Education Commons^™

Dynamic Variables Of Science Classroom Discourse In Relation To Teachers’ Instructional Beliefs, Sibel Kaya

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The current study examines if the occurence of dynamic variables namely, authentic questions, uptake, high-level evaluation and student questions in primary science classrooms vary by teachers’ instructional beliefs. Twelve 4^th grade teachers from two different schools volunteered to participate in the study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to determine teachers’ instructional beliefs, classroom practices and dynamic variables of classroom discourse. Results showed that teachers were more teacher-centred in their classroom practices than their instructional beliefs. There were no differences among teachers with different instructional beliefs in …

Autoethnography And Teacher Education: Snapshot Stories Of Cultural Encounter, Maureen F. Legge

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this paper I discuss how I framed and wrote an autoethnographic personal narrative of my lived experience as a New Zealand physical education teacher educator in the presence of two cultures, Māori and Pākehā. Central to my qualitative study was writing as a method of inquiry. Using this method I wrote a series of descriptive ‘snapshot stories’ derived from field experiences, over an 11 year period, that involved close and prolonged encounters with physical education teacher education (PETE) students in tertiary classrooms and 4 day marae stays. The storied accounts served as data for self-reflexivity about my role as …

Effectiveness Of Research-Based Teacher Professional Development:, Rebecca Saunders

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A significant body of literature assists researchers and program designers to identify the desirable characteristics of professional development for teachers. Few studies, however, specifically examine the operation and outcomes of programs built upon research-led principles. This study uses a sequential mixed methods design to examine a four-year systemic-change professional development initiative designed to extend and refine the instructional processes of teachers working in the vocational education and training (VET) system in Western Australia. The program’s design incorporated theory and research on systemic change and teacher professional development. Findings reveal that the program was successful in helping teachers extend and refine …

Curriculum To The Classroom: Investigating The Spatial Practices Of Curriculum Implementation In Queensland Schools And Its Implications For Teacher Education, Georgina M. Barton, Susanne Garvis, Mary E. Ryan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Change is something that both pre-service and practising teachers face regularly throughout their professional lives. Curriculum change and consequential implementation is a case in point. This paper investigates the perspectives of a number of school-based stakeholders in regard to the implementation of the C2C materials in Queensland schools and how this has potential consequences for teacher education programs. It shows that often contradictory spaces emerge in regard to curriculum enactment and argues that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is not the most effective way to implement new curriculum. A transformative third space is offered whereby teachers are accorded with …

Boys And Csa Prevention: Issues Surrounding Gender And Approaches For Prevention, Laura Scholes, Christian Jones, Michael Nagel

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Freda Briggs (2007), a leader in the field of child protection in Australia continues to raise concerns about the vulnerability and victimisation of boys that she believes is substantially under-recognised. She argues that boys have not been well supported by child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention programs with child protection curriculum not yet developed to meet the special needs of boys. Briggs (2007) advocates for school-based child protection programs that address issues relevant for boys. This paper responds to these concerns and explores some of the complexities inherent in issues associated with boys and CSA including boys’ perceptions of abuse, their …

Title: How Do Preservice Teacher Education Students Move From Novice To Expert Assessors?, Peter R. Grainger, Lenore Adie

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Despite the acknowledged importance of assessment in education, there has been minimal research into the preparation of preservice teachers for the important role of involving preservice teachers in marking, grading, moderating and providing feedback on student work. This article reports on a pilot project in which preservice teachers participated in an ongoing peer assessment and social moderation process in a dedicated course on assessment. The purpose of the project was to investigate specific ways in which key assessment processes can be effectively taught to preservice teachers. The research involved 96 preservice teachers who completed a Likert scale survey and free …

“Creative Writing As Freedom, Education As Exploration”: Creative Writing As Literary And Visual Arts Pedagogy In The First Year Teacher-Education Experience, Nicole Anae

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The themed presentation at the Sydney Writers’ Festival on May 25, 2013 entitled “Creative Writing as Freedom, Education as Exploration” brought together three key players in a discussion about imaginative freedom, and the evidence suggesting that the impact of creativity and creative writing on young minds held long lasting, ongoing implications. This is a particularly crucial conversation given the factors stifling creative writing pedagogies in contemporary classrooms. In contributing to the ongoing dialogue about literary creativity, this theorized classroom-based discussion explores the integration of creative writing as literary and visual arts pedagogy among first year preservice-teachers developing an …

Norms And Varieties Of English And Tesol Teacher Agency, M. Obaidul Hamid, Lingyan Zhu, Richard B. Baldauf Jr.

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The growing recognition of the plurality of English underling the World Englishes (WE) paradigm has problematised the conventional second language acquisition (SLA) views of errors. If English use in emerging English-speaking contexts is to be judged by local norms, as argued by WE scholars, applying exocentric norms in these contexts can be inappropriate. On the other hand, despite the significant growth of WE, varieties of new Englishes have yet to develop widely acceptable endocentric norms. These developments have raised a critical question: How can TESOL teachers distinguish between errors in the SLA sense and varietal features in the WE sense? …

The New Australian Curriculum, Teachers And Change Fatigue, Jessica Dilkes, Christine Cunningham, Jan Gray

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A new national curriculum has recently been implemented across Australia. This paper reports on a case study of a regional Western Australia government school as they re-wrote and taught the phase one learning areas: maths, English, science and HASS. Results showed what it is like to work in an environment where continual change is not only expected, but also seen as best practice. Cynical, realistic and even enthusiastic teachers suffer change fatigue after years of rapid and continual curriculum change.

The research traces back the reasons why teacher change fatigue might occur using Intuitive Inquiry (Anderson & Braud, 2011) as …

Supporting The Transference Of Knowledge About Language Within Teacher Education Programs, Lisl Fenwick, Michele Endicott, Marie Quinn, Sally Humphrey

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teacher education is effective when pre-service teachers are able to transfer knowledge from content areas to practice. This study investigates the extent to which curriculum and assessment designs, along with teaching practices, supported pre-service teachers to transfer knowledge gained about language from a first-year course into a second-year course on planning for effective learning in diverse contexts. Questionnaires and discourse analysis of assessment tasks provided insight into the extent to which the strategies designed to support transference succeeded. The findings indicate that transference of language knowledge occurs when this goal permeates curriculum and assessment design, as well as teaching practices.

The Literacy Skills Of Secondary Teaching Undergraduates: Results Of Diagnostic Testing And A Discussion Of Findings, Brian Moon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract: The capacity of secondary school teachers to support general literacy and to teach discipline-specific literacy skills depends upon their personal literacy competence. Diagnostic testing of 203 secondary teaching undergraduates at one Australian university revealed deficiencies in personal literacy competence that could affect their future teaching effectiveness. The sample of undergraduates was tested in spelling, vocabulary, and punctuation. Analysis of the results showed high rates of error on general spelling and vocabulary tasks. The degree of error in many cases was severe. For some undergraduates, the prospect of successful remediation so late in their academic career appeared poor. It is …