ABSTRACT
A criticism that is sometimes levelled at educationists is that they emphasise theory at the expense of practice; while this is rarely accurate it is an idea that needs debate. Occasionally there are those who will suggest that ‘you don’t need all that theory rubbish to be a good teacher’. All teachers are naturally particularly concerned to make sure that their practice is as good as possible. However, effective practice can be enhanced through a necessary knowledge of learning theories. The advantage of clearly thought-out theories is that they can guide you through unfamiliar practical experiences by giving direction to teaching decisions. They can also contribute to successful whole school approaches by offering a shared framework.
