Donald Schon
Donald A. Schon (1930-1997) was an influential thinker in the theory of education in the twentieth century. His work relates to reflection in practice and the concept of learning systems. He (along with Chris Argyris) maintained that organizations and individuals should be flexible and should incorporate lessons learned throughout their lifespans, known as organizational learning. His interest and involvement in jazz music inspired him to teach the concept of improvisation and 'thinking on one's feet', and that through a feedback loop of experience, learning and practice, we can continually improve our work (whether educational or not) and become a 'reflective practitioner'. Thus, the work of Schon fits in with twentieth century theories of education, like experiential education and the work of many of its most important theorists, namely John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, Carl Rogers and David Kolb.
Some works by Donald Schon:
- Schon, D.A. (1973) Beyond the Stable State: Public and private learning in a changing society, Hammondsworth:Penguin
- Argyris, C. and Schon, D.A. (1978). Organizational Learning: A theory of action perspective, Addison-Wesley, Reading MA, 1978
- Schon, D.A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How professionals think in action, London:Temple Smith
- Schon, D.A. (1987) Educating the Reflective Practitioner, San Francisco:Jossey-Bass