Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons^™

The Use Of The Internet For English Language Teachers’ Professional Development In Arab Countries, Mohammad Madallh Alhabahba, Omer Hassan Ali Mahfoodh

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigated the relationship between English language teachers’ motives to use online teaching resources and three types of Internet practices: teachers’ practices in using the Internet to collaborate with others, teachers’ practices for classroom teaching, and the Internet’s contribution to the overall professional development of teachers. Gender was also used to assess differences in the proposed model. In this study, one hundred and seventy-four English language teachers completed an online survey. SmartPLS was used to assess the measurement and the structural models. The results indicated that participation was a significant determinant of both English language teachers’ Internet-related practices at …

Pre-Service Teachers And Climate Change: A Stalemate?, Helen J. Boon

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Findings from the second phase of a study of pre-service teachers’ attitudes to environmental education and knowledge of climate change are reported in this paper. A sample of 87 pre-service teachers participated in a survey study in the last year of their Bachelor of Education degree to examine developments to their attitudes to environmental education and their knowledge of climate change as a result of training. Results showed their attitudes towards environmental education were consistently favourable, but their climate change science knowledge had not changed as a result of their participation in their degree. Data on preservice teachers’ sources of …

‘Knowing Your Students’ In The Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Classroom, Robyn Moloney, David Saltmarsh

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The population movement of globalization brings greater cultural and linguistic diversity (CALD) to communities and education systems. To address the growing diversity in school classrooms, beginning teachers need an expanded set of skills and attitudes to support effective learning. It is an expectation today that teachers know their students and how the students learn. It follows that lecturers and tutors should also know something of the cultural and linguistic profile of their pre-service teacher education students. This article reports a study in a university which examined its teacher education practice in this light. It assessed the curriculum provision of material …

Why Is Active Learning So Difficult To Implement: The Turkish Case, Fisun Aksit, Hannele Niemi, Anne Nevgi

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article aims to report how teacher education may promote active learning which is demanded by the current educational reform of Turkish teacher education (TE). This article also examines the effectiveness of the recent reforms in Turkey from a student’s perspective, and provides an understanding of the concept of active learning, how it is applied and what the obstacles are to achieving it. The data were collected through open-ended questions on an electronic platform. Student teachers (n = 316) in the Faculty of Education at Erciyes University responded to the questions. The data were analysed qualitatively through content analysis. The …

Preparing International Pre-Service Teachers For Professional Placement: In-School Induction, Sasikala Nallaya

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper reports on an Australian University’s support program to prepare its first year international pre-service teachers (IPSTs) for professional placement. The aim of the program was to address some of the practicum challenges experienced by the IPSTs. A case study was undertaken to investigate the effectiveness of the program. Ten international students enrolled in the Master of Teaching program were participants of this investigation. Data was collected through a questionnaire administered post-program and non-participant observation. The findings indicated that the program was beneficial towards inducting IPSTs to the Australian school context and contributed towards their confidence, communicative skills, and …

Cook Islands Students' Attitudes Towards Physical Education, Aue Te Ava, Christine Rubie-Davies

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Teacher education has the potential to bring changes within educational systems that can shape the knowledge and skills of future generations. Teaching in a culturally responsive manner is an important part of developing teachers to serve as key change agents in transforming education and society through research, from the perspectives of student learning and achievement in health and physical education. It was expected in this study that students’ recognition of cultural activities could inspire them to engage in physical education. The aim of the study was to examine student awareness of teaching that included cultural activities, with an emphasis on …

Supporting Teachers To Develop Substantive Discourse In Primary Science Classrooms, Prudence M. Smith, Mark W. Hackling

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Students’ thinking and learning in inquiry-based science is contingent on them being able to participate in substantive conversations so they explore their ideas and develop reasons and explanations for the outcomes of their investigations.

While teachers understand the importance of talk for student learning, they are often unaware of the impact of their discourse practice on the quality of classroom talk. To develop substantive classroom discourse, first teachers need to understand what substantive talk looks and sounds like, and then they need to develop their capacity to use questioning and discourse moves to achieve such talk. Science poses additional challenges …

School-Based Youth Physical Activity Promotion: Thoughts And Beliefs Of Pre-Service Physical Education Teachers, Jerome N. Rachele, Thomas F. Cuddihy, Tracy L. Washington, Steven M. Mcphail

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Physical education teachers are central to the facilitation of school-based physical activity promotion. However, teachers have self-reported a lack of knowledge, skills, understanding, and competence to successfully implement these strategies. The aim of this investigation was to explore the beliefs and perceptions of pre-service physical education teachers, concerning their potential roles in future school-based programs designed to promote student physical activity. Fifty-seven pre-service physical education teachers (21 males and 36 females) had complete data and were included in the analysis. Participants responded positively, and did not reveal concerns about their capacity to facilitate school-based physical activity promotion during practicum, and …

