pedagogy

noun

ped·​a·​go·​gy ˈpe-də-ˌgō-jē 

 also  -ˌgä-,

especially British

-ˌgä-gē 

: the art, science, or profession of teaching

especially : education sense 2

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Pedagogical, Pedagogy, and Pedagogue

Pedagogical and its cognates present us with an excellent example of how different words can come from the same root, retain closely related meanings, and yet take on distinctive connotations. Pedagogical, pedagogy, and pedagogue all come from the Greek paidagōgos, originally the word for an enslaved person who brought children to school. But while pedagogical and pedagogy have meanings simply related to education, teaching, or teachers (with no implied judgment), pedagogue has taken on a negative tone, often referring to a dull or overly formal teacher. A similar transformation has taken place with many of the pedant- words in English. Pedant originally denoted simply "a tutor," but now tends to mean "one who makes a show of knowledge." Pedantic formerly meant "relating to teaching," but now is more commonly used to mean "unimaginative or dull."

Examples of pedagogy in a Sentence

Some of the presentations, a few too many for comfort, lapsed into the familiar contortions of modern pedagogy. —Alex Ross, New Yorker, 14 & 21 July 2003

The idea that pedagogy should be judged according to race is absurd on its face, but the fact that they saw their relationship with me and with the school itself in those terms should have given me greater pause than it did. —Gerald Early, Lure and Loathing, 1993

Since no textbooks existed, the professor refused to profess, knowing no more than his students, and the students read what they pleased and compared their results. As pedagogy, nothing could be more triumphant. —Henry Adams, The Education of Henry Adams, 1907

Recent Examples on the Web

This literary subgenre has arguably been around since the dawn of written material but didn’t emerge as a distinct sector of scholarship and pedagogy until roughly the 1980s. —Tyler Thier, JSTOR Daily, 21 Oct. 2024

Whether or not dialect pedagogy is quantifiably more intense at Trinity College’s Lir Academy (where Paul Mescal trained) or the Gaiety School of Acting (where Colin Farrell started out), the pressure to perfect different accents certainly would be. —Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2024

Inside the Architecture Building, power and pedagogy merged. —Justin Davidson, Curbed, 2 Oct. 2024

This is a major challenge in China, Japan, and South Korea, where traditional Asian pedagogy prevails. —Richard C. Levin, Foreign Affairs, 1 May 2010

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "instruction, training," borrowed from New Latin paedagōgia, borrowed from Greek paidagōgía "escorting of a child to school, attendance, guidance, schooling, education, training," from paidagōgós "attendant on a child, tutor" + -ia -y entry 2 — more at pedagogue

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

pedagogy

noun

ped·​a·​go·​gy ˈped-ə-ˌgōj-ē 

also

-ˌgäj-ˌē 

: the art, science, or profession of teaching : education

pedagogical

-i-kəl

adjective

pedagogically

-i-k(ə-)lē

adverb