Dewey's pragmatic education thought came into being under the historical background that traditional education exposed many disadvantages during the period of American social transformation at the end of 19 century and the beginning of 20 century.

Dewey's three centers have the following guiding significance for teachers' classroom teaching: 1. Establish a student-centered view of teaching subject. This requires teachers to take students as the main body of learning in teaching, attach importance to students' subjectivity, guide students to learn actively as guides and helpers in classroom teaching, and cultivate students' ability to analyze and solve problems. 2. Establish an activity-centered view of teaching process. This requires teachers to get rid of the confinement of classroom teaching and the boundaries caused by too fine division of disciplines, and determine the curriculum according to the characteristics and requirements of students' psychological development, so as to meet the needs of children's activities and reflect students' subjective status to design and arrange the teaching process. 3. Establish an experience-centered view of teaching content. This requires teachers not only to be satisfied with the indirect experience of textbooks, but also to enrich students' direct experience with students' active homework, so as to make up for the shortcomings of the process and methods, emotions, attitudes and values brought by traditional book-based textbooks.

Dewey: 1859- 1952, a famous American philosopher, psychologist and educator. The master of American pragmatism philosophy, the founder of pragmatism education thought and the advocate of the new three centers (children, experience and activities) play an important role in the development of modern education in the United States and even the world.