Learning to Practise: A Paper for Discussion
Wellington: New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER), 2013
π Overview
Learning to Practise is Helen Timperley's contribution to the question of what Initial Teacher Education should actually do. Written as a "paper for discussion," it is deliberately provocative: Timperley argues that most ITE programmes focus too much on declarative knowledge about teaching (knowing that) rather than adaptive, practical expertise (knowing how in context). The result is graduate teachers who can discuss theories but struggle to apply them when things get complex.
The paper centres on a fundamental distinction: routine expertise (doing familiar things efficiently) vs. adaptive expertise (innovating when familiar approaches don't work). Timperley argues that ITE must cultivate adaptive expertise β the capacity to learn from practice, adjust to student need, and continue developing throughout a career.
For ITE students, this is simultaneously affirming and challenging. It validates the difficulty of learning to teach, reframes "struggle" as productive, and provides a framework (the Spiral of Inquiry) for structuring professional learning throughout your career.
π― Key Arguments
- Routine vs. adaptive expertise. ITE too often produces routine expertise β teachers who are efficient in familiar contexts but can't adapt when students don't respond as expected. Adaptive expertise β the ability to learn, experiment, and innovate β is what distinguishes teachers who keep developing from those who plateau.
- Learning to practise is different from practising. Simply spending time in classrooms is not enough. Students must have structured opportunities for deliberate, reflective practice β making the tacit explicit, examining what worked and why, and experimenting with alternatives.
- The professional knowledge base matters. Timperley argues for a deep engagement with educational research alongside practice. Not research as abstract theory β but research as a tool for questioning your own assumptions about what works for your students.
- The spiral of inquiry as professional practice. Rather than isolated "reflection," Timperley proposes the Spiral of Inquiry as a structured, cyclic process: scanning the landscape, focusing on student need, developing teaching responses, learning how to enact them, and checking impact.
- ITE must model what it teaches. If ITE programmes tell student teachers to be responsive to learner need β they must be responsive to student teacher need. If they teach inquiry β they must embody inquiry. The hidden curriculum of ITE matters enormously.
π The Spiral of Inquiry
Timperley's spiral (developed further with Judy Halbert and Linda Kaser) provides a structured professional learning cycle that goes far beyond "reflect and repeat."
Scan
What's happening for your students? Gather broad evidence β not just test scores but engagement, wellbeing, identity.
Focus
What's most important to focus on? Where is the biggest gap between what students need and what's happening?
Develop a Hunch
Why might this be happening? What assumptions are we making about students, curriculum, or teaching?
Learn
What do we need to learn to address this? Read, discuss, observe β develop new pedagogical knowledge.
Act & Enact
Try new approaches deliberately. This is informed experimentation β not just hoping for different results.
Check
Did it make a difference? For which students? What does this tell us? Begin scanning again.
π¬ Key Quotes
"The most common approach to professional learning is to attend a workshop, try what was suggested, and when it doesn't work, return to familiar routines. This is not professional learning β this is professional confirmation."β Timperley, 2013
"Adaptive expertise... requires a fundamental reorientation away from 'what will I do?' towards 'what are my students experiencing, and what do I need to do differently?'"β Timperley, 2013
"Student teachers are learners. They need the same conditions for their learning that they are expected to create for their students β challenge, support, feedback, and attention to their identity as a developing professional."β Timperley, 2013
π Critical Analysis
β Strengths
- Validates the difficulty of ITE β legitimises struggle as part of professional growth.
- Practical framework (Spiral of Inquiry) gives structure to abstract concepts like "reflection".
- Grounded in NZ context β directly applicable to NZ ITE programmes.
- Connects professional learning to student outcomes β not just teacher satisfaction.
β οΈ Tensions
- Assumes adequate mentor support β many beginning teachers lack quality mentors.
- Adaptive expertise takes years β may set unrealistic expectations for novice teachers.
- The spiral requires significant time and collaboration β hard in overloaded beginning teachers.
- Limited engagement with culture and power β how is adaptive expertise shaped by practitioner identity?
π« For Beginning Teachers
Treat Your Classroom as a Laboratory
Every lesson is data. What did students engage with? What confused them? Notice patterns β don't just survive.
Run a Mini Spiral of Inquiry
Pick one student group that concerns you. Scan β focus β hunch β learn β act β check. Even a 3-week mini-inquiry builds adaptive expertise.
Find a Thinking Partner
Adaptive expertise grows in dialogue. Find a colleague, associate teacher, or mentor who will challenge your assumptions, not just validate your choices.
Read During Practicum
Timperley argues research must accompany practice. One journal article a week that connects to what you're experiencing is infinitely more powerful than reading lists without context.
π Discussion Questions
- Timperley distinguishes between routine and adaptive expertise. Think of a teacher you observed who seemed to embody adaptive expertise. What did they do that demonstrated this?
- What does your own ITE programme model? Does it embody inquiry? Does it respond to your learning needs? If not, what would you change?
- The Spiral of Inquiry requires time, support, and trust. What conditions would need to exist in a school for beginning teachers to actually use it?
- Timperley argues ITE produces too much "declarative knowledge" (knowing that) and not enough practical knowledge (knowing how). Do you agree? What does this mean for how university courses should be designed?
- How does Timperley's framework connect to the ETP dimensions from Bishop and Berryman? Where do the frameworks complement each other?
π Connected Resources
ITE Modules:
Related Readings:
π Further Reading
- Timperley, H. (2011). Realizing the power of professional learning. Open University Press.
- Timperley, H., Halbert, J., & Kaser, L. (2014). A Spiral of Inquiry for Equity and Quality. BC Principals' and Vice-Principals' Association.
- Timperley, H., Wilson, A., Barrar, H., & Fung, I. (2007). Teacher professional learning and development: Best evidence synthesis iteration. Ministry of Education NZ.
- SchΓΆn, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Basic Books. β The foundation Timperley builds upon.
MΔtauranga MΔori Lens
Timperley's professional learning model resonates with mΔtauranga MΔori when framed through the lens of ako β reciprocal learning between teachers and students. The inquiry cycle aligns with tikanga values of careful observation, reflection, and adaptive response. Whanaungatanga grounds professional learning in relational accountability to students and community.