Education Commons^™

Development Of Teaching Beliefs And The Focus Of Change In The Process Of Pre-Service Esl Teacher Education, Eunice Lai-Yiu Tang, John Chi-Kin Lee, Cecilia Ka-Wai Chun

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study sets out to investigate how pre-serviceESLteachers shape their beliefs in the process of experimenting with new teaching methods introduced in the teacher education programme. A 4-year longitudinal study was conducted with four randomly selectedESLpre-service teachers. Their theoretical orientations ofESLinstruction were tracked at intervals through a protocol which consisted of i) descriptive accounts, ii) surveys, iii) lesson plan analysis, iv) lesson recording and v) interviews. Despite the fact that these 4 student teachers had shown different theoretical orientations in the protocols, they shared similar patterns of instructional practices in the Teaching Practicum. It was also found that the new …

Learning To Lead: A Social Justice Perspective On Understanding Elementary Teacher Leadership In Papua New Guinea, Joanne Brownlee, Laura Scholes, Ann Farrell, Julie Davis, Donna Cook

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Leadership in elementary education is currently recognized as a political imperative in Papua New Guinea (PNG), as the nation develops strategies towards equitable access to schooling. One recent initiative aimed at building educational leadership was an intensive Australian Leadership Award Fellowship (ALAF) program funded by AusAID, involving a group of 10 teacher trainers from PNG. As part their involvement participants completed self-authored journal entries at the beginning and end of the leadership program. Participants were also involved in focus groups after completion of the initiative. Referring to the experiences of these teacher trainers, this paper draws on Nancy Fraser’s (2005, …

Student And Staff Engagement: Developing An Engagement Framework In A Faculty Of Education, Sharon M. Pittaway

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Student engagement is emerging as a key focus in higher education, as engagement is increasingly understood as a prerequisite for effective learning. This paper reports on the development of an Engagement Framework that provides a practical understanding of student (and staff) engagement which can be applied to any discipline, year level or course. The Engagement Framework proposes five non-hierarchical elements: personal engagement, academic engagement, intellectual engagement, social engagement, and professional engagement. As well as describing these elements, the paper also explores the theoretical foundations of the Engagement Framework, including a recognition of the importance of conation as one of three …

Developing The Vision: Preparing Teachers To Deliver A Digital World-Class Education System, Jenny M. Lane

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In 2008 Australians were promised a ‘Digital Education Revolution’ by the government to dramatically change classroom education and build a ‘world-class education system’. Eight billion dollars have been spent providing computer equipment for upper secondary classrooms, yet there is little evidence that a revolution has occurred in Australian schools. Transformation of an education system takes more than a simplistic hardware solution. Revolutions need leaders and leaders need vision. In this paper, I argue that we must first develop educational leaders by inspiring future teachers with a vision and by designing our teacher-education courses as technology-rich learning-spaces. A multi-layered scenario is …

The Influence Of An Activity-Based Explicit Approach On The Turkish Prospective Science Teachers’ Conceptions Of The Nature Of Science, Suat Celik, Samih Bayrakceken

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an activity-based explicit nature of science (NOS) instruction undertaken in the context of a “Science, Technology and Society” course on the prospective science teachers’ (PSTs’) understandings of NOS. In this course, social science based inquiry activities were used to as a context to lead reflection and explicit discussions and project based learning approach (PBL) was used to model an active student centred NOS teaching and learning. Participants were 36 senior PSTs. An adopted form of VNOS questionnaire along with semi-structured interviews was used to assess participants’ conceptions before and …

Elementary Teacher Education In Papua New Guinea: Towards A Culturally Connected Perspective Of Teaching, Casper Hahambu, Joanne M. Brownlee, E. Anne Petriwskyj

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Global and national agendas for quality education have led to reforms in Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) elementary education, but criticism of the learner-centred Western pedagogies has emerged. One key influence on quality teacher education relates to perspectives of teaching. Existing research shows teachers’ beliefs and perceptions of teaching influence their practice, however to date little research has investigated perspectives of teaching for elementary education in PNG. This single exploratory case study investigated the perspectives of teaching for eighteen elementary teacher trainers as they studied for a Bachelor of Early Childhood (Teacher Education). The study, drawing on an interpretivist paradigm, analysed …

Service-Learning: A Valuable Component Of Pre-Service Teacher Education, Dianne J. Chambers, Shane Lavery

