Part VII
Pedagogy in Action
Introduction
Pedagogy in action is a theme that emerges out of decades old notion of reflective
practice that discussed the relationship between theory and practice, theories of
pedagogical praxis and forms of action research. It is a term that now encompasses
a wide range of methodologies including:“experience-based education”, “new
pedagogies”,“pedagogies for deep learning”,“supportive classroom environment”,
“community engagement”, “new literacies”, “critical pedagogy”, “complexity
pedagogy”,“action research pedagogies”.^1 Smith (2012) writes:
In recent years interest has grown in‘pedagogy’within English-language discussions of
education. The impetus has come from different directions. There have been those like
Paulo Freire seeking a‘pedagogy of the oppressed’or‘critical pedagogy’; practitioners
wanting to rework the boundaries of care and education via the idea of social pedagogy;
and, perhaps most significantly, governments wanting to constraint the activities of teachers
by requiring adherence to preferred‘pedagogies’.
A large part of this movement is to begin to theorize pedagogy from the action
side of the theory–action divide and to“walk the talk”so to speak. Smith (2012)
writes of“exploring pedagogy is as the process of accompanying learners; caring
for and about them; and bringing learning into life”.
The notion of practitioner and practitioner cultures has fast become part of a set
of ideological dogma ever since Donald Schönfirst popularized the term in his
1983 bookThe Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action.He
stipulated that the capacity to reflect on action so as to engage in a process of
continuous learning is one of the defining characteristics of professional practice.
Schön (1987: 26) advances the concept of reflection-in-action in this formulation:
(^1) See, for example, Connecting Theory to Classroom Practice,http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/index.
html; Maggie Ryan,https://prezi.com/eo3qcgzsh_pz/pedagogy-in-action/; Understanding New
Literacies for New Times: Pedagogy in Action,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcITZSlDlas;
Emergence: Complexity Pedagogy in Action, https://www.hindawi.com/journals/nrp/2015/
235075/; Action Research Pedagogy,https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/8326.