I came across a nice argument for not tossing out theory when it comes to professional development training. Links to this and the other article are at the end.
"7. Teachers want PD that is practical and not theoretical.
Hmmm. This one bothers me just a bit. Teachers are often treated as though they are the working class of the education world. The teaching profession is seen as a semi-profession. Why? Because we are one that does not police its own. That has to change.
You have to own something before you can evaluate it and before you can give it away to your students. If we can’t find joy in scholarship, if we do not own the ideas we are using, how do we know they are in the best interest of the students we love so dear?
Again, skill building (how to use Google Docs or a set of math tools) may not require a deep understanding of theory behind the tool, but when we are working on becoming better teachers (#6), that demands you understand the theory and evidence behind what you are doing. As a professional, you need to be able to defend your pedagogical stance. Teachers should be most literate about the ideas, strategies, dispositions and values they are incorporating into their practice. If you do not understand and are not able to articulate the theoretical underpinnings- then how can you be sure you should be using them with children?"
Everything has a theory behind it. Knowing some will help you be a better teacher. I made 3 short (under a minute) videos on Vimeo illustrating this. Here are my links:
Hungry? (Part 1)
Still Hungry? (Part 2)
Still Hungry? (Part 3)
Citations
10 things Teachers Want in Professional Development is an article by Sheryl Nussbaum-beach (plpnetwork.com August 28th, 2015) that is commenting and rebutting this article: http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/08/11/listening-to-teachers-how-school-districts-can-adopt-meaningful-change/
Whew...! Two links!