Thinkers
Joseph Schwab
Curriculum Theorist
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American educator and philosopher of science education (1909-1988) who spent nearly fifty years at the University of Chicago from 1924. He originated The Practical, a series of essays arguing that curriculum problems are eclectic and practical rather than solvable by theory alone, and in the 1960s proposed dividing scientific inquiry into distinct levels of guided-to-open investigation, a framework that shaped how science education came to treat inquiry as a process rather than a body of settled facts.
Facts
Defining ContributionProposed dividing science inquiry into distinct levels of guided-to-open investigation, a framework that shaped how science education treats inquiry as an open-ended process; chaired the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study's teacher-preparation committee (1959-1961) and originated The Practical, arguing curriculum problems are practical and eclectic rather than solvable by applying theory alone. 2 Notable WorkBiology Teacher's Handbook (Biological Sciences Curriculum Study); The Practical essays (1969-1983) 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Theories and Approaches Developed
Sources
1. Encyclopedia.com
Encyclopedia.com (Gale, Cengage Learning)Schwab, Joseph (1909-1988) entry, education and career sectionQuote, Schwab, Joseph (1909-1988) entry, education and career section
in 1924, at the age of fifteen, he set off for the University of Chicago, where he was to remain for almost fifty years
1. Encyclopedia.com
Encyclopedia.com (Gale, Cengage Learning)Schwab, Joseph (1909-1988) entry, lead sectionQuote, Schwab, Joseph (1909-1988) entry, lead section
Joseph Jackson Schwab was born in Columbus, Mississippi
1. Encyclopedia.com
Encyclopedia.com (Gale, Cengage Learning)Schwab, Joseph (1909-1988) entry, BSCS sectionQuote, Schwab, Joseph (1909-1988) entry, BSCS section
he coauthored the Curriculum's Biology Teacher's Handbook, and edited the first editions of its textbooks
1. Encyclopedia.com
Encyclopedia.com (Gale, Cengage Learning)Schwab, Joseph (1909-1988) entry, title headingQuote, Schwab, Joseph (1909-1988) entry, title heading
Schwab, Joseph (1909-1988)
2. Lumen Learning, Foundations of Education: Inquiry-Based Learning
Lumen LearningInquiry-based science education, history sectionQuote, Inquiry-based science education, history section
Schwab developed three levels of open inquiry that align with the breakdown of inquiry processes that we see today.
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