It is ideal for us to have adequate knowledge of theories and gain experience through “practice” to concur with the ideas. Through practical application, we are able to gain insightful feedback on when to apply the theories; which target audience; adaptations and limitations which makes us more effective educators. 

 

These theories are applied in our work to test what we know. We may discover that the theory we applied did not yield the results we were expecting, or we discovered that a variable was not taken into consideration. Our next step is to go back to the theories we have derived and begin tweaking them so they reflect the nuanced differences present in our practice. Our theories develop as we gain experience and learn through practice. How we develop these theories and our practices in practice is dependent on how deeply we can reflect upon our observations.

 

It is important to understand what went right or wrong and then to understand why these things happened. Thus, the recurrent nature of theory to practice will not succeed if there is no continual reflection to improve and grow. 

We apply these theories in our practice to test our understanding. In our practice, we may find that the theory we have applied might not bear the results we were expecting or a variable has surfaced that we didn’t consider. We then cycle back to the theories we have drawn up and work to tweak it and understand the nuanced differences that were present in our practice. In a sense, our theories evolve with our experience and what we learned in our practice. How we evolve these theories and our deliveries in practice comes down to how deep we can reflect upon our observations. 

There lies a need to understand what went right or what went wrong and then we follow it up by understanding why these things happen. Therefore, the cyclical nature of theory to practice will not work if there is no deep reflection to constantly keep improving and growing. 

I am sure many successful discovery was based on practical knowledge and without the slightest clue of any theories. However as educators, we must support our practical knowledge with theoretical knowledge. These two are like two sides or the coin as both are important. What’s more important is we understand how both compliment each other. Theories gives us a deeper understanding of a concept but practical knowledge allows us to understand how it works through practice. Through practice we learn and understand theories better.

 

This recurring process between theory and practice will involve critical reflection where we take a moment to reflect on what happened during the practice, the take-aways either from a mistake or an achievement and how to apply that learning in future. This is the phase where we may need to make some adjustments before our next practice.       

 

For example, if we refer to our recent learning on “Active Listening” which is a crucial skill required in our roles as AED (LBS). We first understand the importance of active listening and learn the different skills involved in active listening. (e.g, body posture, eye contact, avoiding interruptions, withholding judgement). With these written guidance and theories in place, we then put them into practice in our daily interaction with others or even through role-play. Next we reflect on the outcome and improve upon the areas which we are weaker at. Keeping this example in mind and with the understanding of the relationship amongst theory, practice and critical reflection, it will definitely be useful during practicum.   

This is when i also realize APIE comes in..I need to evaluate the practical ideas. What works and what didn’t and refer back to the theory to generate alternative practical ideas… and the cycle goes on.. while we build our repository.. as there is no One Size Fits All. While theory is there to provide us the foundation knowledge, it is the practice that needs to be thought critically to suit the needs of a student. 

To help our students in the school to be better learners, we need to first teach ourselves to make full use of what theories we have learnt and practice them. Usually, we will not remember all, so vice versa, we practice and relearn the theories which is an ongoing learning journey for all of us.

As an AED LBS, we need to understand our students before putting anything into practice. Learning about theories will help us understand certain human behaviours, which in turn will help us understand our students better. From there, we will be better equipped to work with our students. 

One of the theories that resonate strongly with me would be Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning. I realised that my life revolves around classical conditioning, be it with my students at school or at home with my children and it even works on my husband :p 

For someone who did not look further into this theory, they would merely associate classical conditioning with punishment or controversial experiments. However, when one delves deeper into this theory, one would soon realise that using classical conditioning at the very beginning can set the tone right. (Eg. Ensuring that the LBS room is a safe space for our students with SEN)

As we aim to be reflective educators, we must thus back our practice with theories while also being willing to reflect on and learn from our shortcomings. 

I find this quote so true. Theory if not put into practice, will be soon forgotten. However, practice without theory will be like trying to get to your destination in an unfamiliar place without a map. You might get there, but not without a huge amount of time spent detouring and trying to get your bearing. 

To me, the most obvious example of linking up theory learnt last semester to practicum would be the use of APIE. In each of it’s A, P, I and E components itself has different theories linked to it, whether it would be the assessment tools you use, or the evidence-based strategies that you want to implement, all these require the theoretical knowledge – how to use the assessment tool, suitability of the tool, what does research say about a certain strategy, etc. the list goes on. Other than the assignments where we need to interview the students, most of our tutorials have been spent working on case studies. Hence practicum will be a good platform for us to finish (hopefully) one full cycle of the APIE framework, allowing us to tie in all the knowledge we have learn from the different modules. After all, these theories and knowledge will only stay as empty words, if there is no practice involved. At the same time, we need to practice the correct things, as unlearning the wrong things takes time and effort. Hence, both theory and practice are interconnected. One, cannot do without the other.  

For the theories to work, we must first believe in it. We gather information of our student and see what motivates them or hinders them when they are learning. Our role, as an Allied Educator, is to put the theories into practice and find the best (could even be a combination of theories) which suit the individual student under our charge. After the intervention, we allow them for reflection and see if there is a need to adapt our approach when supporting the student. 

