Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Teacher Educators’ Knowledge About Critical Thinking: A Case From Pakistan, Saima Bibi, Saba Hanif

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In Pakistan, it is aimed at both national and international levels to promote and develop critical thinking among students and teachers at all educational levels (sustainable development goals, VISION 2025, national standards for teachers, national educational policies, etc.). However, little research has investigated teachers' critical thinking knowledge. The present study explored critical thinking knowledge of teacher educators from teacher training institutes. The teacher training institutes of the most populous and developed province of Pakistan were taken as the sample of the study. Exploratory survey method was used for data collection. The study found that the majority of teacher educators lack …

In-House Efforts To Enhance Pre-Service Language Teachers’ Intercultural Competence, Nur Gedik Bal

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The goal of the current study was to ascertain pre-service English language teachers’ impressions of the impact of thematic speaking tasks on the development of their intercultural competence in an online Spoken English course. Moreover, the effect of certain demographic variables on pre-service teachers’ cultural intelligence (CQ) was also investigated. The findings revealed a significant difference between the CQ of students with and without overseas experience. Pre-service teachers who could speak languages other than their mother tongue and English had significantly higher CQ scores than students who could not speak other languages. However, there was not a significant difference between …

Measuring Australian Preservice Teachers’ Asia Capability And Perceived Readiness To Teach The Asia Cross-Curricular Priority., James F. Toohey, Peter R. Grainger, Michael Carey

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Preservice teachers are soon-to-be graduates expected to deliver the Cross-Curricular Priority ‘Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia’. Teachers of all learning areas are expected to teach about Asia, irrespective of their knowledge or capabilities in Asian contexts. The curriculum review has revised expectations for ‘Asia literacy’ in graduates. The changes de-emphasise cultural knowledge, and instead, promote relationship-building and intercultural understanding. This research identified 31 preservice teachers’ perceptions of their Asia literacy and preparedness to teach the related curriculum initiative. Grainger and Christie’s (2016) linguistic model was used to define and measure Asia literacy. Thematic analysis identified (1) how participants conceptualised …

Developing Pre-Service Teachers’ Assessment Literacy In The Practicum: An Action Research Study, Mustafa Akın Güngör, Müzeyyen Nazlı Güngör

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on an action research (AR) study that pre-service teachers conducted to assess their students in practicum. Based on Xu and Brown’s (2016) assessment literacy (TALIP) framework, we aim to empower them in a real classroom atmosphere. Data were collected systematically and came from interviews, pre-service teachers’ own exams, observations, evaluations of students, and reflections. The qualitative analysis was used to identify the realities and constraints of the classroom, to plan alternative ways of assessment, to reveal the observation results, and to make sense of the reflections. Results showed that pre-service teachers gained an awareness of the gap …

Walking Carefully Towards Bridging The Gap: Exploring Australian Music Educator Voices About Teaching Indigenous Music, Dawn Joseph, Bradley Merrick

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Facilitating an inclusive pedagogy to close the gap that exists within the teaching of Indigenous Knowledge in Australia is a tall order for many teachers. This paper draws on responses to a national study and explores how music educators include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music and culture into their practice. An online survey (December 2022-February 2023, N=109) informed the findings. Using thematic analysis, two themes (teaching challenges and opportunities, and bridging the gap) are discussed and key recommendations offered. Findings suggest that walking carefully towards bridging the gap is an opportunity for educational change in contemporary Australian classrooms.

The Effectiveness And Impact Of Post-Observation Feedback Sessions In An In-Service Training Program, Derya Ilgın Yaşar, Nurdan Gürbüz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

An essential component of any training activity is observations, and in almost any teacher education or professional development context, observations are followed by feedback sessions aimed at improving teaching practices. Nevertheless, whether these sessions accomplish this aim is an issue of concern as it is highly related to how effective it is perceived to be. This study aims to explore how effective post-observation feedback sessions are perceived by the observed instructors, what factors make feedback effective, and whether feedback has any impact on their practices. Data were collected qualitatively by conducting semi-structured interviews with the instructors and Professional Development Unit …

Cultural Responsibility: Whose Job Is It Anyway?, Shannon Coleman, Siobhan Cooke, Yu'vonne James, Elizabeth Younger

Instructional Modules for Professional learning Responding to Opportunities and Valuing Educators (IMPROVE)

This professional learning module (PLM) on cultural responsibility in the school setting is rooted in the recognition of the importance of creating an inclusive and equitable learning environment for all students and staff. This PLM module was designed to help teachers, and those working within the school setting, understand, appreciate, and effectively address cultural diversity and its impact on students’ learning experiences.

View professional learning module.

