Creating Practical Theories of Teaching

Abstract

In this chapter we propose a way to create theories of teaching that are useful for teachers as well as researchers. Key to our proposal is a new model of teaching that treats sustained learning opportunities (SLOs) as a mediating construct that lies between teaching, on the one hand, and learning, on the other. SLOs become the proximal goal of classroom teaching. Rather than making instructional decisions based on desired learning outcomes, teachers could focus on the kinds of SLOs students need. Because learning research has established reliable links between specific types of learning opportunities and specific learning outcomes, theories of teaching no longer must connect teaching directly with learning. Instead, theories of teaching can become theories of creating SLOs linked to the outcomes teachers want their students to achieve. After presenting our rationale for moving from theories of teaching to theories of creating SLOs, we describe the benefits of such theories for researchers and teachers, explain the work needed to build such theories, and describe the conditions under which this work could be conducted. We conclude by peering into the future and acknowledging the challenges researchers would face as they develop these theories.