Search

This article shares reflections from members of the community of philosophers of education in the United States and Canada who were invited to express their insights in response to the theme ‘Snaps...

In Schon's account, the distinguishing feature of professional work is its 'designlike' character. For Schon, professional training (including teacher preparation) involves engagement in design experiments in virtual worlds he calls 'reflective practica'. Some teacher educators have developed models of teacher preparation following Schon's guidelines. Others have expressed reservations about his framework. But there has not yet been adequate critical assessment of the conceptual fit between Schon's framework and teacher preparation. This study contributes such an assessment. After providing a map through Schon's system of ideas I proffer two conclusions. First, conventional school teaching is not 'designlike' in Schon's sense. Second, teacher training cannot adequately be conducted 'off-line' in the virtual spaces Schon calls 'reflective practica'.

The publication of Kilpatrick's classic paper on the project method' sparked a lively theoretical debate in the USA about learner-directed projects in the curriculum. Boyd Bode's critique a decade later brought the American debate to a close, but projects have continued to play an important practical role. Recent trends in the US, including authentic assessment' and project-related work in the postindustrial economy, have stimulated renewed attention to learner projects.This paper reviews the earlier debate on project method and assesses its implications for postindustrial education.