Directions and exhortations from higher authorities can lead to one-size-fits-all solutions, which is currently not necessarily of value to every individual. Society’s issues (described in another post) are not improving. Practice that emerges in classrooms is not always what we (as teachers) think it is, nor is it always what we planned (Wenger, E. 1998). The activities actually undertaken by pupils will emerge – in their conversations/dialogue, in their written practice work and upon questioning: the teacher then has the option of understanding feedback when sought and the choice of what to do next with that feedback. This better takes more account of the actual situation in which we find ourselves as practitioners. Local situations and local needs can then be met with appropriate, evidence-based development and improvement of practice at a local level. This is the definition of professionalism: adapting a wealth of knowledge and experience to the local situation – from the bottom up, not the top down.

For individuals or local groups, it is possible to look at both our own knowledge and experience, and relevant research available. We can then pick actions that we think might best deliver our goals, and apply it appropriately in our context.

If we continue to apply specific elements of research to all contexts, or out of the context intended by that research, we fail to consider our local issues, individual realities or the value of the research itself. By failing to see the process of learning as an interactive one, influenced by the social and cultural situations of teachers and their students, we fail to understand why and how learning has been so effective for human beings over the time which inter-generational learning is considered to have led to the success of this species (Cox, Brian; 2014:   https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r9sqx – no longer available: sadly)