The concept of knowledge utilization and the nature of practical decisions are analyzed to investigate how research knowledge and effective teaching practice are related. It is argued that the personal commitments of teachers, common sense, and normative requirements can also be valid bases for action. The author points out that an over-reliance on research knowledge is unwarranted, for it is time-bound, theory-dependent, and selective. It is suggested that the question of knowledge use in teacher education and teaching can be addressed in its proper context, namely, the striving for practical wisdom. Practical decisions, however, are stated to have a necessary element of arbitrariness, and this arbitrariness that affects teaching practice calls for thought--observation, reflection, experiment, and revision. It is posited that the science of research is organized for the discipline of second thoughts and the quickening of new ones; it is concluded that the quest for knowledge utilization misreads the intelligence of research. The value of research knowledge to teachers and teacher educators, it is stated, lies primarily in the scientific ethos and in processes of inquiry, and only secondarily in the facts researchers lay claim to. (Author/JD)