Twelve tips for incorporating education theory into teaching practices

Coulterpark, Rebecca

ET

Dennick, R. (2012). Twelve tips for incorporating educational theory into teaching practices. Medical Teacher, 34(8), 618-624. doi:10.3109/0142159X.2012.668244


Summary:
 In this article, Dennick discusses the concepts of Constructivist, Experiential, and Huministic Learning theories, and provides a few tips for teaching to each of these styles of learning. The introduction discusses the idea of "educational theories" and how they are often less precise and demand a different style of research than theories in many other fields of study. For each style represented in this article Dennick makes sure to offer citations that lead to major research done on each style that supports the tips given.

Evaluation:
I appreciated reading this article because it offered tips for teaching in different style while also citing sources for further reading and for the basis of thought in each style. As someone who has not earned a teaching license, this is helpful because I have not had to study teaching styles and have not had much classroom experience. Reading an article which gives tips, supported by evidence from each style represented, is a good starting point for learning about different styles.
While the article does most heavily focus on Constructivist teaching, giving 5 tips for teaching to that style, it does give time to Experiential and Humanist teaching as well. One critique though would be that for each style he the author offers fewer and fewer tips and perhaps should have focused either one learning theory more in depth or lent more time to the latter theory.