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“Maths Outside Of Maths”: Pre-Service Teachers’ Awareness Of Mathematical And Statistical Thinking Across Teachers’ Professional Work, Judy Bailey, Bronwen Cowie, Beverley Cooper

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Mathematical and statistical thinking is involved across the breadth of people’s home and work life and leisure activities. This paper reports on an aspect of a project that aimed to develop pre-service teacher awareness of the mathematical and statistical thinking required across the breadth of primary teachers’ professional role. This thinking is conceptualised as the mathematics and statistics embedded in each of the curriculum learning areas, in data literacy, and administration and management tasks. Mentor meetings indicated pre-service teachers who were completing a one-year graduate diploma initially had a limited awareness of the extent of this thinking. Through focus group …

Influence Of Teachers’ Metacognitive Skills On Development Of Early-Childhood Students, Sunthorn Thienngam, Aree Promlek, Koranit Thongsaard

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The objectives were to study and develop metacognitive skills of 1,616 early childhood in-service teachers in Child Development Center, Thailand. The quasi-experimental design were implied. Research Tools were Metacognitive Self-Assessment Questionnaire and scoring rubrics for early childhood students’ assessment. Data were analyzed through fundamental statistics and inferential statistics. The research results were as follows:

The teachers who joined with the program had got higher metacognitive skills score for both knowledge of cognition and knowledge of regulation than the other one. The teachers who had different supportive factors, different attitude towards pedagogy and different self-efficacy, would have got statistically significant difference …

Teacher Candidates’ Views On Self And Peer Assessment As A Tool For Student Development, Fisun Bozkurt

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This phenomenological research explores the opinions of social studies teacher candidates about self and peer assessment. It is a descriptive study using qualitative data from a sample of 21 teacher candidates. Research data were collected using a semi-structured interview and the researcher's observation notes. The data were analysed using the descriptive content analysis method. The findings showed that self and peer assessment could serve as a powerful learning activity rather than simply an assessment tool. The results also indicated that self and peer assessment support the development of skills, such as self-regulation, critical thinking and decision-making. Teacher candidates reported that …

Effective Teacher Professional Learning On Classroom Behaviour Management: A Review Of Literature, Pramesti P. Paramita, Angelika Anderson, Umesh Sharma

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Classroom behaviour management is an essential skill for teachers, yet teachers often report being inadequately prepared for addressing student behaviour effectively. Teacher professional learning on classroom behaviour management is continually needed to support teacher implementation of evidence-based classroom management practices. This article reports the findings from a systematic literature review aimed to identify the features and reported findings of recent teacher professional learning programs on classroom behaviour management. The result indicates that most of the effective programs were focused on training teachers on a specific strategy such as behaviour specific praise, or a combination of several proactive behaviour management strategies. …

Supporting Undergraduate University Students Through Instrumental Mentoring, Cindy A. Smith, Susan Beltman, Judith Dinham, Toni J. Dobinson, Jenny Jay

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Student engagement and retention is a noted concern for universities and may be impacted by many different student factors such as difficulty transitioning to a university setting, inadequate skills or a sense of isolation. This study evaluated an instrumental mentoring program conducted at an Australian University in a program for pre service teachers. Twenty four undergraduate students were engaged as volunteer research assistants and worked with seven academic staff in meaningful writing and research tasks. Qualitative data was collected through focus groups, student journals, and follow up interviews. The data was analysed thematically. Results indicated that through their participation, students …

A Whole-School Approach To Promoting Staff Wellbeing, Leanne Lester, Carmel Cefai, Valeria Cavioni, Amy Barnes, Donna Cross Professor

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A caring school community can enhance whole-school wellbeing including the wellbeing of school staff, which directly impacts on student academic, social and emotional wellbeing. This study firstly examines the validity and reliability of a proposed whole-school staff wellbeing evaluation tool which uses a set of whole-school wellbeing indicators to identify strengths and areas for improvement within the school environment which may be impacting on staff wellbeing. Secondly, the association between factors found within the whole-school staff wellbeing tool with staff self-reported mental health are examined, and finally, the influence of person characteristics and role of factors on perceived whole-school staff …

