Pedagogical reasoning in teacher education

The foundations on which teaching is constructed hint at ways of thinking and knowing that shape pedagogy and illustrate why simplistic notions of teaching as telling and learning as listening do not suffice (Loughran, Curric Inq 43(1):118–141, 2013). As a consequence, teaching is perhaps best understood as being problematic because it exists in what Schön (The reflective practitioner: how professionals think in action.Basic Books, New York, 1983) described as the swampy lowlands where important but messy problems exist that cannot be simply resolved or technically managed. Teachers work with uncertainty in an ‘indeterminate zone of practice’ (Schön DA, Educating the reflective practitioner. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1987) in which professional knowledge develops in response to, and is informed by, the context. In exploring the uncertainty inherent in navigating the swampy lowlands of practice, pedagogical reasoning – the scaffolding that supports the sophisticated business of professional practice –comes into sharp focus. Understanding pedagogical reasoning, how it develops and the manner in which it influences practice is important. Making that clear for others, especially students of teaching, is a challenge that should not be eschewed in teacher education programmes.