Didactica

Didactica refers to the science and art of teaching, including the design of curricula, instructional methods, and assessment aimed at facilitating learning. The term is derived from Greek didaktikos, meaning apt at teaching, and from didaskein, to teach; in many languages the cognate is didáctica or Didaktik.

Historically, didactics has roots in ancient education, with the Socratic method and Quintilian’s emphasis on instruction shaping learning. The modern formulation is often traced to Jan Amos Komenský’s Didactica Magna (1657), a foundational treatise on universal pedagogy. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Pestalozzi, Herbart, and others developed systematic theories of instruction, discipline, and curriculum design. In German-speaking areas, Didaktik became the technical study of teaching, later subdividing into general didactics and subject-specific didactics (for example, mathematical Didaktik).

In contemporary education, didactics covers instructional design, teaching strategies, assessment, and teacher education. Some traditions stress the teacher-centered, prescriptive aspects of didactics, while others emphasize learner-centered and constructivist approaches. German critical-constructive didactics, associated with Wolfgang Klafki, argues for selecting educational content with regard to its relevance to students’ lives and democratic citizenship.

See also: Didactics, pedagogy, instructional design, curriculum, education.