Education Commons^™

Design And Evaluation Of A Problem-Based Learning Environment For Teacher Training, Laura Hemker, Claudia Prescher, Susanne Narciss

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Problem-based learning can have a great impact on the acquisition of practical knowledge, which is a central learning aim in the field of teacher education. Therefore, we implemented a problem-based learning approach in four seminars on educational assessment. In this paper, we outline our didactic design and discuss the results of the first evaluations, which explored acceptance of the approach, learning results, and expected applicability of the acquired knowledge.

The results show benefits of the problem-based learning approach, but also room for improvement. Specifically, the use of problems from multiple contexts (theoretical foundations and direct practical application) and the flexible …

Numeracy Across The Curriculum In Australian Schools: Teacher Education Students’ And Practicing Teachers’ Views And Understandings Of Numeracy, Helen J. Forgasz, Gilah Leder, Jennifer Hall

Numeracy

In this article, we confront the challenges to teacher education students and practicing teachers raised by the concept of numeracy and its place in the curriculum. In the Australian Curriculum, there is an expectation that teachers at all grade levels and in all subject areas develop students' numeracy capabilities. At Monash University, a public, research-intensive university, the largest university in Australia, graduate level teacher education students are now required to complete a course entitled Numeracy for Learners and Teachers. We describe the content of this course and, from an online survey, report findings of the impact on students' understandings …

A Progressive Approach To The Education Of Teachers: Some Principles From Bank Street College Of Education, Nancy Nager, Edna Shapiro

Occasional Paper Series

In this paper we present Bank Street’s approach as represented in a set of five inter-related principles. We begin by briefly describing the origins and rationale of teacher education at Bank Street. From this description we generate principles that emerge from Bank Street’s history and practice, linking each principle to classroom images of teaching and learning. Enactment of these principles can and must vary in response to changing circumstances, needs, and mandates. In our view, this necessary variation highlights the guiding function of an explicit set of principles to govern and ensure the consonance, validity, and legitimacy of new practices.

A Simulation Pedagogical Approach To Engaging Generalist Pre-Service Teachers In Physical Education Online: The Gopro Trial 1.0, Brendon P. Hyndman

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There has been a continuous increase in enrolments within teacher education programs in recent years delivered via online and external modes. Such levels of enrolment have raised discussion around the theory-practice nexus and whether pre-service teachers (PSTs) can optimally engage with practical learning components via online platforms. This paper provides insight into the potential and feasibility of using GoPro video technology as an innovation in online teacher education delivery of practical physical education (PE) classes. Upon completion of the university semester, qualitative data was collected detailing the generalist PSTs’ perceptions relating to the potential of using GoPro video footage to …

School Leaders’ Perspectives On Educating Teachers To Work In Vulnerable Communities: New Insights From The Coal Face, Lynette Longaretti, Dianne Toe

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Classroom teacher quality can significantly impact student learning outcomes. Increased access to skilled teachers in low socioeconomic status (SES) schools could substantially improve the learning outcomes and engagement levels of young people.

The National Exceptional Teaching for Disadvantaged Schools (NETDS) programme is a university based Teacher Education programme that has been implemented by Deakin University in the Geelong/Werribee area. It seeks to prepare high achieving pre-service teachers (PSTs) to teach in low SES school settings.

This project investigated the views of school leadership teams in low SES schools including their views of an exemplary teacher, and the understandings and skills …

Active Learning And Self-Regulation Enhance Student Teachers’ Professional Competences, Päivi Virtanen, Hannele M. Niemi, Anne Nevgi

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The study identifies the relationships between active learning, student teachers’ self-regulated learning and professional competences. Further, the aim is to investigate how active learning promotes professional competences of student teachers with different self-regulation profiles. Responses from 422 student teachers to an electronic survey were analysed using statistical methods. It was found that the use of active learning methods, such as goal-oriented and intentional learning as well as autonomous and responsible group work, are strongly and positively related to the achievement of professional competences. To develop the best competences, student teachers need high learning motivation and excellent self-regulation strategies. The mean …

Any Time, Any Place, Flexible Pace: Technology-Enhanced Language Learning In A Teacher Education Programme, Jocelyn M. Howard, Adèle Scott

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Ongoing developments in e-learning, improved internet accessibility and increased digital citizenry provide exciting opportunities to integrate effective classroom pedagogies with online educational technologies, creating mixed-mode courses to enhance student engagement and facilitate greater autonomous learning. This research examines pre-service teacher education students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of experiential and digitally-mediated tools which take them beyond the constraints of traditional lecture-type delivery. Quantitative and qualitative results from distance and face-to-face cohorts show the value the students ascribe to tools employed in a modified language course. These are discussed in relation to reported changes in students’ proficiency in the target language and …

Validation Of The Malaysian Version Of The Teacher Education Program Coherence Questionnaire, Pauline Swee Choo Goh, Qismullah Yusuf

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The main purpose of this study was to validate a Malay Language version of a 30-item teacher education program coherence questionnaire. Two different samples of preservice teachers completed the Malay translation of the questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis (N=220) showed four types of perceived program coherence which had good internal consistency ranging from 0.79 to 0.86: ‘Opportunity to enact practice’, ‘Opportunity to analyze practice’, ‘Opportunity to connect ideas across courses’ and ‘Coherence between courses and practical experience’. The confirmatory factor analysis (N= 234) provided support for a four-factor model. In addition, an analysis of criterion validity of the four types of …