Migrants, Covid-19, And Italy: A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis Of The Construction Of And Resistance To Nationalist Discourses, Alessia Barbici Wagner, Theresa Catalano, Bryan Meadows

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Migration has historically been a controversial issue around the world and one that has often been harnessed by people in power (or people hoping to gain power) for their own political agendas. In times of a global pandemic, the scapegoating of migrants has only increased, often rooted in nationalist ideologies which lead to policies and practices that harm migrants and the larger society. The present paper employs multimodal critical discourse analysis to explore how nationalist ideologies supported by right-wing populism are constructed visually and verbally during COVID-19 on Italian social media in regard to migration. We analyze Giorgia Meloni’s (leader …

From Bilingual To Biliteracy: Learning From Families, Stephanie Wessels, Guy Trainin

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This study examined the home literacy practices of bilingual families. We were specifically interested in the literacy practices families developed to answer the challenge of biliteracy. Through the home visits and supplying high quality bilingual books, we listened, observed, and gained a deeper understanding of the children and their families which allowed us and educators reading this piece to make connections between children’s home literacy practices and literacy practices in the classroom. After discussing the use of bilingual books, the following four themes emerged from the data: families negotiating biliteracy using bilingual books, the role of Spanish, siblings and literacy …

Removing The Masc: Dismantling Gendered Occupations Through Social Work Education, Austin M. Raines

DSW Capstone Projects

The “Masculine mystique” refers to a psychological mask that men wear, enabling them to maintain power and distance themselves from traits associated with femininity” (Kahn, 2009, p. 283). This capstone project seeks to solve the Social Work Grand Challenge of improving the lives that hegemonic masculinity harms and limits. It emphasizes the relationship between the two areas of life (work-home), once thought to exist in different realms but are today more interwoven than ever (Lin & Burgard, 2018; Sok et al., 2014). Men have higher rates of traumatic injuries and exposure to significant physical risks, violence hazards, and stricter normative …

Perceptions Of Paraprofessionals On The Grow Your Own Teacher Program In Three Rural School Districts In Eastern North Carolina, Tony Faison

Doctor of Education Dissertations

The Grow Your Own Teacher (GYOT) program addresses the shortage of qualified teachers by recruiting and training community residents to become qualified teachers. These programs look and feel like community-building strategies instead of teacher pipeline strategies. The GYOT initiative is not new, but the mainstream absorption of the GYOT initiative presents an exciting opportunity to link education policy and neighborhood revitalization more closely. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of paraprofessionals on the GYOT program in three rural school districts in eastern North Carolina. The conceptual framework was based on Yosso's (2005) Cultural Wealth Model, …

Developing Pedagogical Content Knowledge As Communal Practice: A Case Study Of Chemistry Graduate Teaching Assistants, Walker Bryan Mask

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Learning does not only happen during dedicated instructional time, which also applies to learning how to teach. Teachers can reflect on their practice while working to continue to improve and develop their teaching skills. In addition to self-reflection, teachers can also learn from their colleagues to experiment with new practices and take others’ teaching knowledge into their repertoire. Understanding how these two processes function can lead to developments in teacher education and professional development, specifically for initiatives that seek to promote collaboration among teachers. Post-secondary educators in particular can benefit from collaborative and reflective practices to improve their teaching, especially …

Teachers’ Sustained Culturally Responsive Practices Three Years After Participation In Professional Development, Brittany Manion

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Teacher professional development (PD) on culturally responsive practices (CRP) provides teachers the opportunity to increase their knowledge and change their practices to better support students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. This study sampled from a year-long intensive PD on effective instructional practices for English learners (ELs). Grounded in transformative and situated learning theories, this study was designed to understand teachers’ sustained CRP and their experiences four years after participating in a CRP PD. Several questions were investigated in this study: What CRP do teachers sustain? What are factors and supports related to teachers’ sustained implementation? What challenges do teachers …

The Miseducation Of The Black Teacher: An Examination Of Anti-Blackness And Deficit Thinking, Chalena Yancey Beasley

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of the phenomenological transformative study (Mertens, 2010) is to understand Black teachers' perceptions of students in predominantly Black, low-income schools. Seven Black teachers took part in this qualitative study in individual virtual interviews. Five of the participants were interviewed in a virtual focus group interview. The interview questions were designed to explore the challenges and successes experienced by Black teachers in educating Black students who live in low-income homes. People who operate from a deficit thinking perspective see students who are culturally different from the affluent culture as less capable (Nelson & Guerra, 2014; Shields, 2016; Walker, 2011). …

Exploring Professional Dispositions With Preservice Teachers Assignment Description, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

The dispositions needed to be an educator is vast. Some dispositions come naturally to teacher candidates and others are nurtured by teacher education programs. According to the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (2008), professional dispositions expected of teacher candidates include “the ideal of fairness and the belief that all students can learn (p. 22). This assignment provides teacher candidates an opportunity to explore, analyze, and discuss various professional dispositions needed by educators using six examples of children’s literature, all of which by the author, Patricia Polacco.

