Theory to Practice

CC Licensed image by Magnetbox on Flickr

One of the key elements that I value as an educator and as a learner is the concept of theory to practice. I believe that exploring the value of a particular strategy or tool starts with the research on its effectiveness in different situations. That means reading about what people are trying, what works well, and what hasn’t worked so well. It means listening to reflective practitioners as they analyze their data, and question their results. And then it means trying the theory myself – jumping in with both feet, while being thoughtful about what I’ve learned so far and knowing what questions remain to be answered in my situation, with my population.

But it isn’t good enough for me to just believe in theory to practice for my own work. I need to be explicit about it and encourage it in my students. I need to create experiences in which students feel confident that they understand the theory, and then structure a safe environment for them to turn that newfound theory into practice. I need to share my successes, and be transparent about my failures; modeling what we do when something doesn’t go as expected is a critical step in helping others become reflective lifelong learners.

Theory to practice is a way to learn, a way to be a lifelong learner. It is a spiral of knowledge that involves researching, testing, reflecting, then researching again to get to the next level. For me it is a constant state of questioning, of being slightly off-balance, and not being able to settle for the status quo. It’s a constant state of growth.