Two Pedagogical Approaches Linking Conceptual and Procedural Knowledge

There are two fundamental dilemmas that appear throughout human life: (1) Do we have to understand being able to do, or vice versa? and (2) Should things be emphasized as objects or as processes? These dilemmas can be converted to the question of the balance between conceptual and procedural knowledge. This article represents two research-based and empirically tested approaches: the educational approach emphasizing conceptual knowledge and the developmental approach stressing procedural knowledge. Pedagogical implications of these approaches are discussed within tensions between different paradigms.