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Journal

Edith Cowan University

Curriculum and Instruction

Teacher education

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Full-Text Articles in Education

Six Modes Of Giving Pedagogy For Engagement And Wellbeing – For Teachers And Students, Thomas W. Nielsen, Jennifer S. Ma Jan 2023

Six Modes Of Giving Pedagogy For Engagement And Wellbeing – For Teachers And Students, Thomas W. Nielsen, Jennifer S. Ma

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The present study took place across two outdoor education trips to the Great Barrier Reef with two groups of college students (N = 36; 16-19 years), five staff, and one of the authors (TWN). The aim was to explore how an explicit understanding and implementation of the wellbeing research around cultivating generous behaviour for meaningful happiness could be ‘experienced’ by staff and students and articulated as an educational framework, or ‘pedagogy’. Hermeneutic phenomenology was used to record and interpret pedagogical transactions of giving. Six repeated themes were identified: (1) exploration, (2) modelling, (3) explicit instruction, (4) incidental learning, (5) crisis …


Four Esol Graduate Students’ Hybrid Learning Through A Reflective Project: A Qualitative Case Study, Ho-Ryong Park Jan 2023

Four Esol Graduate Students’ Hybrid Learning Through A Reflective Project: A Qualitative Case Study, Ho-Ryong Park

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This is a qualitative case study to investigate English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) graduate students’ learning experiences when completing a reflective project. Four graduate students in the United States participated in this study and completed the project to share their linguistic and cultural stories in a traditional paper-based essay format and in a multimedia format. The data consisted of a reflection paper, digital storytelling (DST), a project report, an oral presentation, and an interview, which were analysed through content analysis. The findings included participants’ learning of (a) language and culture, (b) language teaching, (c) language teachers’ responsibilities, and …


Brain-Based Learning: Beliefs And Practice In One Australian Primary School Implementing A Neuroscience Pedagogical Framework, Christina Deans, Ellen Larsen Jan 2022

Brain-Based Learning: Beliefs And Practice In One Australian Primary School Implementing A Neuroscience Pedagogical Framework, Christina Deans, Ellen Larsen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

: Pedagogy grounded in neuroscience is an influential approach in Australian schools, despite concerns regarding teachers’ beliefs in several neuromyths that go on to pervade their practice. This paper reports on a small study that explored teachers’ beliefs and implementation of brain-based learning in one Australian primary school whose pedagogy is specifically underpinned by neuroscience. Survey data collected from 14 teachers were analysed using simple descriptive statistics and content analysis. Findings indicated that these teachers, despite having some accurate brain-based knowledge, were still prone to endorsing common neuromyths regardless of the school’s teaching and learning framework, years at the school, …


A Review Of Undergraduate Education Student Responses To The Online Component Of Blended Learning: A Cautionary Tale, Ross S. Bernay, Chris Jenkin, Tafili Utumapu-Mcbride, Adrian Schoone, Andrew Gibbons Jan 2022

A Review Of Undergraduate Education Student Responses To The Online Component Of Blended Learning: A Cautionary Tale, Ross S. Bernay, Chris Jenkin, Tafili Utumapu-Mcbride, Adrian Schoone, Andrew Gibbons

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Calls for enhancing the digital interface for teaching and learning within tertiary institutions have played out in one School of Education, with variable results. Online learning tasks were added in 2018 to regular classes to provide more flexibility for student engagement. A team of lecturers developed a questionnaire for students to be completed after the first semester pilot. Data and findings indicated that one-third of students identified online learning as an enhancement to their learning. A second survey was conducted one year later to assess changes made and analyse the longer-term impacts. During the COVID-19 lockdown, fully online pedagogy was …


The Mediating Role Of Self-Directed Learning Readiness In The Relationship Between Teaching-Learning Conceptions And Lifelong Learning Tendencies, Kasım Karataş, Cihad Şentürk, Aziz Teke Jan 2021

The Mediating Role Of Self-Directed Learning Readiness In The Relationship Between Teaching-Learning Conceptions And Lifelong Learning Tendencies, Kasım Karataş, Cihad Şentürk, Aziz Teke

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this study, the mediating role of readiness for self-directed learning in the relationship between pre-service teachers’ teaching-learning approach and lifelong learning skills was examined. The study group consisted of 800 pre-service teachers studying in different universities in Turkey. Data were collected with three different scales. The analysis of the data was carried out using structural equation modelling. According to the findings obtained and the results of the mediation analysis, it is clear that the readiness of self-directed learning in the relationship between constructivist teaching-learning, which is one of the learning teaching approaches, and lifelong learning tendencies has a full …


The Exclusive White World Of Preservice Teachers’ Book Selection For The Classroom: Influences And Implications For Practice, Helen Adam, Anne-Maree Hays, Yvonne Urquhart Jan 2021

The Exclusive White World Of Preservice Teachers’ Book Selection For The Classroom: Influences And Implications For Practice, Helen Adam, Anne-Maree Hays, Yvonne Urquhart

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on a study of the children’s book preferences of 82 Preservice teachers (PSTs) at one Western Australian University. The study found PSTs preferred older books published during their own childhood or earlier. Further, representation of people of colour was limited to only 8 of 177 titles listed by PSTs. Key influences on their preferences were their personal favourite books and those used by mentor teachers during practicum experience. The outcomes of this study have implications for curriculum development and implementation of Initial Teacher Education courses, and in turn, for equitable outcomes of the future students of PSTs.