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

There is recognition that involvement in service-learning can impact positively on the development of pre-service teachers professionally, culturally and academically (Billig & Freeman, 2010; Anderson, 1998). This article explores and describes the experiences of pre-service teachers in the School of Education at the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) who are undertaking two service learning units as part of their teacher education. This research is based on qualitative data collected from pre-service teachers on completion of their service learning units. Initially, service-learning as a concept is explored with particular reference to four basic elements identified in the literature (Jacoby, 1996; …

Why Western Australian Secondary Teachers Resign, Tony Fetherston, Geoff Lummis

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In recent years, Western Australian school have faced a significant increase in the number of secondary school teacher resignations. By analysing qualitative data gathered from interviews of 11 recently resigned secondary teachers, and three senior level administrators, the researchers sought to begin to understand the reasons behind a teacher attrition rate that has increased markedly since 2003. By placing the teachers’ experiences within a framework of critical social theory, the paper outlines how collisions with power and the negative discourse encountered by teachers established their subsequent pathway to resignation. In outlining these pathways, we have provided an anthology of their …

The Use Of The Epostl To Foster Teacher Autonomy: Elt Student Teachers’ And Teacher Trainers’ Views, Abdulvahit Cakir, Cem Balcikanli

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

It was the aim of this pilot study to investigate ELT (English Language Teaching) student teachers’ and teacher trainers’ views on the use of the EPOSTL (The European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages) in pre-service language teacher education of a Turkish state university. Upon the implementation of the EPOSTL as a reflection tool for the second semester of 2010, 25 student teachers and 4 teacher trainers were interviewed through the questions prepared and piloted. The findings indicated that both student teachers and teacher trainers found the use of the EPOSTL beneficial in terms of reflection, self-assessment and awareness. …

University-School Partnerships: Pre-Service And In-Service Teachers Working Together To Teach Primary Science., John Daniel Kenny

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on a partnership approach preparing pre-service primary teachers to teach science. Partnerships involving pre-service teachers and volunteer in-service colleagues were formed to teach science in the classroom of the colleague, with support from the science education lecturer. Each pre-service teacher collaboratively planned and delivered a sequence of at least six science lessons over six weeks.

An earlier paper reported on how the program affected the confidence of the pre-service teachers. Over three iterations, 61 in-service teachers from 23 local schools participated.

In this paper the data from the colleague teachers and principals who participated is explored. The …

Being A Teacher Educator: Exploring Issues Of Authenticity And Safety Through Self-Study, Dawn Garbett, Alan Ovens

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The catalyst for this self-study was implementing peer-teaching in our respective science education and physical education teacher education courses. Because our students taught one another it meant we redefined our roles as teacher educators as well as the roles that our students took in the teaching and learning community. We documented and explored our learning about teaching and teacher education through journaling, observations, discussions and interviews with students. Our students’ responses to peer- teaching provided a critical lens through which we considered our efficacy as teacher educators. Through this collaborative self-study, we have learnt to manage the issues of authenticity …

Transfer Of Mathematical Knowledge: Series, Levent Akgün, Cemalettin Işik, Enver Tatar, Tevfik İşleyen, Yasin Soylu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The aim of this study is to explain students’ ability to transfer their knowledge about mathematical series to the problems that they encounter. The data of the study were obtained by using two different tests, namely “Problem Solving Test (PST)” and “Series Character Identification Test (SCT)” which were developed by the researchers. The study was conducted to third- grade students from department of elementary school mathematics education in the 2009-2010 academic year. In view of the analysis of the data, it was observed that the students experienced no difficulty in the SCT which required procedural knowledge. They experienced difficulty in …

School Co-Ordinators: Leaders Of Learning In Professional Experience, Rosie J. Le Cornu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

It is widely accepted that professional experience or practicum is ‘a critically important part of teacher education courses and is consistently valued highly by student teachers’ (eg Ramsey, 2000; Teaching Australia, 2006; Parliament of Australia, 2007). In Australia and overseas there is a growing emphasis on teacher educators working in partnership with schools to construct professional experiences that maximise student teacher engagement and learning (Parliament of Australia, 2007).

