Teaching Effectiveness Revisited Through the Lens of Practice Theories

Abstract

In research on teaching, there is a tension between the intention to provide educational practice with clear and convertible recommendations and the wish to do justice to the whole complexity, contingency, uncertainty and ambiguity of social interactions. Multiple research paradigms address this tension in different ways. The chapter brings together two such contrasting paradigms: Teaching Effectiveness Research (TER), which uses quantitative methods for explaining and predicting criteria of “teaching success” with characteristics of teaching, and practice theories, which aim at reconstructing classroom practice to gain an understanding of the social order in the classroom without a priori assumptions regarding their desirability.

Presenting a specific instantiation of TER, the Theory of Basic Dimensions of Teaching Quality (TBD), the chapter elaborates on two major limitations of TER in general, and TBD in particular: a simplistic concept of relations between teaching and learning and a lack of understanding of the dynamics of classroom interaction. To better understand, and to some extent overcome these limitations, the chapter critically reflects on TER/TBD by contrasting it with a practice theoretical perspective. Using these two paradigms, the paper advances the idea that the dialogue between paradigms can be inspiring for empirical research and theory-building.