David Manson, born in 1726 in Carncastle, County Antrim, Ireland, and died in 1792, was an Irish schoolmaster in Belfast and an inventor. Around 1755 he established an innovative play school in Belfast that taught children by the principle of amusement rather than corporal punishment. His methods excluded drudgery and fear, using games, peer tutoring, student choice and a phonetic approach to teach basic literacy, with a ranking system that changed dynamically according to performance. His approach influenced hedge-school masters across northern Ireland and gained wider recognition when Elizabeth Hamilton featured his methods in her 1808 novel The Cottagers of Glenburnie. His pupils included the naturalist John Templeton, the physician James MacDonnell, and Mary Ann and Henry Joy McCracken. He also invented a velocipede and a multiple spinning wheel and published A New Pocket Dictionary; Or, English Expositor in 1762.
Connections
In Approach
Source David Manson (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Ireland, nationality there.
Sources
David Manson (Wikipedia)
In Approach: Experiential Learning, Lead sectionQuote, In Approach: Experiential Learning, Lead section
David Manson (1726-1792) was an Irish schoolmaster who in teaching children basic literacy sought to exclude "drudgery and fear" by pioneering forms of experiential learning including play and peer tutoring.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.