On Dewey's Concept Of Student Experience And Its Practical Implications

Dewey is one of the most influential educators in the world in 20th century's, and also a landmark figure in the history of education. His education thought is profound marks an era. In Dewey's education theory, the "experience" is one of the most critical, fundamental and central concepts. Dewey himself also regarded the function and value of experience as important. He believed that "an ounce of experience is better than a ton of theory." However, Dewey's "experience" concept is also hardest to understand. This paper firstly clarify the connotation and extension of Dewey's "experience" concept, grasp its true meaning, then unearth his idea of "student experience". We can treat the student experience as follows: it is the cognition and experience of student himself, it generates and develops through interactions with the surrounding environment in student's daily life and learning process.Dewey's basic views on student experience can be expounded mainly on two aspects: first, the basic content of student experience, second, the nature of student experience. The basic content of student experience includes Dewey's classification about it and explanation of the value of it. Dewey classified student experience into race experience and individual experience, direct experience and indirect experience, inside school experience and out-side school experience. He believed that student experience was valuable, and it was the starting of educational activities and the approach of education. The purpose of education was the continuing transformation of student experience. Student experience has its specific properties, such as integrity, continuity, interaction, development and thinking .Dewey's education thinking has produced far-reaching and wide-ranging implications in the basis educational reform of worldwide scope. Today Dewey's education idea still has realistic signification under the condition of education modernization and education reform. At present, China is undergoing the new basic curriculum reform. In the phenomenon of widespread lack of student experience in primary and secondary school, Dewey's concept of student experience can provide a number of important and profound revelations for the curriculum reform and classroom teaching reform.