Didactics is a field of pedagogy that deals with theories, ideas, principles and instructions directed at successful conduction of educational process. Pedagogy as a science researches upbringing and education on a much higher theoretical level than didactics, which is in largely directed. Didactics uses theoretical models developed in philosophy, psychology and sociology, as well as different pedagogical theories and tenets, and especially theoretical models of teaching and learning. Because of different starting positions and tenets, didactical concepts can be in disagreement or contradictory.
Older didactical concepts were directed towards teaching and the teacher, while newer concepts concentrate more on the student and the learning process. Successful teaching requires knowledge of student characteristics and learning methods, to which teaching approaches and methods have to be adapted.
Instruction and teaching are also observed from the aspect of communication and as a social process in which students, teacher and wider social environment participate, and in which they use certain communication media which transfer certain educational content and enable social interaction and exchange of information among the participants of instruction.
Pedagogy includes upbringing and education during childhood and adolescence, as well as adult education or andragogy. Didactics is related to the part of pedagogy which deals with the educational process in school and extra-curricular institutions.
Didactics is usually divided into the part which deals with general patterns, conditions and consequences of educational process, and a special section which usually studies the following areas:
- goals and mission of education;
- dynamics of educational process;
- social forms and conditions of educational process;
- communication medium in education;
- educational climate;
- communication in educational process.
Didactics is also divided into the so called special didactics or teaching methods, among which fall the teaching methods of specific instructional areas. A lot of attention has been paid lately to didactics of e-education which relies on application possibilities of internet technologies and suitable models of instructional design. Earlier roots of e-education didactics have been programmed learning and computer based instruction.
Tips & tricks: For effective design of online education you should study different didactical concepts and choose the instructional design approach which is synchronized with (a) educational organization goals, as well as the goals of instructor/teacher; (b) needs and characteristics of students; (c) available resources; (d) social environment and customs; (e) contemporary technological trends in distance education.
