It may be a contested theory, but, personally, I see value in considering Lee Shulman’s signature pedagogies when conceptualising preparation for entering vocational professions and trades.  

Signature pedagogies combine knowledge with the habits of mind required to make judgements. They are often so ingrained in practice that we may cease to be aware of them: they simply become so much part of “what we do”. Regardless, I think it would benefit all of us to have a greater awareness of these pedagogies and what they allow us to “teach” our students.

Shulman normally outlines signature pedagogies by asking you to consider the way doctors and lawyers are trained. For doctors, it may be the bedside training you see everywhere from Carry On Doctor to Scrubs. For lawyers, it could be the courtroom-style exchanges we see play out in TV series like Suits and Judge John Deed where legal precedent is debated.  

More by Sam Jones: Four tips for mentors on teacher training

Need to know: How Ofsted plans to inspect colleges this year

The impact of course choice at 16: What the research says

These pedagogies aren’t restricted to these professions. For example, learning how to act “in situ” is a common part of preparation for other professionals, including teaching and learning. And learning how to syllogise is part of understanding philosophy as well as politics. 

Rather than ownership, what is important is understanding how these work as a pedagogy and why that pedagogy may be important to teaching and preparation for a particular profession or trade.

In my master’s degree, I explored how vocational teachers create their own CPD, and I began to pick up what I would now consider as signature pedagogies. 

Signature pedagogies: How do they work in FE?

Benjamin is a good example. He was a new carpentry teacher just starting his PGCE and his professional development hinged around a more experienced member of staff mentoring him through a joinery qualification. The mentoring was really important because it gave him the opportunity to learn how to approach tasks, what made a quality piece of joinery, as well as how to achieve some of the more difficult techniques. Benjamin was learning the habits of mind, quality standards and techniques that seem to be indicative of a signature pedagogy. But it was when he increased the use of mentoring in his own classroom that I was really convinced. 

As part of my methodology, I asked my participants to complete an exercise before and after the professional development exploring which teaching methods they are using most in their classrooms. 

In Benjamin’s case, mentoring went from being unmentioned at the start of the project to being central by the end. Moreover, Benjamin was able to justify why this had happened and explain his decision making in using the pedagogical approach with his learners.  He was also able to explain that one of the reasons he’d chosen to be mentored through the qualification was that that was the way he’d learned in the classroom and on-site. So, it began to look like an important pedagogical tool in this context.

I was recently lucky enough to work with teachers from our counselling department. They, too, have a signature pedagogy: a particular way of listening and talking which keeps their own experience and self separate from the person they are working with. From the “check-in” discussions in which students discuss their week and its challenges, to the role play of “helper” and “helpee”, these students are being taught to communicate in very particular ways. However, if an observer is unaware of this signature pedagogy, the activity could be seen as time filling. 

Without knowledge of the signature pedagogies for a profession or trade, changes may be introduced that tick the boxes but miss the point. For example, removing the “check in” may appear to create a session more focused on content learning, but it would remove the focus from developing an effective and ethical counsellor at the end of the course.

Understanding the signature pedagogies for each trade and profession is not an esoteric activity. These pedagogies are often “passed down” and have probably endured due to their fit: it’s about so much more than “how to do” something, it’s about the habits of mind required of the profession or trade. 

Overall, I think these pedagogies are important in the preparation of vocational teachers - and, therefore, it  would be sensible to raise awareness of them in initial teacher education and continuing professional development.

Sam Jones is the chair of the steering committee at the Research College Group and founder of FEResearchmeet