Fun And Friendly Or Wild And Offensive? Preservice Teachers’ Use Of And Image Conveyed By Social Media, Marlynn M. Griffin, Cordelia Zinskie

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The study presents survey results from 515 preservice teachers at a regional United States institution on their social media use, specifically, their self-reported personal image conveyed on their social media sites, likelihood of posting problematic content on their social media sites, and preference for various others viewing their social media sites. While many preservice teachers reported appropriate social media use, some participants conveyed inappropriate personal images; had reservations about supervisors, employers, and university faculty viewing their sites; and were likely to post problematic content. Thus, it is incumbent for teacher preparation programs to develop clear policies as preservice teachers must …

Elaborating A Model For Teacher Professional Learning To Sustain Improvement In Teaching Practice, Pauline W. Thompson, Jeana A. Kriewaldt, Christine Redman

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

: Effective professional learning is acknowledged as a key lever to improve teacher practice. However, many studies report significant variation in the effectiveness of the types of programs on offer. Recently, there has been a move from the traditional single-event, passive approach to more collaborative and ongoing forms of professional learning. Interestingly, researchers have paid little attention to understanding the experience of professional learning from the teachers’ viewpoint. This research sought to develop this understanding by following the attitudes and behaviours of a group of secondary teachers as they participated in an ongoing professional learning program. This professional learning program …

Examination Of Text And Video-Formatted Learning Diaries In The Teacher Education, Murat Debbag, Mustafa Fidan

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study aims to comparatively examine the text and video formatted learning diaries created within the scope of a school experience course which is a part of teacher education programs for prospective science teachers (PSTs). The case study design was used in this study. The participants created their learning diaries both in text and video formats for the school experience. Results showed that both text formatted diaries and video formatted diaries not only made it possible for the PSTs to see, review, and correct their deficiencies with respect to the profession of teaching, but also made contributions to the development …

Asian Students' Perceptions Of How They Are Seen In 'The West': A Case Study At An Australian University, Toni J. Dobinson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Australian universities attract increasing numbers of students from the Asia-Pacific region. It is important, therefore, that academics have meaningful understandings of these students in order to provide them with a supportive learning environment. This article suggests that part of this understanding is being aware of the ways in which some of these students perceive they are seen by those in the receiving countries and the discourses which may feed these perceptions. The qualitative study reported here outlines the perceptions of 10 Vietnamese offshore postgraduates (VOPs) and nine Asian onshore postgraduates (AOPs) from different Asian countries at an Australian university. All …

A Case-Based Tool Promoting Teacher’S Reflection On Intercultural Encounters, Anuleena Kimanen, Tapani Innanen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This design-based study explores what kind of reflection in-service or student teachers produced in case-based discussion workshops, and how. Worksheets on the case and tasks facilitated discussion in small groups. In this study, the targets of reflection written on those sheets are analysed. Three levels and seven categories of reflection emerged, ranging from context and practices to principles and power relations. Most of the reflection was superficial or on the meso-level, the level of deepest reflection was reached to greatly differing degrees depending on the group or case concerned. Both some in-service and some student teachers needed scaffolding by …

Assessment Of Literacy Pedagogy Using Gratitude, Glenn Auld, Andrew Eyers, Joanne O'Mara

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper considers aspects of a course redesign that focuses on motivating Pre-service Teachers to engage in negotiating relevant literacy teaching pedagogies in their discipline. The purpose of this article is to describe how we approached the teaching of literacy with Pre-service Teachers, in ways that valued the Pre-service Teachers’ relationships with secondary students using notes of gratitude. These notes provided the Pre-service Teachers with an opportunity to communicate in plain language to the students what they learnt from them about literacy pedagogy. The shift from the focus on the subject matter of literacy to the enactment of literacy teaching …