The Journey Box: Promoting Language Development While Exploring One’S Identity, David Wolff

Open Educational Resources - Teaching and Learning

A Journey Box allows students to explore and share their family’s historical narrative using primary sources like interviews and artifacts. Students explore different facets of their own family’s history and journey to America while engaging in a larger shared experience among classmates to understand different perspectives. The Journey Box develops oral and written language skills while supporting individual’s exploration of their culture and identity.

Teaching Black Elementary Students: The Influence Of Experiences And Teacher Preparation For Pwi And Hbcu Interns On Their Understanding Of And Self-Efficacy For Culturally Responsive Teaching, Jeania N. Jones

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teacher preparation program agendas include culturally responsive teaching (CRT) due to the student diversity in modern elementary classrooms. Overwhelmingly, White, middle-class English-speaking women who may not completely understand their students' cultural backgrounds are teachers in those culturally diverse classrooms. In schools where Eurocentric values, assumptions, beliefs, and methodologies are being taught, many students of color are not performing well academically. Black teachers and teachers with a good understanding of students' cultural experiences and backgrounds have higher expectations and counter the racial stereotypes about Black students. This multiple case study examined how two teacher interns understand Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) and …

Resilience In Early Second Career Stem Teachers Employed In Public Secondary Schools, Donald Selway

Theses and Dissertations

A troubling shortage of K-12 Science, Technology, Engineer and Mathematics (STEM) teachers exists in the United States. One solution to increase STEM teachers involves recruiting STEM professionals to transition from industry to K-12 teaching. Research indicates that fostering resilience is one way to help new STEM teachers’ retention and persistence in the field. This study explored individual and programmatic factors that increase early career and early second career K-12 STEM teachers’ resilience. Moreover, this research examined how strategic initiatives and programs assisted STEM professionals to build resilience as they transitioned into K-12 STEM educators.

This study utilized mixed-methods design to …

Guide To Relationship-Rich Education In Teaching & Learning: Introduction To The 2022 Pedagogicon Proceedings, Russell Carpenter, Kevin Dvorak

Pedagogicon Conference Proceedings

The Guide to Relationship-Rich Education is a compilation of teaching strategies that promote relationship-rich education strategies (Felten & Lambert, 2020) across higher education contexts. In this guide, teacher-scholars present relationship-rich strategies and corresponding analyses across teaching and learning environments.

A Survey Research Study Of Conference Attendance And Change: What Do Educators Gain From Anti-Bias/Anti-Racist Professional Development?, Erin Rae

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Research studies suggest that professional development would betterprepare the 84% White teaching force to serve diverse classrooms. Schools have begun providing professional development with desired outcomes of better serving their diverse student body. This research study focused on educators who received summer camp-style immersive anti-bias/anti-racist professional development and examined the relationships between aspects of educator change as measured by a survey instrument (n=57). The research found that teachers were likely to make anti-bias/anti-racist classroom practice changes after attending the social justice summer camp. By better understanding educator change proceeding summer camp style conferences, this study offers implications for implementing anti-bias/anti-racist …

A Comparative Study On Critical Thinking Skills Of Isec And Non-Isec Teachers In Institutions Of Higher Education In The North Of China, Liqin Tang

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Critical thinking (CT) has become a main focus in the higher education and is viewed as one of the essential skills for students to succeed in the 21^st century. Many studies focus on Chinese students and their CT skills. There is a scarcity of research targeting teachers’ CT. However, teachers are the key to successful education and they play a crucial role in any education reform. Teachers’ perception, attitude, and experience impact the educational practice. Therefore, it is imperative to examine teachers’ CT.

This study utilized a non-experimental causal-comparative methodology with an explanatory mixed methods research design. The purpose …

Does Individual Innovativeness Influence Tpack Development?: The Case Of Pre-Service Efl Teachers In Türkiye, Taibe Kulaksız

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

: This study aims to investigate how pre-service EFL teachers’ individual innovativeness levels affect their TPACK development during an educational technology course. Employing a quasi-experimental research design, the participants were 59 pre-service EFL teachers. The course followed the Diffusion of Innovation Theory steps. Analyzing the data, TPACK and individual innovativeness scales were implemented as pre- and post-tests. The results showed a significant increase in participants' TPACK, while their individual innovativeness did not exhibit a significant change during the course. Although there was a notable difference in pre-service teachers' initial TPACK levels based on their innovativeness, this difference was no longer …

How Are Preservice Teachers Discursively Positioned During Microteaching? The Views Of Student Teachers In Hong Kong, John Trent

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports the results of a qualitative study that used in-depth interviews to understand the experiences and perceptions of six pre-service teachers as they engaged in microteaching at a tertiary institution in Hong Kong. Using a framework grounded in dialogism and positioning theory, the study describes the ways in which different discourses offer, as well as deny, positions to the pre-service teachers as they planned and implemented microlessons. The results suggest that competition between these discourses to position pre-service teachers can result in microteaching being associated with negative emotional experiences, such as disappointment, isolation, and frustration. This emotional dissonance …

