Education Commons^™

Using Assessment To Develop Social Responsibility As A Graduate Attribute In Teacher Education, Kerry Howells, Noleine Fitzallen, Christine Adams

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Australian higher education institutions have struggled to develop clear strategies for developing and assessing graduate attributes within their specific disciplinary contexts. Using the example of the graduate attribute of social responsibility, this paper explores the outcomes of using assessment tasks to raise the awareness of development of graduate attributes, while at the same time contextualising their meaning and relevance within pre-service teachers’ immediate lived experiences within the study situation. The data collected were pre- and post-surveys as well as written reflections. The findings indicate that if embedded in an explicit way in assessment tasks that require reflection on the development …

Navigating The Challenges Of Becoming A Culturally Responsive Teacher: Supportive Networking May Be The Key, Nina L. Nilsson Ph.D., Ailing Kong Ph.D., Shantel Hubert

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Research shows graduates of teacher education programs do not always transfer, or apply, the best practices they learn to instructional practice due to factors related to course features, the student, and workplace environment (e.g., Brown & Bentley, 2004; de Jong et al., 2010). This study examined the challenges a secondary-level English teacher in the United States encountered when she attempted to implement culturally responsive teaching practices she learned from a graduate course to her class with ELLs. Findings indicate she faced strategy- and language-related challenges due to student culture and school environment factors (“external challenges”), as well as her own …

‘Knowing Your Students’ In The Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Classroom, Robyn Moloney, David Saltmarsh

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The population movement of globalization brings greater cultural and linguistic diversity (CALD) to communities and education systems. To address the growing diversity in school classrooms, beginning teachers need an expanded set of skills and attitudes to support effective learning. It is an expectation today that teachers know their students and how the students learn. It follows that lecturers and tutors should also know something of the cultural and linguistic profile of their pre-service teacher education students. This article reports a study in a university which examined its teacher education practice in this light. It assessed the curriculum provision of material …

The Transformation Of Creativity In Entrepreneurial Learning In Teacher Education: A Critical Reflection, Anna Ehrlin, Eva Insulander, Anette Sandberg

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this study is to examine how students on a teacher education programme interpret entrepreneurial learning. The study was performed in Sweden, based on a design theoretical and multimodal perspective on learning and communication which provides the basis for how we understand learning processes in early teacher education. The sample consists of course literature, teachers’ PowerPoint presentations and handouts, and narrative texts written by students. The meaning given to entrepreneurial learning is presented from the analysis of the setting, in the teaching materials and the transformation in the students’ texts. We conclude that entrepreneurial learning seeks to challenge …

Ethics Education In Australian Preservice Teacher Programs: A Hidden Imperative?, Helen J. Boon, Bruce Maxwell

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper provides a snapshot of the current approach to ethics education in accredited Australian pre-service teacher programs. Methods included a manual calendar search of ethics related subjects required in teacher programs using a sample of 24 Australian universities and a survey of 26 university representatives. Findings show a paucity of required standalone ethics subjects in the pre-service teacher training programs despite recent accreditation requirements by AITSL. When analysed by program type, the prevalence of an ethics related subject requirement in pre-service teacher programs revealed a concerning trend; post graduate programs, as a general rule, had a much lower prevalence …

Role Perception Among Faculty Members At Teacher Education Colleges, Esther Grobgeld, Ariela Teichman-Weinberg, Egoza Wasserman, Mercedes Barchilon Ben-Av

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The goal of this study was to examine how faculty members at academic colleges of education perceive their role and to consider elements of their work that need to be included in a professional profile definition. All faculty of one college of education were asked: "What are the tasks/obligations of a faculty member at a college of education? Please list the ones important to you." Content analysis yielded eight themes which were used for construction of a closed questionnaire containing 61 items describing teacher educator tasks. This questionnaire was distributed to all teacher-training colleges nationwide. The faculty members were found …

Becoming A Reflective In-Service Teacher: Role Of Research Attitude, Maria A. Impedovo, Sufiana Khatoon Malik

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this article we consider the importance of the role of reflective practice and research attitude for the professional development of in-service teachers. Nine teachers engaged in an international master course (in a Belgium and French university) are interviewed to obtain self-narratives. The two years full-time master was aimed to acquire skills of science educational research. The interview was conducted at the end of the master to explore their reflective practices and to evaluate the impact of the research attitude developed during the master on their reflective practices.