Factor Structure Of Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale For School-Teachers In Hong Kong, Chi Hung Leung, Ming Tak Hue

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigates the perceptions of teaching competency in multicultural classrooms held by 421 teachers at 16 schools in Hong Kong. The aims of the study are (a) to use confirmatory factor analysis to validate a culturally appropriate version of the Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale (MTCS), (b) to assess three types of multicultural-teaching competency, and (c) to provide recommendations for teacher-education institutes and policy makers on developing effective training in multicultural education. The results indicate that a tripartite model assessing skills, knowledge, and relationships, the core features of multicultural-teaching competency as assessed by the MTCS from a Hong Kong sample. …

Investigation Of Saudi Teachers’ Perceptions Of Teaching And Learning After A 12-Month Professional Development Programme In Australia, Gosia Klatt, Amy Berry, Anne Suryani, Veronica Volkoff, Hesham Khadawardi

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigates the perceptions of teaching and learning of teachers from Saudi Arabia who participated in a 12-month professional development programme based in Australia. Considering the design of the programme and the vast differences between the education systems and cultures of the two countries, this study examines Saudi teachers’ classroom practices and challenges while teaching at schools in their home country, and whether their perceptions of teaching practice changed during and after participating in the professional development programme in Australia. Factors that might have influenced the changes to and nature of their teaching aspirations and plans for their students …

Exploring Zimbabwean Mathematics Teachers’ Integration Of Ethnomathematics Approaches Into The Teaching And Learning Of Geometry., Gladys Sunzuma, Aneshkumar Maharaj Prof

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article reports on a study that explored how a group of in-service mathematics teachers integrated ethnomathematics approaches into the teaching and learning of geometry. The study used a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, which combined both quantitative and qualitative methods, to provide a deeper understanding of how the participants integrate ethnomathematics approaches into the teaching and learning of geometry. The data for the study were gathered from 40 in-service mathematics teachers through the use of questionnaires and focus group discussions. Results showed that the in-service teachers integrate ethnomathematics approaches into the teaching and learning of geometry as learning …

Teacher Perspectives On The Use Of The Australian Professional Standards For Teachers As Part Of Their Evaluation Process, Damien Barry, Donna Pendergast, Katherine Main

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teacher effectiveness has a powerful impact on student performance and a teacher evaluation process that supports professional growth can be a key lever for improving teaching quality. The purpose of this study was to examine teacher perspectives on the use of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, when used as part of their evaluation process, and, to determine what other factors may need to be considered in the design and implementation of such a process. A single case study of a school in Victoria, Australia was conducted, using a pre and post interview approach with six teachers. Responses were analysed …

Learning To Become An English Language Teacher: Navigating The Self Through Peer Practicum, Irem Comoglu, Kenan Dikilitas

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Pre-service English language teachers' school practicum is key to their learning to become a teacher. However, a number of challenges are observed in its implementation. This paper addresses this issue by investigating how engaging in practicum as peers can function as mentoring support and how this process can influence their selves. A cohort of 16 senior pre-service English teachers was invited to participate in the study from a state university in the west of Turkey. We collected qualitative data through dialogic verbal records and post-practicum interviews. The data were analyzed through thematic analysis. The results show that pre-service teachers provided …

Safe Spaces For Enabling The Creative Process In Classrooms, Monique Fuss, Graham R. Daniel

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Based on interviews with five creative professionals this article looks to investigate the creative experience as a source of data on how educators might create space for enabling the creative process in the classroom. Looking toward professional artists who are also committed educators provides core commentary on how to maximise creative experiences in the classroom. Whilst acknowledging the importance of physical space, the following article looks purposefully toward how to enable space as an internal state of being, with the intent toward establishing transdisciplinary discussions that stimulate and provoke creative pedagogical research across an interdependent continuum. The research concludes that …

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 …

Lessons In Persistence: Investigating The Challenges Faced By Preservice Teachers In Teaching Coding And Computational Thinking In An Unfamiliar Context, Vinesh Chandra, Margaret Lloyd

