Education Commons^™

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 …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Using Peer-Dialogue Assessment (Pda) For Improving Pre-Service Teachers' Perceived Confidence And Competence To Teach Physical Education, Narelle Eather, Nick Riley, Drew Miller, Bradley Jones

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Developing effective methods for improving student learning in higher education is a priority. Recent findings have shown that feedback on student work can effectively facilitate learning if students are engaged as active participants in the feedback cycle; where they seek, generate and use feedback in the form of dialogue. This novel study investigates the use of peer dialogue assessment as an assessment for learning tool used in an existing undergraduate physical education course. Our findings demonstrate that when thirty six undergraduate physical education students were provided with instruction and practice using peer dialogue assessment after consecutive teaching performances, they exhibit …

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 …

Exploring The Value Of Service-Learning On Pre-Service Teachers, Amanda Mergler, Suzanne B. Carrington, Peter Boman, Megan P. Kimber, Derek Bland

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Service-learning as a transformative pedagogy within university education is becoming increasingly popular in Australia. Advocates of service-learning indicate that the practice of combining community based voluntary work with theoretical in-class academic knowledge leads to a greater awareness about diversity and difference in students. While such claims are enticing, particularly in pre-service teacher education where there is a need for teachers to understand and embrace diversity, it is important to determine the veracity of such claims. The current study used a repeated measures design to explore whether engaging in service-learning as part of an inclusive education unit resulted in changes in …

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 …

Predictors Of Teacher Educators' Research Productivity, Fadia M. Nasser-Abu Alhija, Arin Majdob

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study examined the relationship between teacher educators' research productivity (RP) and their background and professional characteristics, attitudes, motives, obstacles and time devoted to research. The sample included 161 teacher educators from four teacher education colleges in Israel. The findings indicate the significance of five variables for predicting RP: academic degree, rank, administrative position, desire to develop new knowledge and learn from research findings and perceived insufficient research competence and self-confidence. These variables account for 37.2% of the variance in RP. The results from this study provide useful information for teacher education institutions and policy makers regarding variables significantly related …

Transforming Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs And Understandings About Design And Technologies, Marnie Best

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Design and Technologies challenges students to think differently: to think critically and creatively. Yet, how, when and why students are exposed to Design and Technologies curriculum in school classrooms is at the prerogative of their teacher. For this reason, it is imperative that pre-service teachers are inspired by and engaged through relevant, rigorous and responsive courses throughout their undergraduate teaching program. Situated within the Bachelor of Education (Primary and Middle) degree at the University of South Australia, Australia, this study captures pre-service teachers’ emerging beliefs, attitudes and understandings of Design and Technologies. Drawing on the comparative responses of pre-service teachers …

Investigating The Relationships Between Education And Culture For Female Students In Tertiary Settings In The Uae, Beverley Mcclusky

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This research is about the higher education of Indigenous Emirati women and how they balance the intricate demands of higher education with the social customs of a traditional society and the expectations placed on women. The study sought to identify and comprehend the issues which have affected the educational changes that are taking place, including culture, gender, religion, the influence of Western education processes, and the desire of an Indigenous population to raise their educational practices to an internationally recognised benchmark.

The research was aimed at providing insights into the distinctiveness of this group of women from their social and …

Curriculum Renewal: Barriers To Successful Curriculum Change And Suggestions For Improvement, Trudi Cooper

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This article examines the practical difficulties encountered when a renewed curriculum is implemented in higher education. Attention has been given in the literature to the importance of coherent curriculum and approaches to curriculum design. Less attention has been paid to whether the renewed curriculum can be faithfully implemented within a given university context and how constraints to implementation change the curriculum design. Practical barriers to implementation arose from several sources. These included: how to ensure that all staff understood and supported the new approaches, in the context of a casualized academic workforce; the need for academics to find sufficient time …

Conversation With Presence: A Narrative Inquiry Into The Learning Experience Of Chinese Students Studying Nursing At Australian Universities, Carol C. Wang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Aim

The aim of this methodological article is to reflect on and extend current understandings of the possibilities of narrative inquiry research giving voice to students, and to expand the power of story by sharing the philosophical, theoretical, and methodological considerations of narrative inquiry in an international education context

Background

There has been much discussion about the need in providing a ‘voice’ to people across the society, who feel marginalised in many contexts, including international students. There is limited research about Chinese students studying in Australia. In particular, the learning experience of Chinese nursing students has not been fully explored …

Reforming Initial Teacher Education: A Call For Innovation, Tony Yeigh, David Lynch

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A variety of public critiques, reports and government reviews into Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Australia and globally have called for a rethink on teacher education. Similarly, key researchers such as Hattie (2011), Smith and Lynch (2010) and Ingvarson et al. (2014) have argued for new, innovative approaches to ITE that are able to provide alternative pathways to the training of teachers. From this perspective the current article examines several models and features of ITE in terms of innovation. This examination provides clarification concerning the nature and role of ITE reform, as well as a series of arguments highlighting the …

