proposed in the book is a progressive move in the history of education. From individual teaching to collective teaching, it creates an environment for students to learn from each other and inspire each other. The change of different courses is conducive to the improvement of learning interest. This is of great significance to popularize education in a large area and improve teaching efficiency. After Comenius' advocacy, it first spread widely in Europe and then spread to other continents. It has shown great vitality in the development of education in the next few hundred years. A series of teaching principles, such as intuitive teaching, put forward in this book are still used by teachers in teaching practice.
A series of measures put forward in this book have inspired the educational innovation movement in modern countries all over the world. Take Germany at that time as an example. After the Thirty Years' War, in order to restore the education destroyed by the Thirty Years' War, the Principality of Gotha carried out educational reform according to the idea of this book. 1642 promulgated the School Law, which was based on the "Mandarin School" advocated by Comenius and played an important role in Gotha becoming the most developed place in Europe in the future.
Due to the limitation of the times, this book also has its limitations. One is to overemphasize the principle of "conforming to nature" and think that feeling is the starting point and source of understanding. Teaching methods and principles are mechanically and simply compared with natural phenomena, and the teaching process is based on sensory theory. The second is to adhere to the basic teachings of Christianity and put theological principles and some ideas of the Bible into this book, so that this book has the mysterious color of religious theology.