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

An ongoing problem for teacher education institutions is bridging the gap between theory and practice and offering authentic experiences to challenge preservice teachers’ pedagogical decision-making. Preservice practicums simulate teaching and can, at best, offer controlled experiences in familiar settings. This restricts the opportunities for preservice teachers to develop confidence in their own pedagogical decision-making and to adapt curriculum to meet unknown or unforeseen conditions. This paper describes, through a small-scale qualitative case study, a teaching experience in an unfamiliar setting, the persistent actions taken to respond to a specific context and the impact this had on preservice teacher knowledge and …

Factors In Agency Development: A Supervisory Teaching Perspective, Paul Crowhurst, Linley Cornish

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Promoting student agency is an emerging priority in education. Supervisory teaching is a potentially useful approach for supporting agency development. This approach includes two characteristics, namely, tutorial learning conversations between the teacher and a group of one to four students, and students learning independently for extended periods of time. Supervisory teaching lessons in three primary-school classrooms were observed over a period of five months and teachers were interviewed as part of the data collection process. Five key factors were found to support students to have more agency in their learning: independence and ownership, scaffolding, students as teachers, joyfulness, and reflection. …

Pre-Service Science And Mathematics Teachers’ Teaching Efficacy Beliefs And Attitudes Toward Teaching: A Partial Correlation Research, Büşra Kartal

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teachers with a high level of self-efficacy and positive attitudes are more likely to use new and constructivist approaches and to create a learning environment in which students may develop 21st-century skills. Examining pre-service teachers’ attitudes and beliefs related to teaching allow teacher preparation programs to evaluate their effectiveness on beliefs and attitudes. This correlational research investigated pre-service elementary science and mathematics teachers’ beliefs and attitudes due to gender, grade level, and department, and revealed the reliable correlation between beliefs and attitudes performing partial correlation. Results show that females feel more efficacious in teaching and have more positive attitudes than …

Reappraising The Aitsl Professional Engagement Domain: Clarifying Social Capacity Building For School Leaders To Enhance Overall Teacher Job Satisfaction And Career Longevity, Geoffrey M. Lowe, Peter F. Prout, Christina C. Gray, Sarah Jefferson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2018) stipulate what teachers should know and do through each career stage. School leaders are complicit in promoting the Standards are met by all staff, including Professional Engagement (Standards Six and Seven). While the Standards emphasise content and pedagogical capacity building, we contend that teaching is a social enterprise. Although social capacity building is implied in the Professional Engagement domain through terms such as ‘collegiality, collaboration and dialogue’, we question the degree to which it is understood by school leaders. We ask this in light of influential studies by Waldinger (2010) and Vaillant …

Primary Science Teachers’ Self-Efficacy And Outcome Expectancy: A Case Study, Gillian Ward, Helen Dixon, Helen Withy

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Self-efficacious teachers are critical in the development of students’ positive attitudes towards science and scientific literacy yet to date little attention has been given to studies of experienced teachers of primary science and development of their self-efficacy (SE) beliefs. The aim of this study was to explore how two experienced teachers of primary science built their SE beliefs and outcome expectancy. Bandura’s (1977) SE framework provided the conceptual lens to understand participants’ experiences and beliefs. Findings suggest that teachers’ SE beliefs had developed over time, creating a foundation for a strong expectancy outcome. Each of the sources of influence made …

Anatomy Of A Peace Educator: Her Work And Workplace, Gulistan Gursel-Bilgin, David Flinders

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article reports a case study that examined the peace education practice of a 5th and 6th grade teacher at an independent, non-profit school in the Mid-western United States. The study used Paulo Freire’s (1970) conception of dialogue as its conceptual framework. After describing the study’s context and methods, we present data focusing on the teacher’s background and development as a peace educator, her teaching practices, and her relationships with her students, school and local community. We discuss Michelle’s interdisciplinary approach to peace education linked with her personal background and her use of dialogue as dynamic, fluid, and relational. Our …