The literature on professional experience in pre-service teacher education provides varied and detailed accounts of the roles of the Pre-service Teacher, the Mentor Teacher and the University Mentor (see for example, Gaffey …

Structured Reflective Communication As A Meta-Genre In Teacher Education: Creative Uses Of Critique In A Teacher Education Program, Donna Starks, Howard Nicholas, Shem Macdonald

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Critical reflection is central to teacher education for unpacking privileged positions and empowering participants to adopt valued professional stances (e.g. Krull, Oras & Sisask, 2007; Harford & MacRuairc, 2008; Fernandez, 2010), yet critical reflection is not a well-developed conceptual structure within teacher education. Lesson planning is, likewise, central to teacher education, yet not well-developed as a theoretical tool. Our model proposes a way of engaging beginning teachers in critical reflection by drawing together the informal spoken discourse meanings of critical reflection in education, its more formalised structure as critique in rhetoric and genre analysis, and lesson planning. When critical reflection …

Pre-Service Chemistry Teachers’ Expectations And Experiences In The School Experience Course, Zubeyde D. Kirbulut, Yezdan Boz, Elif S. Kutucu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this study is to investigate prospective chemistry teachers’ expectations and experiences of teaching practice. Six (four females and two males) pre-service chemistry teachers taking a School Experience II course participated in the study. A case study design was employed. The data were collected from multiple sources including observations, lesson plans, and semi-structured interviews before and after the school experience course. Pre-service teachers’ expectations and experiences were categorized regarding the faculty, placement school, and teaching practice. It was found that school experience courses are crucial for pre-service teachers in deciding whether to continue in the teaching profession. It …

Grammar Teaching Revisited: Efl Teachers Between Grammar Abstinence And Formal Grammar Teaching, Ahmad Nazari, Negah Allahyar

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract: The study of English language teachers’ cognitions and its relationship to teachers’ classroom practices have recently been the focus of language teaching and teacher education (Borg, 2006 & 2010). However, rarely have the studies delved into teachers’ knowledge about grammar (reviewed by Borg, 2001) or investigated the relationships between teachers’ knowledge about grammar and teachers’ actions (Borg, 2003; Sanchez, 2010). Moreover, these studies have been mostly conducted by English native speaker researchers who do not necessarily have the same cultural or linguistic background of the participants in the studies (Andrew, 2001 cited in Sanchez, 2010, p. 45). Also, they …

Listening To Unheard Voices: Professional Development Reforms For Pakistani Tertiary Teachers, Imran Anjum Chaudary, Shahida Imran

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Fragmented, unfocused, and top down approaches to professional development are unrealistic, ineffective and do not promise anything significant to teachers and their contexts. This paper questions professional development for tertiary teachers in Pakistan. It does so from the perspectives of Pakistani tertiary teachers gained through a qualitative, ethnographic case study. The analysis of these previously unheard voices revealed themes that expand our understanding of the problematic nature of professional development. The results of this study indicate the need to reform professional development and to assist in these reforms, the study suggests that teachers need to gain a wide repertoire of …

Promoting Pre-Service Teachers’ Ideas About Nature Of Science Through Educational Research Apprenticeship, Gultekin Cakmakci

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study suggests a novel approach, which integrates an explicit-reflective nature of science (NOS) instruction into the teachers-as-researchers approach to improve pre-service science teachers’ conceptions of NOS. Participants were 48 university fourth-year students in a four-year pre-service science teacher-training program in Turkey. The participants received explicit-reflective NOS instruction and were introduced to some techniques for critically evaluating academic articles, designing and conducting a research project, writing a research report and preparing materials to share the findings of their studies with students and staff of their department at a poster conference. During these activities, the lecturer explicitly addressed the target aspects …

Teacher Professional Development: Who Is The Learner?, Kirsten Petrie, Clive Mcgee

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

One of the challenges in in-service teacher education is how teachers can be given professional development (PD) that enables them to respond to national curriculum and policy change. In recent years primary teachers in New Zealand have been inundated with Ministry of Education-funded professional development programmes to help them implement a plethora of curriculum policy and reform initiatives. This paper explores how the design and delivery of one PD programme, the Physical Activity Initiative (PAI), positioned and supported teachers as learners. An evaluation of the programme sought data from 25 teachers and 14 advisers to schools. The focus was the …

Understanding Learning And Teaching In Papua New Guinea: Elementary Teacher Trainers Engaged In Cultural Authorship In The Context Of National Educational Reforms, Joanne M. Brownlee, Ann Farrell, Julie Davis

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Over the last decade, Papua New Guinea (PNG) has pursued educational reform in elementary teacher education. Because elementary teachers and teacher education are central to the reform agenda, there is a need to gain empirical evidence about how PNG teacher trainers’ understandings about learning and teaching impact on their practice. The study uses cultural-authorship as a theoretical framework to investigate the nature of changes in understanding about learning and teaching for 18 teacher trainers as they progressed through a two-year Bachelor of Early Childhood upgrade course. It addresses the research question: What do elementary teacher trainers in PNG understanding about …

