Reflecting on the success of different educational theories, this review will prove useful for teachers and school leaders wishing to work with more evidence-based methods.
From the ivory tower to the schoolhouse: how scholarship becomes common knowledge in education
Synopsis
Schneider describes a model for the diffusion of research-based ideas into education. He looks at four well-known theories – Bloom's Taxonomy; multiple intelligences; the project method; and direct instruction – and asks what we can learn from their success in influencing teachers.
Identifying key factors that help bridge the gap between research and practice, Schneider argues that in order for ideas to be influential, they must be compatible with teachers' general philosophy towards childhood; they must seem of potential importance; there must be some hope of realistically acting on them in the classroom; and they must be transportable across contexts.
Through the examination of counterexamples - similar ideas of equal promise that lacked these four qualities and did not translate into practice - Schneider shows the complexity of the relationship between theory and practice in education and suggests how that tenuous connection might be strengthened to help innovations and new insights gain traction in schools.