profession – Halfbaked.Education

Which Pedagogical Stance Should You Adopt If You Are Working in a Traditional Education System? 1

PeterTJune 7, 2026June 7, 20261 Comment

The PedTech framework, as set out in From EdTech to PedTech (Aubrey-Smith and Twining, 2024), starts with values and beliefs. Everything else - purpose, curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and the role of digital technology - flows from there. One implication of this, which I have explored in earlier posts, is that alignment matters. Your pedagogical stance needs to be consistent with the system you are operating in, otherwise the coherence that makes a PedTech approach powerful breaks down.

However, this raises an uncomfortable question.

Is teaching a profession?

PeterTJune 7, 2026June 7, 2026Leave a comment

[This post was originally published in 2014]

We assume that digital technology can improve education and that ‘the challenge’ is how to bring innovative technology and educational professionals together. However, the research evidence shows that despite massive investment digital technology has not resulted in significant improvements in learning experiences or attainment in education (e.g. Luckin et al., 2012) [http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/decoding-learning].

Is teaching atheoretical?

PeterTApril 18, 2026June 7, 2026Leave a comment

A common claim, often heard from teachers themselves, is that teaching is atheoretical. The argument runs that what teachers do in classrooms is craft, judgement, and experience, not theory. Theory is for academics. Practice is what counts.

There may be an element of truth in this, however the claim, taken at face value, is wrong, and the way it is wrong matters.