|
Philosophy can be a tool for improving practice; however, the gap between philosophy and practice often seems impossible to close. Elias identified four ways in which this distance can be lessened: explanation, criticism, direction, and imagination. For instance, philosophy can be used to explain results and process, while the experience of practice gives new insights into theory. Criticism refers to determining how well a given theory seems to fit reality. Through criticism, we can examine the mission of Extension and identify some basic assumptions about the clients we serve. Third, just as philosophy can serve as a guide for practice, practice can give direction to philosophy and research. Experiences in climate setting, instructional planning, and evaluation of learning provide a basis for determining the effectiveness of a theory in a practical manner and can lead to the development of researchable questions. Finally, imagination can help expand the limits of what's believed to be possible in a given situation and, as a result, make it possible to move in new directions. The growing emphasis on distance delivery approaches, such as satellite teleconferencing, is one example of imagination in Extension.
|