Making A Difference To The Student Experience Through Purposeful Course Design, Lucia Zundans-Fraser, Alan Bain Jan 2020

Making A Difference To The Student Experience Through Purposeful Course Design, Lucia Zundans-Fraser, Alan Bain

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The study described examines the student experience in a graduate inclusive education course purposefully designed to address areas of need identified. These include the need for theory to underpin course design, the need for collaborative practice, and the need to reduce the theory-to-practice gap. Throughout their enrolment and after course completion, feedback from students is presented and examined in order to determine whether these needs have been met through the design of the course. Findings suggest that the organisation of learning materials, embedded capacity-building skills, and the practical applicability of course content was highly regarded by students and contributed to …


Supporting Pre-Service Teachers In Becoming Reflective Practitioners Using Conversation And Professional Standards, Ondine J. Bradbury, Angela Fitzgerald, Justen P. O'Connor Jan 2020

Supporting Pre-Service Teachers In Becoming Reflective Practitioners Using Conversation And Professional Standards, Ondine J. Bradbury, Angela Fitzgerald, Justen P. O'Connor

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A significant goal of teacher education is to support the development of reflective practitioners. This intention, however, is not easily achieved when after-the-fact recall and reporting are key features of pre-service teacher learning rather than critique and contemplation. This research reports on a small-scale pilot study evaluating a novel approach to help pre-service teachers develop reflective skills in order to both understand and address the requirements of the profession. The approach involved a set of Conversation Cards with a series of question-based prompts directly linked to the APSTs and designed to enhance reflective conversations. Focus group interview discussions unveiled the …


Early Career Teachers’ Knowledge And Practice In Spelling Instruction: Insights For Teacher Educators, Grace Oakley Jan 2018

Early Career Teachers’ Knowledge And Practice In Spelling Instruction: Insights For Teacher Educators, Grace Oakley

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Children who cannot spell fluently are likely to encounter difficulty in writing texts across the curriculum. Furthermore, spelling is often a component in high stakes tests, the results of which have significant implications for students and schools. In the context of debates on teacher quality, it is pertinent to examine the views of early career teachers on their preparedness to teach spelling. This article reports on a small scale study on the views, knowledge and practices of early career teachers in relation to the teaching of spelling, and their views on their pre-service teacher preparation. Participants were early career teachers …


Creating Multicultural Music Opportunities In Teacher Education: Sharing Diversity Through Songs, Dawn Joseph, Rohan Nethsinghe, Alberto Cabedo Mas Jan 2018

Creating Multicultural Music Opportunities In Teacher Education: Sharing Diversity Through Songs, Dawn Joseph, Rohan Nethsinghe, Alberto Cabedo Mas

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper contributes to the knowledge base for preparing pre-service teachers (PSTs) for contemporary multicultural classrooms. To do so, we refer to our ongoing project “See, Listen and Share: Exploring intercultural music education in a transnational experience” across three Higher Education sites (Australia and Spain). Drawing on our narrative, and PSTs’ questionnaire data, using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to analyze and code the PST data, we report on our initial experience and findings across the three sites and cultural contexts. Generalisations to other institutions cannot be made. We discuss what was taught and how it was taught in our three settings, …


Any Time, Any Place, Flexible Pace: Technology-Enhanced Language Learning In A Teacher Education Programme, Jocelyn M. Howard, Adèle Scott Jan 2017

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 …


Pre-Service Teachers’ Reflections: The Influence Of School 1:1 Laptop Programs On Their Developing Teaching Practice., Susan Blackley, Rebecca Walker Jan 2017

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 …


Perceived Social-Ecological Barriers Of Generalist Pre-Service Teachers Towards Teaching Physical Education: Findings From The Get-Pe Study, Brendon P. Hyndman Jan 2017

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 …


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 Jan 2016

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 …


Preparing Pre-Service Teachers For Professional Engagement Through Place/Community Pedagogies And Partnerships, Monica M. Green Jan 2016

Preparing Pre-Service Teachers For Professional Engagement Through Place/Community Pedagogies And Partnerships, Monica M. Green

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There is an expectation that Australian teachers engage professionally in all aspects of teaching and learning, including engagement with teaching networks and broader communities. This paper reports on a partnership between a teacher educator and an environmental educator who set out to expand pre-service teachers’ professional knowledge, engagement and practice in an undergraduate Bachelor of Education (primary) course. The paper reports on a study about teacher education students’ perspectives of fieldwork-based learning and its potential to inform students’ future engagement with the broader school community. Using a conceptual framework of place- and community based education, the study examined data from …


Practising Teaching Using Virtual Classroom Role Plays, Barney Dalgarno, Sue Gregory, Vicki Knox, Torsten Reiners Jan 2016

