Refraining the Relationship Between Teacher Thinking and Teacher Behaviour: levels in learning about teaching

Abstract

This article presents a new conceptualization of the relationship between teacher thinking and teacher behaviour. First, it is argued that much of a teacher's behaviour is determined by Gestalts within the teacher, i.e. dynamic unities of perception, internal processes and action, triggered by the contact between the teacher and the situation. Second, three levels of teacher knowledge are distinguished: the Gestalt level, the schema level and the theory level. The processes of Gestalt formation, schematization and theory‐building are analysed. The three levels are illustrated by means of excerpts from interviews with teachers and non‐teachers. Following a theoretical reflection on the proposed view of teacher knowledge, its implications for teacher education and research on teaching are discussed.