Reconceptualizing training as professional formation in the fields of autism and infant mental health

The teaching and helping professions continually evolve in their discernment of effective models of pedagogy (teaching) by considering models of epistemology (learning). Two principal questions must be answered: “How do we best teach about our discipline?" and “How do learners come to know what they know.” This chapter questions common methods of professional development which often rely heavily on “training” which emphasizes transmission of core knowledge, viewed as fundamental to the discipline, and on the development of skills, viewed as derivatives of that core knowledge. This approach fails to adequately recognize and apply the science of interpersonal processes and the affective and interpersonal context of our work and learning.