ABSTRACT
The main aim of this chapter is to consolidate some of the points made thus far by presenting further examples of teachers’ critical incidents in the form of a thematic fi le. The secondary aim is to illustrate some typical everyday concerns of practising teachers. Many of the examples of critical incidents included in this chapter and book are, of course, not really mine, having been written by the teachers I work with. Because the actual incidents are given as they were written (in the raw, so to speak), they refl ect various stages of description and analysis. Many of the incidents are truly embryonic in that the observer recognises that there may be something to say, but is not yet sure quite what, and so has just described a phenomenon (an incident, comment or feeling) and asked some initial questions. As suggested earlier, these are not really critical incidents because nothing is explained and no wider meanings have been drawn; but they are included to show the kind of development in skill and understanding which can take place as one becomes more familiar with the form.
