The Principles of Classical Pedagogy

This course is divided into eleven lessons and follows a straightforward organizational scheme. The first lesson is an overview of the eight essential principles of classical pedagogy, or teaching methods. He then presents on each principle, adding a ninth principle at the end (By Teaching We Learn). Within each lesson, you will find a video lecture, reading assignments, questions for discussion and reflection, and additional recommended resources.

• Lesson 1: Introduction to the Essential Principles of Pedagogy
• Lesson 2: Festina Lente (Make Haste Slowly)
• Lesson 3: Multum non Multa (Much not Many)
• Lesson 4: Repetitio Mater Memory (Repetition Is the Mother of Memory)
• Lesson 5: Embodied Learning—The Rhythms, Practices, Traditions, and Routines of Learning
• Lesson 6: Embodied Learning—Liturgical Learning
• Lesson 7: Songs, Chants, and Jingles
• Lesson 8: Wonder and Curiosity
• Lesson 9: Educational Virtue—Cultivating Habits of Learning Necessary for a Student to be a Student
• Lesson 10: Scholé and Contemplation
• Lesson 11: Docendo Discimus (By Teaching We Learn)

Dr. Christopher Perrin is an author, consultant, and speaker who specializes in classical education. He is committed to the renewal of the liberal arts tradition. He cofounded and serves full-time as the CEO/publisher at Classical Academic Press, a classical education curriculum, media, and consulting company. Christopher also serves as a consultant to charter, public, private, and Christian schools across the country. He serves on the board of the Society for Classical Learning and as the director of the Alcuin Fellowship of classical educators. He has published numerous articles and lectures that are widely used throughout the United States and the English-speaking world.

Christopher received his B.A. in history from the University of South Carolina and his M.Div. and Ph.D. in apologetics from Westminster Theological Seminary. He was also a special student in literature at St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD. He has taught at Messiah College and Chesapeake Theological Seminary, and served as the founding headmaster of a classical school in Harrisburg, PA, for ten years. He is the author of the books An Introduction to Classical Education: A Guide for Parents, The Greek Alphabet Code Cracker, and Greek for Children, and the co-author of the Latin for Children series published by Classical Academic Press.

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Please Note: ClassicalU is currently developing a certification to accompany our course offerings. The certification credit component of this course is now active but also undergoing refinement and testing.

To obtain a certification credit for this course, simply complete the quiz that follows each presentation in the course, and then also take the certification test at the end of the course. The quizzes are designed to ensure that you have understood the essential content of each presentation, and they can be taken more than once if necessary. The cumulative certification test at the end of the course is given as a pass/fail test and requires that you upload one short essay (of 600 – 750 words) demonstrating your understanding this course. When you have completed the course, a certificate that you can print or email will magically appear under the “My Courses” section of this website.

For this course, the essay assignment is:

In 600 – 750 words, describe the connections between two or more of the principles presented in this course, and how these principles promote an education that ends in wisdom.

Please allow approximately 2 weeks for essay submissions to be reviewed.

By taking the course for certification credit, you also will be on your way to obtaining a Level 1 certification.