A Postmethod Pedagogy; Reality or Fallacy in Enhancing Teacher Growth: Special Focus on Higher Education in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Postmethod pedagogy, emerged as an alternative to the concept of method and method based pedagogy which consists of so many limitations, basically focuses on the professional growth of the teachers in ESL teaching and learning context. Stern‟s three dimensional framework and Kumaravadivelu‟s Macro-strategic framework drawn from “theoretical, empirical and experiential knowledge” (Kumaravadivelu, 2006, p. 185) are the main concepts included in the postmethod pedagogy. It prioritises teachers‟ potentials by accentuating their experiences as teachers, parents/caretakers and students (Prabhu, 1990), which are underestimated in the implementation of existing methods. The knowledge of the existing methods and, the experiences and the frameworks the teachers have acquired and built can be exploited to construct their own methods and thus, they can act as evaluators, observers, critical thinkers, theorisers and practitioners. Postmethod pedagogy is crucial for teacher growth since it involves teachers constructing “classroom-oriented” theories of practice (Kumaravadivelu, 1994, p. 29) This, in turn, makes them valuable sources for prospective teachers and their colleagues leading to professional growth (Kumaravadivelu, 2006). The present critical paper is therefore written in an attempt to see whether postmethod pedagogy is fully capable of building the professional growth of the teachers in the ESL contexts of higher education in Sri Lanka. The author concludes that postmethod pedagogy when applied effectively allows to enhance the teacher growth which is one of the ultimate objectives of the pedagogy.