Dewey's educational thought is based on pragmatic philosophy. Dewey believes that people should "learn from doing things". He also stressed that what kind of knowledge is the most unforgettable knowledge in "people's initial knowledge".

Children should discover and develop themselves in the process of doing, and we should give "all the impulses of manipulation, construction and positive action and opportunities for production to use and satisfy". He believes that human beings are a part of nature, artificial organisms adapt to the environment, and individuals develop by participating in activities. If children can add new and more meaningful experiences from "learning by doing", their knowledge will become useful things; If you don't learn from doing things, impulse can only be impulse, and any purpose can't be achieved, and even become a "dream". Dewey believes that "the most fundamental foundation of education lies in children's activity ability, and the only way to make children aware of his social heritage is practice." It can be seen that Dewey's "learning by doing" emphasizes the dependence on children's real life. That is, from the real life of children. As Dewey pointed out, "the hub of school interaction is not science or literature, but children's own social activities, and this social activity is" learning by doing ".