Core Practices as a Bridging Concept Linking Teaching to Educational Research

The concept of core practices has gained increasing prominence in teacher education. However, its use is rather conceptually diffuse, as a wide range of instructional activities are labeled as core practices. The present paper aims to provide a concise theoretical definition of core practices by drawing on classic psychological categorization theory, particularly Eleanor Rosch’s notion of basic-level categories. Building on the defining features proposed in foundational work on core practices (Grossman et al., 2009; McDonald et al., 2013), this paper argues that core practices function psychologically as basic-level categories situated between highly inclusive domains of practice (e.g., lesson design) and highly specific teacher behaviors (e.g., post-question wait time), making them cognitively accessible for novices and educationally useful for organizing teacher education. To demonstrate the heuristic and practical implications of this conceptualization, we contrast core practices with established frameworks of instructional quality, such as the three basic dimensions of teaching quality. We further outline a research program investigating how core practice training can be designed to support the development of competent enactment. Finally, we argue that clearly defined core practices can serve as boundary objects that systematically link teaching practice to educational research, thereby positioning academic teacher education as a starting point for the development of professional action competence.