With Lou Mycroft THEORISTS AREN’T ABSTRACT, THEY’RE OUR FRIENDS
I’m with the French in believing that what we do in practice is more likely to be effective if we think about it first.
In FE, there’s been a trend for some time to assume that as soon as you mention theory (or, heaven forbid, philosophy) you’re being a bit pointless, and I put that down to many of us having nightmare theory experiences during our teacher training. As a teacher educator, I have noticed people’s
resistance when I tried to teach ‘theory’, so I made it my business to diversify and demystify, making theory relevant, seeking out thinkers whose work made sense to modern lives, bringing in videos, animations and podcasts. I had to justify it to busy educators who wanted to pass their qualifications and get back to work. I learned to communicate why theory helps us make meaning of practice, but only if we are able to stand up to it critically, as equal thinkers ourselves. I began to refer to theorists as thinkers and use their first names: bell (hooks), Jack (Mezirow) and Ken (Robinson). This helped educators position their own
FEBRUARY 5
Association of
Colleges English and Maths Conference in London
www.aoc-create.
co.uk
22
TES FE Awards, London. Sponsored by the Education and Training Foundation www.tesfeawards.
co.uk
MARCH 7
Local Network Group, Bradford (see article opposite page)
theories of learning in relation to these more famous peers: less public, not less valid. The pay-off came in the unexpected form of a Tweet. On her way back from presenting research at the
university which hosted our programme, trainee teacher Liz O’Brien wrote: “We thought we’d be alone in there, but we had the thinkers in there with us as our friends.” So ‘Thinkers are our Friends’ was born as a pedagogy, bringing theory back to life. That trainee teacher, Liz, is a social worker now and studying for a Master’s degree. Her apt summary of the work we did together has been a driving force for many, raising grades and propelling educators into researching practice through initiatives like the ETF’s Practitioner Research Programme. The number of #FEResearchMeets planned for 2019 bears witness to our profession’s growing confidence in developing our own evidence base. We are standing on the shoulders of those other thinkers who inspire, influence and provoke. Here’s to our friends!
Lou Mycroft is a writer, teacher, independent thinker and thought-provoker. Join the debate at #pedagogue
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Annual Apprenticeship Conference, Birmingham
http://feweekaac.com/
APRIL 29
Strategic Development Network’s Apprenticeship Breakthrough Conference, Birmingham. Sponsored by the Education and Training Foundation
www.strategicdevelopment
network.co.uk
inTUITION ISSUE 34 • WINTER 2018 39
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