Education Commons^™

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 …

Primary Mathematics Trainee Teacher Confidence And Its Relationship To Mathematical Knowledge, Stephen J. Norton

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this paper is to examine trainee primary school teachers’ confidence in their mathematical content knowledge (MCK) and confidence to teach specific primary mathematics concepts (mathematics pedagogical content knowledge –MPCK) which was correlated to their actual MCK on specific tasks. For this correlational study survey and test data were collected from a cohort of 210 trainee teachers. It was found that confidence to do and to teach mathematics was reasonably strongly correlated with competence. Trainee teachers’ confidence varied greatly depending on the specific mathematics they were attempting. When presented with specific tasks, trainees were well aware of the …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Financial Literacy And The Implications For Professional Learning, Carly M. Sawatzki, Peter A. Sullivan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Consumer, economic and financial literacy education at school is central to active and informed citizenship. Over the past decade, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has led various policy initiatives and influenced curriculum and resource development in this area. However, there remains a paucity of research exploring how Australian teachers make sense of and approach their work as financial literacy educators or their professional learning needs and interests in this interdisciplinary field. This article reports research exploring practising teachers’ perceptions of the opportunities for financial literacy teaching and learning. Data were collected from 35 teachers in 16 Victorian primary schools. …

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 …

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 …

Quality Teaching Practices As Reported By Aboriginal Parents, Students And Their Teachers: Comparisons And Contrasts, Brian Ellis Lewthwaite, Helen Boon, Tammi Webber, Gail Laffin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper summarizes the findings from the first phase of a three-part project which, overall, investigates what Aboriginal¹ students perceive as the qualities and actions of effective teachers and subsequently seeks to determine the impact of the enactment of these identified qualities on educational outcomes. This first phase of the research was centered on gathering accounts of quality teachers and teaching practice from students, parents and their teachers from phenomenologically aligned interviews. Similar and contrasting themes among these three groups are presented, with the intention of exposing potential mismatch in perception of the construct of ‘quality’ teaching. Finally, we …

Pre-Service Teachers’ Reflections: The Influence Of School 1:1 Laptop Programs On Their Developing Teaching Practice., Susan Blackley, Rebecca Walker

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Throughout Australia, many government and non-government schools have implemented a one-laptop-per-student (1:1) policy. Whilst there was initial interest in the implementation of these programs, little has been done to track the uptake of digital learning technologies afforded by access to the laptops. This study examined pre-service teachers’ reflections on their experiences with 1:1 laptop programs in their secondary schooling. The lens for this reflection was their consideration of their aspirational teaching practice. Qualitative data were collected from two successive cohorts (2014 and 2015) of the first year of a Bachelor of Education course. The objectives of the research presented in …

Teaching For ‘Historical Understanding’: What Knowledge(S) Do Teachers Need To Teach History?, Mallihai M. Tambyah

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Recent curriculum reform in history in Australia promotes ‘historical understanding’ through discipline-based teaching practice. However, many middle school teachers are new to the scope of historical knowledge and skills required. This paper reports on a case study of five Queensland teachers in one secondary school who undertook a school-based trial of the Year 8 Australian Curriculum: History in 2012 - 2013. Drawing on notions of historical consciousness and frameworks for curriculum alignment, the case study indicates that the intent of the stated curriculum to develop concepts of ‘historical understanding’ is undermined by two factors – first, teachers' inadequate knowledge of …

Exploring Student Teachers’ Views On Eportfolios As An Empowering Tool To Enhance Self-Directed Learning In An Online Teacher Education Course, Micheal M. Van Wyk

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper explores Economics student teachers’ views on ePortfolios as an empowering tool to enhance self-directed learning in an online teacher education course. An interpretive phenomenological research approach was employed for data collection and a purposive convenient sampling technique was selected to collect data. Only Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) and Batchelor of Education (BEd) Senior Phase/Further Education and Training Economics Subject Methodology (SDEC00N) student teachers registered on myUnisa for the modules were targeted. Multiple sections from the ePortfolios that had been considered for the purpose of this study were taken from their creative writing assignments, …

Perceived Social-Ecological Barriers Of Generalist Pre-Service Teachers Towards Teaching Physical Education: Findings From The Get-Pe Study, Brendon P. Hyndman

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Identifying and understanding the perceptions of pre-service teachers (PSTs) is vital to informing teaching practices. The purpose of the ‘Generalist Entry into Teaching Physical Education’ (GET-PE) study was to investigate Australian generalist PSTs' perceptions of the barriers to teaching physical education (PE) classes. A social-ecological model framework (SEM) was uniquely applied as the conceptual framework for the GET-PE study to analyse, explore and understand the multiple levels of barriers perceived by the generalist PSTs. A myriad of SEM level barriers were perceived by the generalist PSTs (n=71) at the intrapersonal level (knowledge gaps, physical abilities, reduced confidence), interpersonal level (community …

Listening To The Voices Of Education Professionals Involved In Implementing An Oral Language And Early Literacy Program In The Classroom, Maria Lennox, Susanne Garvis, Marleen Westerveld

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper explores teachers’ and teacher assistants’ self-efficacy of delivering PrepSTART, a classroom based, oral language and early literacy program for five-year-old students. In the current study, speech pathologists developed, provided training and monitored program implementation. Teachers and teacher assistants (n = 17) shared their experiences of delivering PrepSTART through a series of focus groups. A content analysis was conducted to determine key themes in participant responses. These themes were then analysed in relation to the four self-efficacy components (mastery, experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion and emotional arousal). Differences in levels of understanding about oral language development, communication between professionals, …

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 …

English Classrooms And Curricular Justice For The Recognition Of Lgbt Individuals: What Can Teachers Do?, Jane Pearce, Wendy Cumming-Potvin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Discrimination against LGBT[1] individuals remains widespread across Australia. Since schools continue to promote regimes of heterosexuality and cis-normativity, teachers have a crucial role in creating contexts in which LGBT young people feel accepted and safe. Drawing on North’s (2006) work on social justice and Connell’s (2012) discussion of curricular justice, this article explores opportunities and constraints experienced by a group of English secondary teachers attempting to practise in socially just ways. Results indicate that through the English curriculum, it is possible for teachers to find moments to achieve social justice for LGBT individuals.

[1] In reference to lesbian, gay, …

Using Ict-Based Instructional Technologies To Teach Science: Perspectives From Teachers In Trinidad And Tobago., Rawatee Maharaj-Sharma, Aarti Sharma, Aditi Sharma

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this study was to investigate how science teachers in Trinidad and Tobago use ICT-based instructional technologies in classroom science teaching. The participants were 30 secondary school science teachers who completed their Postgraduate Diploma in Education within the last 2 years from the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago. The teachers were asked to prepare lesson plans which demonstrate their use of instructional technologies to teach science topics within their term’s schemes of work. They were subsequently asked to explain their reasons for using the selected instructional technologies. The findings revealed that PowerPoint was the …