Resources for unit 2

5. Concept of didactics

Meaning of didactics

The term "didactics" has its roots in Greek and Latin. The word "didactics" comes from the Greek word "didaktikos", which means "apt to teach" or “suitable for teaching." The root of this word is "didaskalos” meaning "teacher."

The term was then borrowed into Latin as "didacticus", maintaining its meaning related to teaching or instruction. From Latin, the word entered modern European languages, including English, in the 17th century, where it came to refer to the art or science of teaching and the methods and principles of instruction, especially those applied in formal educational contexts.

Thus, "didactics" literally means the theory or practice of teaching, specifically focusing on instructional methods and the way knowledge is imparted to others. Didactics became more formally recognized as a discipline in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially in Europe.  Notable figures, such as Johann Amos Comenius (famous educator, philosopher, and writer born in Moravia, which is today part of the Czech Republic), contributed to the development of didactics as a methodical approach to teaching with his most famous book  Didactica Magna (The Great Didactic).

Didactics is a branch of pedagogy that specifically focuses on the theory and practice of instruction. It deals with the content of teaching (what to teach), the methods, strategies and techniques of delivery (how to teach), educational goals and objectives (why teach it), the learner’s characteristics and needs (to whom), learning environment and cultural/social setting (in what context) and the relationship between the teacher, the learner, and the subject matter, often illustrated by the didactic triangle.

Didactics concentrates more narrowly on the instructional process itself. It focuses on how knowledge is conveyed, understood, and applied by learners. It is more concerned with the instructional process. It deals with the design and delivery of teaching. Didactics is the field that helps educators make informed decisions about how best to teach a particular subject to a particular group of learners in a specific context.