Between Routines and Anarchy: preparing teachers for uncertainty

Abstract Many aspects of teaching reveal it to be an activity imbued with uncertainty. Teachers are frequently unsure of their students' knowledge and understanding, of the effects of their instructional strategies, of the most appropriate content to cover in their limited time with students, and ultimately of their own intellectual and social authority. Initial inclinations to reduce teachers' uncertainty through the introduction of routines or through more extensive subject matter study may be misguided, however, for whereas too much uncertainty may promote anarchy, too little uncertainty may engender dogmatism. Teacher educators might instead consider introducing their students to the myriad uncertainties they will face in their work, assist them in learning to judge when it may be desirable to increase certainty, and encourage them to view remaining uncertainties as an essential driving force in teaching.