Education: A First Book

work by Thorndike

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June 26, 2026

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Education: A First Book is a work by Edward L. Thorndike, an American psychologist and educator. Published in 1912, it applies principles of educational psychology to classroom instruction. Thorndike's work, including this book, emphasized a scientific and measurable approach to learning. He developed theories like connectionism, suggesting that learning occurs through trial and error, strengthening neural connections between stimuli and satisfying responses. This book was instrumental in applying psychological research to subjects like arithmetic, reading, and language, aiming to improve the efficiency and address inequalities in the American education system.12

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Edward L. Thorndike
…Teaching Based on Psychology (1906), Education: A First Book (1912), and Educational Psychology, 3 vol. (1913–14; 2nd ed., 1921). These books were responsible for many of the earliest applications of psychology to classroom instruction in arithmetic, algebra, reading, writing, and language and also did much to expose the deficiencies and…
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…Teaching Based on Psychology (1906), Education: A First Book (1912), and Educational Psychology, 3 vol. (1913–14; 2nd ed., 1921). These books were responsible for many of the earliest applications of psychology to classroom instruction in arithmetic, algebra, reading, writing, and language and also did much to expose the deficiencies and…
Read More