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Pedagogical science studies teaching methods and how the human mind acquires new information. It includes the teacher, student, and learning environment. Evidence suggests that teachers account for 30% of how a student learns, while the student and environment account for 50% and 20%, respectively. Pedagogical learning focuses on what works in the classroom, and effective learning theories for students should be a priority. Defining terms is necessary before drawing meaningful conclusions about what works in the learning environment.
Pedagogical science is the study of teaching methods and the acquisition of a systematic understanding of how the human mind acquires new information. This includes elements of the teacher, the student and the general learning environment which all have an impact on the learning process. In order not to be confused with the study of science education itself, science education is often referred to only as pedagogy or theory of education. The goal of pedagogical science is teaching children in formal educational settings, but it can also be applied to adults and informal learning methods for all ages.
The pedagogical approach to learning is thought to be around 60 years old as of 2011, with over 100,000 formal studies conducted in pedagogy in 1950. The first attempts to systematically orient the learning process, however, date back to 1897, with nearly 4,000 surveys on how to simplify learning in reading and math conducted since 1939 alone. Despite a long and intense history of investigating what constitutes best learning practices, pedagogical science is considered by many not to be a true science to this day. This is because much of what has been learned does not point to firm conclusions, and many education systems, therefore, become mired in the popular trends and fads of the period as to what is the best approach to educating students.
The pedagogical approach to understanding learning has produced some significant data that are considered definitive. Evidence suggests, starting with 2003 research, that, in the typical formal learning process, teachers account for 30% of the variance in how a student learns, with another 50% of the variability concentrated on the student himself and the remaining 20% of the variance is the result of environmental factors. This evidence suggests that, contrary to popular ideas about school and the home environment, they have little effect on how a student learns.
The 2003 research went further in its conclusions about the nature of educational science, providing reports on what most influences a student’s learning ability. These items included teacher feedback, rated most important at 1.13, with 1.0 being the average influence. A student’s prior learning ability was rated as 1.04 in determining success, the quality of instruction provided by the educator was rated as 1.0, and one-to-one direct instruction between teacher and student only rated a value of 0.82. Areas that appeared to have little overall influence on successful learning were computer assisted learning techniques rated at 0.31, self study for the student at 0.14, and teaching the student using a team of educators together as having only one influence of 0.06.
While such data may be outdated as information systems and personalized learning environments grow in the 21st century, they highlight the fact that a century of data in the sciences of education may not be useful or applicable to changing technological and social environments. Modern pedagogical learning, therefore, attempts to focus on what teachers are currently doing in the classroom and what elements of that process seem to work better than others. As of 2007, the focus in pedagogical science has been on learning theory instead of teaching theory. This means that the most effective learning method must take precedence over any teaching method used to produce it.
The teaching tools offered to educators working in the 21st century are increasingly based on flexible approaches that adapt learning theories to the local environment in which teachers work. In contrast, university students majoring in pedagogical sciences are still taught to focus their attention on the political, social, and historical aspects of the learning environment. This does not keep pace with the trend in the teaching world where effective learning theories for students themselves should be at the top of the priority list.
Educational science is a difficult science to quantify in meaningful ways, since, like economics, there remain many competing theories about what works best and what the data shows. Simple concepts like literacy are hard to define. Geographic literacy or technological literacy might just be terms for how much knowledge a student has accumulated, or they might represent skills that often replace knowledge. Defining the terms upon which learning theories draw systematically is therefore necessary before tying data to them, and before meaningful conclusions can be drawn about what actually works in the learning environment.