The Influence Of An Adapted Physical Education Course On Preservice Teacher Instruction: Using A Self-Determination Lens, Dana Perlman, Cindy Piletic

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Current federal mandates and policies have increased the focus on providing students with disabilities (SWD) a pedagogically appropriate learning experience (No Child Left Behind, 2001). Teacher education programs are attempting to provide all future teachers with experiences that enhance the pedagogical ability to teach students with a variety of needs. As such, the concept of motivation has been deemed a crucial aspect of effective instruction. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the development of PTs during a semester adapted physical education course, from a self-determined perspective. Two intact adapted physical education classes (N=46; Male=25, Female= 21) were …

Stereotypes And Self-Perceptions Of Physical Education Pre-Service Teachers, Michael Spittle, Felicity Petering, Peter Kremer, Sharna Spittle

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Stereotypes and self-perceptions are important in understanding how people develop their self-knowledge and social identity, become members of groups, and view groups and their members. While we have some understanding of the stereotypical view of the physical education teacher, we currently have little knowledge of how physical education pre-service teachers (students studying a physical education degree) are stereotyped, and also if there is any relationship between these stereotypes and how physical education pre-service teachers perceive themselves. The purpose of this study was to examine the stereotypes and self-perceptions of physical education pre-service teachers. The aims were to describe how physical …

Understanding L2 Speaking Problems: Implications For Esl Curriculum Development In A Teacher Training Institution In Hong Kong, Zhengdong Gan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports the result of a study that aimed to identify the problems with oral English skills of ESL (English as a second language) students at a tertiary teacher training institution in Hong Kong. The study, by way of semi-structured interview, addresses the gap in our understanding of the difficulties ESL students encountered in their oral English development in the context of a Bachelor of Education (English Language) programme. Insufficient opportunities to speak English in lectures and tutorials, lack of a focus on language improvement in the curriculum, and the input-poor environment for spoken communication in English outside class …

Personalising Learning In Teacher Education Through The Use Of Technology, Mellita M. Jones, Karen J. Mclean

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The meaningful integration of technology in teaching and learning is consistently called for in all sectors of education. Recently it has appeared as a key tenet for achieving what has been termed as personalising learning. Personalising learning, a concept that addresses a range of current best-practice approaches with an added emphasis on ICT and the voice of individual learners, is becoming more prevalent in both general discussion, and in some countries, in policy regarding education. If its prevalence continues to grow, teacher educators need to consider how they too can incorporate personalising learning approaches in their courses to ensure graduate …

Student Teaching Practice In Two Elementary Teacher Preparation Programs, Ping Liu

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study examines student teaching of elementary teacher preparation programs in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the United States of America (USA). Two programs comparable in program design, course requirements and goals were selected for exploration. The key aspects that were studied about student teaching include its unit ratio in a program, features of placements, written work by student teachers and evaluation. Findings indicate that these programs share the same basic elements related to student teaching but differences exist in student teaching sequence, focus on candidates’ practice to assume teaching responsibilities, participation in evaluation and level of peer …

Cultivating Teachers’ Morality And The Pedagogy Of Emotional Rationality, Minkang Kim

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teachers are expected to act ethically and provide moral role models in performing their duties, even though teacher education has often relegated the cultivation of teachers’ ethical awareness and moral development to the margins. When it is addressed, the main theoretical assumptions have relied heavily on the cognitivist developmental theories of Piaget and Kohlberg. A major pedagogical problem in adopting these theories of moral reasoning is that they may not help teachers to act as moral agents in real-life classrooms. This paper argues that one underlying difficulty is the insufficient attention given to the role of emotion in moral reasoning, …

Developing Preservice Primary Teachers’ Confidence And Competence In Arts Education Using Principles Of Authentic Learning., Deirdre E. Russell-Bowie

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Arts education research over the years has highlighted the situation of non-specialist preservice primary arts teachers as having little confidence in their own artistic ability and their ability to teach the arts to children. Added to this, problems such a lack of resources, confidence, priority, time, knowledge and experience appear to inhibit the regular teaching of the arts by generalist classroom teachers while at the same time, face-to-face hours for preservice primary arts education have decreased significantly over the recent years. This paper describes how one subject within a Primary Teacher Education course responded to these challenges. This subject was …