Fredric Jones’ has 4 fundamental skills in his theory. They are namely classroom structure, limit setting through body language, responsibility training through preferred activity time (PAT), and backup system. 

I think it's very important to set the correct classroom structure for the student during practicum as well as in the future. I have been in secondary school for 12 years and thus adapting to a primary school will be a bit different. I think and feel that I must be very mindful of my expressions and body language to the younger students. I will highly encourage and motivate the younger students through bite-size activity and chart their progress eventually giving them a reward (PAT activity). Students of any age these days will be mischievous at some of their life, so I will educate them patiently on the consequences instead of using a top-down approach. I see many teachers in school using a very dominant and top-down approach then failing to completely end up losing control of the student’s behavior. 

I am someone who believes there is a balance between work and play and thus will also encourage that behavior in my students allowing them to be more focused in lessons and also have better academic outcomes. 

 

Example, the teaching tip “Do not give homework at the end of the lesson.” This is because teachers will not have enough time to explain clearly how to do the homework and students will not be able to ask questions.

For my lesson planning, I would apply the following Constructivist Principles:

1.     Learning should be an active process; learners will have the opportunities to explore, discover, create and make connections on the concepts, ideas and people. Examples, group work, role play, peer to peer teaching, etc.

2.     To assess and their stages of development and prior knowledge when designing activities and choosing content. Examples, quizzes, assessments, etc.

3.     To build schemas to enable learners to organize their experiences and knowledge into mental models using scaffolding and guided practice.

4.     To provide time for learners to reflect on their learning experiences through journals, Exit Card, etc.

The connection between theory and practice will depend on our ability to demonstrate our understanding of what we have learnt and apply to the real-world situation. Often, we have to use our critical thinking and decision-making skills to show our understanding of key concept during the practice. We may combine different theories and put into practice for one child or a situation. 

This is not over yet. Not all theory is 100% applicable and relevant. We need to justify what theory to use, how to use it and reflect on the effectiveness. The experience and observation are important for our learning. After the practice, we have concrete examples on what is the best practice or how accurate is the theory for the child or situation. We may have to make adjustment accordingly. Constant reflection enables us to do it better for future experience. 

 

     In education, theory allows educators to critically reflect on their classroom practices, through examining their beliefs, assumptions and values which determine how they organize their classroom experiences and practices. In reflection, we can apply the reflection model developed by Rolfe et al (2001) that is based on three key questions: 1) What? 2) So what? 3) Now what? The theory in research can be used to generate hypotheses or explain phenomena. Through research, the results produced cause the theory to be revised, or rejected. 

 

     Vygotsky’s theory encapsulates the idea that cognitive development of learners occurs when they are provided support from more knowledgeable others, such as teachers in the classrooms and acquire the knowledge and skills that are unique to a particular culture through the use of social interaction and language. These more knowledgeable others will gauge the learners’ readiness for new tasks and provide necessary supports as scaffolding, and gradually withdraw support as learner has acquired the knowledge and skills over time. This theory can be applied in practice through the ‘I Do, We Do, You Do’ teaching process in a multi-cultural classroom whereby English is the medium of teaching. Through ‘I Do’, the more knowledgable others models the skill (for instance, writing a sentence with Subject, Verb, Object), followed by ‘We Do’as scaffolding by guided practice is provided by the more knowledgeable other through questions to perform the writing skill, followed by ‘You Do’ as scaffolding through questions is withdrawn and the learner is expected to perform the writing skill independently. Through this practice, the key questions of the reflection model could be asked: 1) What was good/bad of the experiences, 2) What conclusions can we draw from the experiences, 3) How will you apply what you learned from these experiences; What will you do differently from the experiences? Through these reflections, the practice can be refined to better suit each learner’s learning needs and have a revised understanding of the theory in relating to the practice. 

Practice describes the application of knowledge or skills and involve the experience you’ve had, explaining the way you have created something.

The activity is useful, when we are able to construct theories to explain it and are able to criticize and design other ideas and know when and why we use them. It also contributes to our critical thinking and growth.

Linking theory and practice shows that we understand the connections between what we are learning and how that knowledge is applied.

As an AED LBS we work closely with students with SEN to set learning and behaviour goals and apply strategies towards those goals. I will use scaffolding to help student learn progressively and become more confident learner through the I Do, We Do, You Do model. After I will reflect on something that happened and think how I might do it differently next time to motivate them to develop and achieve independence in their learning.

The e-repository is definitely a useful resource that compiles not just teaching tips but also tools and information in a place that's easy to access. I do have my own collection of resources that I've accumulated but it’s not well organized, so organizing my resources and information better is one important thing I can take away from the e-repository!

As an AED (LBS), I believe we need to constantly provide ourselves with readings and theories that will benefit us as we pursue our profession. We must also take the opportunity to put into practice what we have learnt so that we understand what works and what does not work.