Designing For Diverse Learning: Case Study Of Place-Based Learning In Design And Technologies Pre-Service Teacher Education, Marnie Best, Denise Macgregor, Deborah Price

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Place-based learning experiences in Design and Technologies education connect people and place with design processes and products. Drawing on place-based learning, this case study shares the experiences of eight final year pre-service Design and Technologies education students from the University of South Australia as they collaborated with in-service teachers and learners within a secondary special education setting. This study reports on the design and development processes that pre-service teachers adopted to produce a sensory teaching resource to stimulate interaction, coordination and fine motor skills for students with diverse learning needs. Qualitative data, incorporating a survey and group design folio, were …

Purpose-Built, Web-Based Professional Portfolios: Reflective, Developmental And Showcase, Susan Blackley, Dawn Bennett, Rachel Sheffield

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This pilot study examined student engagement with a web-based digital professional portfolio through the 3C process of collect-critique-curate. To overcome common problems associated with electronic portfolios, including cost; specificity; lifelong access; and ease of use, the study used Weebly as its portfolio platform. The creation and use of the portfolio was embedded into the first professional studies unit in the second year of an undergraduate initial teacher education degree, and technical seminars ensured that the base portfolio was created. As students reflected on possible sources of evidence to demonstrate achievement of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2011) and …

Fostering Creative Ecologies In Australasian Secondary Schools, Leon R. De Bruin, Anne Harris

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigates and compares elements of creativity in secondary schools and classrooms in Australia and Singapore. Statistical analysis and qualitative investigation of teacher, student and leadership perceptions of the emergence, fostering and absence of creativity in school learning environments is explored. This large-scale international study (n=717) reveals the impact of teacher behaviours, teaching environments and school leadership approaches that promote and impede the enhancement of creative, critical, and innovative thinking, organisation, and curriculum structures. Implications for Australian schools and teaching urge for secondary education to challenge current, practices, pedagogies and environments, arguing for school-based strategies and considerations that enhance …

International Students Experience In Teacher Education: Creating Context Through Play Workshops, Dawn Joseph, Elizabeth Rouse

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Higher education in Australia attracts many international students. Universities are challenged to prepare them with the necessary understandings, knowledge and skills to effectively participate in their study. For international students, understanding Early Childhood contexts in Australia is a new way of viewing teaching and learning from their own cultural perspective. This paper situates itself as part of a wider study “Improving work placement for international students, their mentors and other stakeholders”. A pilot program was run at Deakin University for the Master of Teaching Early Childhood students to undertake play workshops before commencing placement. Questionnaires were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological …

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 …

Enhancing Phonological Awareness And Orthographic Knowledge Of Preservice Teachers: An Intervention Through Online Coursework, Marleen F. Westerveld, Georgina M. Barton

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The teaching of reading is a core priority across the education sector. In an attempt to better prepare our next generation of professional teachers of reading, academic staff at an Australian university implemented coursework changes that were designed to enhance the phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge of first-year preservice teacher education students. All students were asked to complete written surveys measuring phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge during class-time at the start and end of their first semester of study. During the semester, students were expected to complete two online modules on phonological awareness and orthographic conventions and pass an online …

International Postgraduate Students And Their Reasons For Choosing To Study At Public Universities In Perth, Western Australia, Steven Cohen

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The global higher education sector has become increasingly competitive. A large segment of that market now consists of attracting international students. Understanding why these students are motivated to study overseas is crucial for universities seeking to attract the transnational students as well as for the host country. Trading education is now Australia’s third largest export. As the international market for students becomes more crowded, it is imperative that thorough and concise research occurs to assist local universities within Australia to maintain their competitive advantage.

Perth, Western Australia (WA) comprises a small segment of the international Australian tertiary education market. An …

Chinese Nursing Students At Australian Universities: A Narrative Inquiry Into Their Motivation, Learning Experience, And Future Career Planning, Carol Chungfeng Wang

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study presents a narrative inquiry of Chinese nursing students at Australian universities in order to examine these students’ motivations, learning experiences and future career planning. Australia seeks to attract international nursing students from China to maintain its economic advantage and alleviate its projected nursing shortage. In contrast, China desperately needs its best and brightest citizens who have trained abroad as nurses to return to China in order to cope with its current challenges in the healthcare system and nursing education. Little is known about the underlying factors that motivate Chinese nursing students to study in Australia, these students’ learning …

Creative River Journeys: Using Reflective Practice To Investigate Creative Practice-Led Research, Kylie J. Stevenson

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This ‘Creative River Journey’ doctoral study explored the processes of art practice and knowledge-making by six artist–researchers engaged in creative higher degrees by research (HDR) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) in three arts disciplines—performing arts, visual arts, and creative writing. The study applied the Creative River Journey (CRJ) reflective practice strategy, originally applied as the River Journey tool in music education (Burnard, 2000; Kerchner, 2006), but further developed by the researcher into a three-phase reflective practice strategy for its application in complex practice-led research projects over the extended period of the participants’ HDR studies. Six rich cases studies of HDR …