Prevalence, Predictors And Sources Of Information Regarding Neuromyths In An Australian Cohort Of Preservice Teachers, Mark Carter, Penny Van Bergen, Jennifer Stephenson, Carol Newall, Naomi Sweller

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The term neuromyths refers to misconceptions about learning and the brain. Educator neuromyths may result in inappropriate instruction, labelling of learners, and wasted resources. To date, little research has considered the sources of these beliefs. We surveyed 1359 Australian preservice educators (M = 22.7, SD = 5.7 years) about their sources of information for 15 neuromyth and 17 general brain knowledge statements. Consistent with previous studies, neuromyth beliefs were prevalent. Predictors of neuromyth accuracy included general brain knowledge and completion of university classes addressing neuromyths, although effects were modest. Depending on the belief, participants relied on general knowledge, academic staff, …

Teachers’ Beliefs And Practices Of Cooperative Group Work Assessment: Selected Secondary School Teachers In Focus, Abate Demissie Gedamu, Getu Lemma Shewangezaw

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study aimed to investigate the beliefs and practices of group work assessment of secondary school teachers. For this reason, 213 teachers were selected randomly for a questionnaire survey. In addition, two teachers and five students were selected for interviews and focus group discussions at each site, respectively. A one-sample t-test was applied to analyze the data acquired through the questionnaire while the Pearson product-moment correlation was used to examine the relationship between the beliefs and practices of group work assessment. The data obtained through interviews and focus group discussion (FGD), were analyzed through thematic verbal descriptions. The findings showed …

Preservice Teachers’ Sense Of Belonging During Practicum Placements, Yvonne Dewhurst, Michelle Ronksley-Pavia, Donna Pendergast

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Practicum placements in schools are keystone features of preservice teacher education, yet inconsistencies in their nature and quality are pervasive. This phenomenon was explored in two cultural contexts, with a focus on ‘belonging’, which the literature reveals may impact practicums and commitment to the profession. Interviews were conducted with six primary school preservice teachers in Australia and Scotland, about their lived experience of belonging/non-belonging during practicum. Hermeneutic phenomenological analysis revealed four themes in both cultural contexts: 1. Being welcomed; 2. Settings and procedures; 3. Interpersonal interactions; and, 4. Strategic behaviours. This study indicates belonging as crucial to preservice teachers’ cognition, …

Curriculum Alignment After Reforms: A Systematic Review With Considerations For Queensland Pre- And In-Service Teachers, Claudia Elisabeth Johnson, Helen J. Boon, Maree Dinan Thompson

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This systematic review synthesises research on curriculum alignment to suggest considerations for the implementation of the Senior secondary curriculum reform in Queensland, Australia. It focuses on the coherence of cognitive skills in the prescribed and enacted curriculum as these are typically the least aligned curriculum components. Search methods, which followed the PRISMA model, resulted in 108 relevant articles for qualitative synthesis. Results show that alignment after curriculum reforms is typically low. The use of educational taxonomies can support curriculum alignment. Marzano and Kendall’s (2007) New Taxonomy of Educational Objectives underpins the new Queensland Senior secondary syllabi which, in line with …

Implicit Theories Of Learning As Reflected In One Upper Elementary Teacher's Talk, Laura May, Diane Truscott, R. D. Fremeau

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Strong empirical evidence exists indicating language can influence students’ beliefs about ability. Professional literature for teachers offers practical advice on how to adjust their classroom-based talk to support student achievement by orienting students toward an incremental theory of ability. Yet, little empirical work has been done to investigate how teacher talk plays out moment-to-moment within the classroom context. This study reports on a qualitative analysis of one upper elementary teacher's talk with regard to implicit theories of learning. Findings suggest teacher talk is dynamic and overlapping, operating along a continuum from entity-oriented talk to incremental-oriented talk across varied classroom situations. …