Team Theory Paper

Progressives allow students to have a voice and use thinking and analyzing as their number one tool for learning. Students then build their knowledge using what they are told, what they have seen, what they have explored, and what they have lived. In a progressive classroom you would see students actively participating in the learning process my working in small groups, asking questions, and performing hands on activities. It is crucial that technology is embedded in their daily curriculum. Technology has become an essential part of life and it is important the students are given the opportunity to learn and explore. There are many supporters for the progressive method.
John Dewey, author of Democracy and Education, believed that instruction should be child-centered and that education should meet the needs of the whole person. Learning was a social activity and should be related to real life experience. Progressives believed that “education be a continuous reconstruction of living experience.” Dewey believed in hands-on learning, a step away from the traditional style of teaching. Dewey’s theory is that society is formed through its individuals, not intelligence, and it is the responsibility of the schools to foster responsible democratic citizens. The social practices of schools should reflect the democratic principles of society.
Francis Parker Known as the “father of progressive education” advocated placing the child at the center of education and building schools around their students' motivation and interests at a time when public schools were dominated by recitation, memorization, and drilling (Olson, 2004).
Montessori for example has influenced the progressive movement with her writing and methods. According to Julian Weissglass one of Montessori's central practices was respect for the child’s intelligence: “And so we discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being.”

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Bredo, E. "Cognitivism, Situated Cognition, and Deweyian Pragmatism." Philosophy of Education 1994. (February 6, 2009).
Dewey, John. (1926 [1916]). Democracy and Education. New York: Macmillan
Manzo, K. K. (May 19, 1999) The State of Curriculum. Education Week
Olson, L. (May 19, 1999) Tugging at Tradition. Education Week
Weissglass, J. (May 19, 1999) Curriculum and Society. Education Week