Theory washing is not something that I have ever thought about however I have just found out it is something that I am a bit guilty of doing quite successfully. For the last few years I have references theory upon theory in order to bolster my grade in many an assignment with remarkable results. I thought that was just how to get good marks on assignments!
Looking back on my teaching practice and lesson plans not once have I sat down and started with a theory that I agreed with and based my pedagogy around it. I have always just pulled a lesson out of the air and then found resources which seemed to agree with my decisions. I have just looked back over a number of old assignments and noticed that every single one of them has the same article referenced. A piece by Howard Gardner on the theory of multiple intelligences. Whilst this is a theory that I agree with on principle, I have never looked in to the research supporting it. I have blindly referenced this simply because it suits my pedagogical approach….
I think I need to reassess my methodologies although to be completely honest I am reluctant to do so in case it is detrimental to my overall grades. This approach is working for me very well at university (although I can see obvious flaws with implementing this in the real world!). This is a little disheartening to consider and makes me wonder what lecturers and examiners are looking for when marking assessment tasks.
Interesting to ponder, however I’m not sure if I will ever have the answers…
leehillasedublog 