American Corner Yerevan

American Education: Theoretical and Historical Perspectives

3:00pm 16.11.2011

On November 16, 2011, the Yerevan American Corner organized an "Americans at the American Corner" public lecture entitled "American Education: Theoretical and Historical Perspectives” presented by U.S. Fulbright Scholar Jane Britt Greenwood.
The lecturer presented the main categories of American education starting with traditional education, which involved long established customs that society has traditionally deemed appropriate. This type of education focuses on teaching, not learning. Ms. Greenwood also stated the importance of experimental, behavioral, and cognitive education, each being a unique way to effectively learn. All of these theories do not give us solutions, but they do direct our attention to the variables that are crucial in finding solutions.

Ms. Greenwood also noted the importance in the structure of the discipline. This approach is based in the fields of science and mathematics, but is applicable in many areas. The lecturer also mentioned that it is very important for people to know that in the process of learning, failures are inevitable.

There were around 40 participants at the lecture, many of which were students representing Yerevan State University after V. Bryusov and Yerevan State University. They asked various questions about the different categories of American education. The IRC Director Nerses Hayrapetyan spread the word about the International Education Week and disseminated IIP print e-journals to students who were actively participating in the after-lecture questions and answers session. The participants were pleased to enrich their knowledge on the field of education.