Bilderfahrung als pädagogisches Paradigma. Anschauungsunterricht versus bildhafte Unterrichtsmethoden in der Waldorfpädagogik

Abstract

The experience and use of images have played a special role in education ever since Comenius introduced the methods and materials of illustrative teaching into the classroom setting. For the Waldorf school Steiner developed a contrary method of image-based teaching - partly influenced by the work of Margaret McMillan, who can be regarded as the precursor of image-based education. Image-based or imaginal teaching is founded upon using an image in a way that, in keeping with its nature and language, explores its perceptual dimensions to the point at which its coming into being can be sensed. Chauvet‘s murals are prime examples of this, and show that images can be perceived as outcomes of movement. This quality of formative movement is the starting point for an exercise in three phases, which makes clear that imaginal teaching is not only concerned with the external view of things, but by exercising individual imaginative conceptualization leads to knowledge acquisition.