Complete Your Learning Theories Profile
...you will be provided with a profile that explains how your beliefs (espoused theory) match your practice (theory-in-use)
The Learning Theories Profile (LTP) is a tool that was developed to support educators identify and reflect on the theories that underpin their professional practice. The LTP requires you to respond to 2 scenarios and 20 statements about how we learn. Your responses to these questions are scored in terms of espoused theory (what you say you do) and theory-in-use (what you actually do). This distinction highlights the difference between theory and practice.[1]
An example of this in a school may involve a teacher in the staff room describing their very strict behaviour management programme (espoused theory), while actually having a lenient approach to managing students (theory-in-use). Argyris and Schön, who identified the discrepancy between theories, did not see this difference as hypocrisy but rather suggested that we may not always be consciously aware of the theory to which we most strongly subscribe.
The LTP[2] aims to help you examine the differences between your espoused theory and theory-in-use. When you have completed the LTP questionnaire, you will be provided with a profile that explains how your beliefs (espoused theory) match your practice (theory-in-use).
1. Argyris, C., & Schon, D. A. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
2. Annan, J., Bowler, J., Mentis, M., & Somerville, M.P. (2011). Between theory and practice falls the shadow: The learning theories profile. Manuscript submitted for publication.