Practice into theory!

In my recent post
Theory into Practice I wondered how we could engage teachers more in reflecting upon their own theories about teaching and learning.

Walking the dog this morning a thought popped into my head – as they often do! Would it be possible to develop a questionnaire or self-test form? The questionnaire would present all the various theories through a series of practical examples, which teachers would then check off against their own beliefs? At the end of the process the teacher would be provided with a summary of their beliefs and how they tie in with existing theories.

It would then be possible for teachers to compare their own belief systems with their colleagues and perhaps better understand why they do certain things and why they don’t do other things. As I suggested in my last post on this matter many of us can’t explicitly explain our practice – I know that this certainly applies to me.

This may have some potential as we take forwards our
teaching and learning strategy over the coming year.