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

So is the problem with public education that schools have become anodyne and antiseptic, focused on pedagogy over content knowledge and love of reading books, soulless and viewless? —Ryan Craig, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025

Education scholars often narrate the development of high-school-English pedagogy as a clash between two competing schools of thought. —Alexander Manshel, New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2025

Through a selection of novels, from nineteenth-century classics to twenty-first-century spinoffs, Emre describes how writers have made use of age gaps in an array of literary projects, ones examining subjects such as moral pedagogy, parental authority, and aesthetics. —The New Yorker, New Yorker, 9 Apr. 2025

Instead, technology leaders and educators should explore how AI can help redefine both pedagogy and the classroom. —Sidhant Bendre, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2025

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

Rhymes for pedagogy

• koji
• logie
• shoji

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