Innovative pedagogies: 'It's all about the shoes' - exploring the perspectives of others and ourselves in teacher education

Abstract

This pedagogical approach aims to facilitate the development of professional empathy through exploring different perspectives. Our ‘walking in different shoes’ approach is drawn from years of experience and is appropriate for those working in the ‘people professions’. Working with pupils and other professionals involves building relationships and for this one needs curiosity and motivation to understand oneself and others. This text explains practical, experiential and arts-informed approaches we have used to work with groups to enable participants to identify and critique assumptions and to explore the ways in which they and others see the world. Activities are designed to enable participants to identify shifts in their own thinking and the implications for their practice. We share our experience of the benefits and challenges of these approaches and how we have worked within curriculum, group size and time constraints to enable this type of work to be undertaken.