As an ELT teacher and teacher educator, I have seen firsthand the limitations of traditional teacher training practice. Too often, teacher training programs focus on developing teaching competencies, such as procedures, routines, and lesson planning, at the expense of activities that develop performative skills such as building awareness of self, others, and environment (group dynamics, building trust, rapport). This focus on competencies leads to a teacher-centered approach to teaching, where the teacher is seen as the expert who imparts knowledge to the students.

I believe that teacher education should be more heuristic and focus on teacher improvisation, embodied practices, and emergent understandings. This means that teacher training programs should focus on helping teachers develop their own unique teaching styles and approaches, rather than trying to fit them into a mold. It also means that teacher training programs should focus on helping teachers develop their own understanding of teaching and learning, rather than simply providing them with a set of pre-determined methods and techniques.

The current hegemony of learner-centered methodology is a case in point. Most teacher education programs claim to be learner-centered, but in reality, they operate on a trainer-led transmission model of education. This means that teachers are taught how to deliver a set of pre-determined lessons, rather than being given the opportunity to develop their own teaching styles and approaches. As a result, teachers often feel stifled and unable to be creative in their teaching.

I believe that teacher education should be about more than just developing teaching competencies. It should be about helping teachers develop their own unique teaching styles and approaches, and their own understanding of teaching and learning. This can only be achieved through a heuristic approach to teacher education that focuses on teacher improvisation, embodied practices, emergent understandings and activities to encourage reflection on individuals’ identities as teachers.

Here are some specific suggestions for how teacher education can be made more heuristic:

• Provide opportunities for teachers to reflect on their own teaching and learning through participatory activities.
• Encourage teachers to experiment with different teaching styles and approaches.
• Create a supportive environment where teachers feel safe to take risks and experiment.
• Provide opportunities for teachers to collaborate with other teachers to build trust, collaboration and personal disclosure.
• Offer professional development opportunities that focus on developing facilitation skills.

I believe that by making teacher education more heuristic, we can help teachers become more creative, innovative, and effective educators.