Teacher Teams and Refined Praxis: an Investigation of Teacher Perceptions in Schools

Abstract

Two approaches have emerged to counteract isolation (Donaldson, et al., 2008; Little, 1990) and lack of structures for teachers to reflect and learn (Ash and Moore, 2002; Schön, 1983; Dewey, 1910, 1933): they are teaming (Troen & Boles, 2012) and reflective practice (Schön, 1983, 1987). In this paper, I research “refined praxis,” a theoretical framework based on four foundational theorists of reflective practice: Dewey (1910, 1933), Freire (1970, 1974, 1985), Schön (1983, 1987) and Argyris (1974, 1982, 1990) (see also Argyris & Schön, 1974). Refined praxis combines collegial dialogue with reflective practice to offer a new approach to improving instructional practice. This qualitative study utilizes constructivist grounded theory methodology (Charmaz, 2014) because refined praxis is a new theoretical framework that has not been studied before, and grounded theory is an appropriate tool when there is little to no existing empirical data (Charmaz, 2006, 2014; Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Strauss and Corbin, 1998; Willig, 2008). This qualitative study focuses on the perceptions of teachers who are in teams engaged in refined praxis and contributes to researchers and practitioners interested in both teaming and reflection. Its goal is to provide rich descriptions of what happens in refined praxis teams, what teachers find most valuable, and an understanding of what types of factors contribute to whether, when, and under what conditions teachers find this type of learning to be effective.