Progressive Education

Progressive education, also called educational progressivism, is a pedagogical movement that arose in the late nineteenth century in reaction to classical, textbook centered curricula designed for an earlier, more rigidly class organized industrial era; in Europe the same impulse took shape as the New Education Movement. Programs described as progressive typically emphasize learning by doing, through hands on projects and experiential and expeditionary activities, alongside problem solving, group work, and the development of social skills, favoring understanding over rote memorization and using student projects rather than standardized tests to assess learning. The movement draws on earlier thinkers such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who argued that real knowledge comes from a learner's own observation and experience rather than passive memorization. This emphasis on direct experience and a student's intrinsic motivation is what most sharply distinguishes progressive education from traditional approaches built around grades and other external rewards. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/