Practising Teaching Using Virtual Classroom Role Plays, Barney Dalgarno, Sue Gregory, Vicki Knox, Torsten Reiners

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Practice in the role of the teacher is an essential part of teacher education, however professional experience placements are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Consequently, additional university-based teaching practice, such as classroom role play with student teacher peers is important. Classroom role plays can be effective but there are limits to the realism of the experience and such strategies are not feasible for students studying at a distance. This article reports on a study in which a classroom in the virtual world of Second Life was used to house role plays of student teachers in preparation for their first professional …


The Teaching Discipline Doesn’T Matter? An Assessment Of Preservice Teachers’ Perception Of The Value Of Professional Experience In Attaining Teacher Competencies., Peter Howley, Ruth Reynolds, Erica Southgate Jan 2016

The Teaching Discipline Doesn’T Matter? An Assessment Of Preservice Teachers’ Perception Of The Value Of Professional Experience In Attaining Teacher Competencies., Peter Howley, Ruth Reynolds, Erica Southgate

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper is one in a series of papers interrogating some of the fundamental bases of what is seen as good professional experience in initial teacher education (ITE). This paper uses the case study of Health/Physical Education (HPE) students’ perceptions of their professional experience, compared to other teaching disciplines, in one regional university to examine the seemingly taken-for–granted view that professional experience in all teaching disciplines can be assessed according to generic professional standards. In this case when HPE students were surveyed on their views of their ability to satisfy the NSW Institute of Teachers’ Professional Teaching Standards during practical …


You Mean I Have To Teach Sustainability Too? Initial Teacher Education Students’ Perspectives On The Sustainability Cross-Curriculum Priority, Janet E. Dyment, Allen Hill Jan 2015

You Mean I Have To Teach Sustainability Too? Initial Teacher Education Students’ Perspectives On The Sustainability Cross-Curriculum Priority, Janet E. Dyment, Allen Hill

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract: In this paper, we report on an investigation into initial teacher education students (ITES) understandings of sustainability and the Australian National Curriculum Sustainability Cross Curricular Priority (CCP). We also explore their willingness and capacities to embed the CCP into their own teaching practices. The ITESs (N=392) completed a quantitative survey with a series of Likert Scale questions and were asked to list “5 words” when they think of sustainability. Analysis reveals that ITESs have generally limited to moderate understandings of sustainability and education for sustainability, but lesser understandings of the Sustainability CCP and the 9 organising ideas. Understandings of …


Degrees Of Change: Understanding Academics Experiences With A Shift To Flexible Technology-Enhanced Learning In Initial Teacher Education, Benjamin A. Kehrwald, Faye Mccallum Jan 2015

Degrees Of Change: Understanding Academics Experiences With A Shift To Flexible Technology-Enhanced Learning In Initial Teacher Education, Benjamin A. Kehrwald, Faye Mccallum

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The implementation of technology enhanced learning in higher education is often associated with changes to academic work. This article reports on a study of staff experiences with curriculum development and teaching in multiple modes of blended and online learning in a Bachelor of Education degree. The findings indicate that the changes experienced by these teacher educators were significant but not wholesale. More specifically, the findings highlight three particular areas of change that impacted on their role as teacher educators: changed pedagogical practices, particularly in staff-student communication, interaction and relationship building with students; increasing workloads associated with flexible delivery; and changed …


Navigating Discourses Of Cultural Literacy In Teacher Education, Kelsey Halbert, Philemon Chigeza Jan 2015

Navigating Discourses Of Cultural Literacy In Teacher Education, Kelsey Halbert, Philemon Chigeza

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Pre-service teachers’ understandings, skills and dispositions as global, culturally literate citizens and agents of change have arguably never been more important. Professional standards, systemic policies and frameworks and a broad range of scholarly perspectives on culture position pre-service teachers to take up cultural education in sometimes conflicting ways. It is these orientations to culture within a teacher education program and how they sit alongside potentially incongruent policies, practices and worldviews that are the focus of this paper. The practitioner research draws on cultural identity theories, policies and student experiences in the teaching and learning of an undergraduate education subject entitled …


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 Mar 2014

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 …


Chaos Of Textures Or ‘Tapisserie’? A Model For Creative Teacher Education Curriculum Design, Sue E. Simon Aug 2013

Chaos Of Textures Or ‘Tapisserie’? A Model For Creative Teacher Education Curriculum Design, Sue E. Simon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A tapestry or ‘tapisserie’ methodology, inspired by Denzin and Lincoln’s ‘bricolage’ methodology (2000), emerged during the complex task of re-developing teacher education programs at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. ‘Tapisserie’ methodology highlights the pivotal task of determining stable ‘warp threads’ prior to the subsequent interweaving of myriad ‘weft threads’. In our context, the core values of the education team were deemed to be the crucial ‘warp threads’ which would provide structure and navigation through numerous ‘weft threads’. The resultant model assisted teacher educators’ understanding of this complex process within a rigorous accreditation environment. It aims to preserve …