Examining teachers’ adaptive expertise through personal practical theories

Abstract

This study examines teachers' adaptive expertise and their personal practical theories (PPTs), which include both explicit and implicit rationales for their actions. Teachers' ability to flexibly use their PPTs in demanding classroom situations is essential for understanding and developing teaching more in-depth. For this purpose, stimulated recall interviews were conducted with 17 primary school teachers, and the data were analysed using inductive coding. The results showed that the teachers’ adaptive expertise was characterised by a varying emphasis on a fixed versus open teaching orientation, and their level of adaptiveness differed. Teachers' ability to adapt during interactive classroom events was related to their use of these two types of orientation.