From the results we can consider how the reflection practice is differently …

Slowmation: An Innovative Twenty-First Century Teaching And Learning Tool For Science And Mathematics Pre-Service Teachers, Kathryn Paige, Brendan Bentley, Stephen Dobson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Slowmation is a twenty-first century digital literacy educational tool. This teaching and learning tool has been incorporated as an assessment strategy in the curriculum area of science and mathematics with pre-service teachers (PSTs). This paper explores two themes: developing twenty-first century digital literacy skills and modelling best practice assessment tools. In the growing debate about the impact of multi-model representations, researchers such as Hoban and Nielsen, and Brown, Murcia and Hackling emphasise the development of conceptual understandings and semiotics. This paper focuses on PSTs’ experiences of and reflections on Slowmation as an educational tool. Data was collected from a cohort …

The Use Of The Internet For English Language Teachers’ Professional Development In Arab Countries, Mohammad Madallh Alhabahba, Omer Hassan Ali Mahfoodh

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigated the relationship between English language teachers’ motives to use online teaching resources and three types of Internet practices: teachers’ practices in using the Internet to collaborate with others, teachers’ practices for classroom teaching, and the Internet’s contribution to the overall professional development of teachers. Gender was also used to assess differences in the proposed model. In this study, one hundred and seventy-four English language teachers completed an online survey. SmartPLS was used to assess the measurement and the structural models. The results indicated that participation was a significant determinant of both English language teachers’ Internet-related practices at …

Inclusive Values: Exploring The Perspectives Of Pre-Service Teachers, Amanda Mergler, Suzanne Carrington, Megan Kimber, Derek Bland

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Since the turn of the century there has been an increasing focus on inclusive education in Australian schools, and growing interest in understanding how the values of pre-service teachers impact on their willingness to implement inclusive principles in their future classrooms. The current qualitative study explored the values and views toward diversity and inclusion of pre-service teachers at one university in Queensland, Australia. Results showed that first and fourth year pre-service teachers held similar ideas about the values that teachers should have, and showed congruence between their own personal values and teacher values. Fourth year students who had undertaken an …

Preparing International Pre-Service Teachers For Professional Placement: In-School Induction, Sasikala Nallaya

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on an Australian University’s support program to prepare its first year international pre-service teachers (IPSTs) for professional placement. The aim of the program was to address some of the practicum challenges experienced by the IPSTs. A case study was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of the program. Ten international students enrolled in the Master of Teaching program were participants of this investigation. Data was collected through a questionnaire administered post-program and non-participant observation. The findings indicated that the program was beneficial towards inducting IPSTs to the Australian school context and contributed towards their confidence, communicative skills, and …

Transforming Pedagogies: Encouraging Pre-Service Teachers To Engage The Power Of The Arts In Their Approach To Teaching And Learning, Mary-Rose Mclaren, Julie Arnold

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper describes and analyses, through the use of case studies, two experiences of transformative learning in an undergraduate arts education unit. Pre-service teachers designed and engaged with arts-based curriculum activities, created their own artwork, participated in a modified production of The Tempest and kept a reflective journal. These activities constituted the data which was analysed using creative frameworks such as case writing, script writing, narrative analysis and found poetry as ways of developing richer understanding of pre-service teachers’ self-perceptions and self-awareness as teachers and as potential artists. The stories explored here uncover two different ways of encountering the challenges …

School-Based Youth Physical Activity Promotion: Thoughts And Beliefs Of Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers, Jerome N. Rachele, Thomas F. Cuddihy, Tracy L. Washington, Steven M. Mcphail

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Physical education teachers are central to the facilitation of school-based physical activity promotion. However, teachers have self-reported a lack of knowledge, skills, understanding, and competence to successfully implement these strategies. The aim of this investigation was to explore the beliefs and perceptions of pre-service physical education teachers, concerning their potential roles in future school-based programs designed to promote student physical activity. Fifty-seven pre-service physical education teachers (21 males and 36 females) had complete data and were included in the analysis. Participants responded positively, and did not reveal concerns about their capacity to facilitate school-based physical activity promotion during practicum, and …

“It’S About Improving My Practice”: The Learner Experience Of Real-Time Coaching, Erica J. Sharplin, Garth Stahl, Ben Kehrwald

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article reports on pre-service teachers’ experience of the Real-Time Coaching model, an innovative technology-based approach to teacher training. The Real-Time Coaching model uses multiple feedback cycles via wireless technology to develop within pre-service teachers the specific skills and mindset toward continual improvement. Results of this qualitative study suggest that pre-service teachers experienced an improved pedagogic practice, found the Real-Time Coaching process supportive and stress relieving, and valued its focus on practice, the explicitness of the teaching and the ability to implement feedback immediately.

Outstanding University Lecturers: Ambitious Altruists Or Mavericks Of The Academy?, Sharon Lierse

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The paper discusses the results of a research study to determine what characteristics outstanding university lecturers have in common. Academic staff and graduate students at an Australian university were invited to participate in a survey questionnaire followed by voluntary interviews. Lecturers who had been identified as outstanding were also interviewed. The five characteristics were expertise, holistic approach to learning, engaging the student, open door policy and ambitious altruists. This study found that outstanding lecturers were unconventional in their work practices and valued student learning often at the sacrifice of their own career paths. Outstanding university lecturers are ambitious altruists who …