"Sky-High Motivation": Intradisciplinary Integrative- Courses For Excelling Teachers' Training, Yael Kimhi

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In many teacher education programs, curricula are comprised of fragmented courses within an academic discipline. This longitudinal study followed one cohort of teacher trainees in a fast-track B.Ed. program in Israel and explored an integrative approach to intradisciplinary courses. These courses were organized around significant themes and issues. A mixed-method methodology was implemented. The data included 81 teacher trainee responses, 16 mentor responses, and 11 college staff responses. Data were gathered during three years at four different time points: 1) online questionnaire for trainees and mentors (end of 1^st and 3^rd year); 2) trainee focus groups and steering …

Student Teachers’ Initial Professional Identity: A Case In An Efl Teacher Education Program, Uun Muhaji, Didi Sukyadi, Ahmad Bukhori Muslim

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Student teachers enter teacher education programs with existing values, beliefs, and knowledge about teaching. However, little is known about the significant resources that shape this initial professional identity. Additionally, there is a lack of understanding regarding how first-year student teachers depict their initial professional identity in the context of Indonesia. This case study examines the initial professional identity of 23 first-year Indonesian student teachers in an English as a Foreign Language Teacher Education Program (EFLTEP) in Indonesia. Utilizing Esteban-Guitart's Funds of Identity theory, data were collected through participants' narratives via significant circles, self-portrait drawings and interviews. Data were …

Scaffolding Methods And The Long Shadow Of Ramist Formalism: A Call For Correction In Teacher Education, Brian R. Moon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Modern Anglophone pedagogy is characterised by some distinctive approaches to teaching and learning that set it apart from earlier instructional traditions. Among these are certain forms of scaffolding that emphasise students’ construction of knowledge. Such methods are consistent with a trend toward visible activity and display in pedagogical practice, in place of dialogue and inner contemplation. In ITE courses, scaffolding strategies are promoted to beginning teachers as novel and effective products of modern cognitive psychology and constructivist theories of learning. Here I offer a historical correction to that view, demonstrating that today’s popular scaffolding strategies have a much longer history, …

Experiential Learning Projects As Assessment In Initial Teacher Education, Renee Crawford, Louise E. Jenkins, Lydia Wan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In a rapidly changing global environment, Initial Teacher Educators (ITE) have a responsibility to role-model contemporary teaching approaches, which develop graduates who think creatively and flexibly in educational workplaces. An important aspect of this work is supporting pre-service teachers (PSTs) to understand how to design assessments which facilitate a deep understanding of student learning. This learning can be achieved through the implementation of assessments which model contemporary practices and enrich student learning in ITE courses. This paper discusses new ways to consider the purpose of assessment by focusing on Experiential Learning (EL) as a form of assessment in ITE. This …

Towards Pre-Service Teachers’ Theory-Praxis Nexus In Early Years English And Literacy Education: A Pilot Study, Maryanne Pale, Sarah Ohi, Lyn Kee

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

International literature highlights that a perennial challenge for initial teacher educators is to guide Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) to develop a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between theory and practice. Whilst there is a growing body of research that examines the relationship and/or the gap between theory and practice in teacher education, there remains a paucity of research that examines this phenomenon in the teaching of English and literacy units in higher education. This pilot study examined how PSTs from two Australian universities made connections and/or links (nexus) between their academic knowledge (theory) and professional experience (praxis) for the teaching of …

‘We Were All Green And Brand New’: Mentoring In Theories Of Child Development For Australian Early Career Preschool Teachers, Emma Ellis, Andrea Reupert, Marie Hammer

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Three Australian Government commissioned reports from 2011-2017 convey a longstanding child development theory-practice gap in early childhood education. This study explores what informs mentors’ discussions of theories of child development with early career preschool teachers. Grounded in Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, themes relate to the wide role of the early childhood teacher, variation in initial teacher education, developing teacher identity, emotional connections, and consolidation and extension of university learning of child development theories. Critical discussion of themes from a Freirean perspective illustrates how mentors conveyed experiences of oppression, marginalisation, and liberation. We offer that though the child development theory-practice gap is …

Technological Tools And Methods Used In Formative Assessment Activities, Lisa E. Goldsmith

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation examined the use of technological tools in formative assessment activities. These phenomena have left teachers searching for timely methods to perform formative assessment or assessment for learning activities. The problem addressed by this study was that standardized testing, large class size, and increasing distance learning at all educational levels, achieving formative assessment tasks necessary for successful learning can be a challenge. The sample from which data was gathered was 189 studies and academic articles. The target of the assessment process became apparent in many of the sections studied, which led to information about the impact of the …