Epistemology or Pedagogy: That Is the Question

Long before I wrote my paper Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work: An Analysis of the Failure of Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching with John Sweller and Richard Clark I wrote a first version of the following as a chapter on my 1991 PhD thesis on the use of practicals in higher science education. I revised it in 2009 for a book by Tom Duffy and Sig Tobias Constructivist instruction: Success or failure? 

The paper – Epistemology or Pedagogy: That Is the Question – was always available online, but I recently saw that the site (Lexiconic) was no longer active. As I had seen in the past that many people still used and appreciated the paper, I decided to add it to my own site.

Abstract
This article critically examines the ongoing debate in education regarding the prioritization of epistemology, the nature of knowledge, versus pedagogy, the art of teaching. The author argues against the direct substitution of a domain’s knowledge acquisition methods for instructional strategies, highlighting that learners are not miniature experts. The text explores how cognitive development and expertise levels differ significantly between novices and practitioners, suggesting that methods effective for experts are often unsuitable for learning. Ultimately, the piece advocates for a thoughtful distinction between how knowledge is created in a field and the most effective ways to teach that knowledge.

And just for the fun of it, I asked NotebookLM to generate a podcast about it for those who might want to listen to it. I can’t vouch for the veracity of the whole podcast.
https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/ac1e0999-49b8-4fda-9bcb-a4b1f48b549f/audio

Kirschner, P. A. (2009). Epistemology or pedagogy, that is the question. In S. Tobias & T. M. Duffy (Eds.), Constructivist instruction: Success or failure? (pp. 144–157). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006). Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work: An Analysis of the Failure of Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep4102_1