Practical Theory in Design for Change

A key assumption of this book described in the Chap. 1 was the need for theory in teacher preparation program design. While this is sometimes discussed (Bell, 2004; Franz, 2007; Tellings, 2011), little research has focused specifically on a theorized program design processes in teacher education. This chapter builds the case for using theory as a basis for teacher education program design with a focus on self-organization. A distinction is made between design theory and the role of theory in program content (e.g., theory of curriculum, learning and pedagogy, etc.) taught to students as they are learning about different aspects of the cognate.