In the late 1900s, Philippine education commonly used Didactic Pedagogy in any form of teaching. Teachers before strongly believed in the phrase, "No Pressure, No Learning." They applied in their teaching the use of repetition, drills, and even corporal punishments to engrave the learnings to their students. While the use of Didactic Pedagogy in teaching proves effective for rote memorization, it left deep scars in their personality and childhood.

Despite its harsh nature, this didactic approach excels in "Overt Instruction," a phase of the Learning by Design framework where information is explicitly transmitted. Its strength lies in efficiency demonstrated through constant repetition and drills, students achieve high levels of automaticity in basic skills like arithmetic and phonics. From a traditional standpoint, it provides a clear, hierarchical structure where the teacher's authority ensures that the "regime of competence" is strictly maintained, forcing students to meet specific benchmarks of memory.

However, the limitations are profound when viewed through modern literacy theories. There's an argument that for deep learning to occur, students must have a "low-stakes" environment where they can fail without trauma. By which the Didactic pedagogy does the opposite by using corporal punishment, it creates high-stakes fear that inhibits the "joy and fun" necessary for long-term engagement.

Furthermore, this method fails the "Situated Practice" and "Transformed Action" stages of the Learning by Design cycle. Because knowledge is "engraved" through pressure rather than explored through agency, students often lack the ability to apply what they have learned in new, creative contexts. It creates learners who can repeat information but cannot innovate, leaving them with "scars" that associate education with compliance rather than the transformative power of modern literacy.

Didactic Pedagogy in the Early Philippine Classrooms