Kindergarten Children Demonstrating Numeracy Concepts Through Drawings And Explanations: Intentional Teaching Within Play-Based Learning, Philemon Chigeza, Reesa Sorin

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Using both child-guided and adult-guided learning, Intentional Teaching in the early years can be a powerful tool for enhancing young children’s numeracy skills. As Epstein (2009) notes, this can include providing “opportunities for children to represent things by drawing, building and moving” (p. 47). This paper investigates how kindergarten (four-five year olds) children represented and demonstrated numeracy concepts through their drawings and explanations, completed for a research study that used arts-based strategies to enhance children’s environmental understanding. This research study involved kindergarten children in Australia creating and exchanging postcards (drawings and explanations) of their local environments with their peers in …

Role Perception Among Faculty Members At Teacher Education Colleges, Esther Grobgeld, Ariela Teichman-Weinberg, Egoza Wasserman, Mercedes Barchilon Ben-Av

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The goal of this study was to examine how faculty members at academic colleges of education perceive their role and to consider elements of their work that need to be included in a professional profile definition. All faculty of one college of education were asked: "What are the tasks/obligations of a faculty member at a college of education? Please list the ones important to you." Content analysis yielded eight themes which were used for construction of a closed questionnaire containing 61 items describing teacher educator tasks. This questionnaire was distributed to all teacher-training colleges nationwide. The faculty members were found …

“It’S About Improving My Practice”: The Learner Experience Of Real-Time Coaching, Erica J. Sharplin, Garth Stahl, Ben Kehrwald

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article reports on pre-service teachers’ experience of the Real-Time Coaching model, an innovative technology-based approach to teacher training. The Real-Time Coaching model uses multiple feedback cycles via wireless technology to develop within pre-service teachers the specific skills and mindset toward continual improvement. Results of this qualitative study suggest that pre-service teachers experienced an improved pedagogic practice, found the Real-Time Coaching process supportive and stress relieving, and valued its focus on practice, the explicitness of the teaching and the ability to implement feedback immediately.

Perceptions And Competence Of Turkish Pre-Service Science Teachers With Regard To Entrepreneurship, Isa Deveci

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The aim of this study is both to determine the perceptions of pre-service science teachers towards the concepts of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial characteristics and to investigate the perceptions of pre-service science teachers regarding transferring the entrepreneurial characteristics to students. This study is designed as a qualitative study and a phenomenological research approach is used. A total of 12 pre-service science teachers from grades 5 to 8 participated in the study. Data were gathered through the use of semi-structured interviews. The data were evaluated through both descriptive and content analysis. The results show that the perceptions of the 12 …

Feedback On Second Language Pronunciation: A Case Study Of Eap Teachers’ Beliefs And Practices, Amanda Baker, Michael Burri

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In the modern English language classroom,

Abstract: In the modern English language classroom, teachers are often faced with the challenging task of supporting students to achieve comprehensible pronunciation, but many teachers limit or neglect giving students feedback on their pronunciation for a variety of reasons. This paper examines the case of five experienced English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instructors who strive to provide feedback on specific features of pronunciation that negatively affect students’ comprehensibility. Results derived from semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and stimulated recall interviews reveal that the teachers use similar approaches to select and provide feedback on problematic features …

Mindfulness-Based Approaches For Young People With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Their Caregivers: Do These Approaches Hold Benefits For Teachers?, Rebekah Keenan-Mount, Nicole J. Albrecht, Lea Waters

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Parents and teachers who care for and educate young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face unique challenges associated with their roles. In this review we investigated the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions in reducing stress and increasing positive behaviours in young people with ASD and their caregivers: parents and teachers. Nine studies on the topic were located, showing that the research base in this field is in the infancy stage. Each study illuminated the transformational change caregivers and young people experience after practicing mindfulness training (MT). The results also highlighted the interdependent relationship between the caregivers’ level of mindfulness and …

Contextualizing Generic Pedagogical Knowledge Through Tension-Focused Reflection: A Self-Study, Zhu Chen

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A major concern in recent decades is that teachers are equipped with pedagogical knowledge through pre-service teacher education programs but know nothing about how to put pedagogical knowledge into their own teaching scenarios. Hence, an increasing attention has been attached to teachers’ contextualized understanding of pedagogical knowledge for effective teaching. Reflection has often been recommended as an instrument for constructing teachers’ context-specific knowledge of teaching. This self-study has identified an approach of reflection by which I, as a beginning Chinese language teacher-researcher, employed to develop contextualized understanding of a generic pedagogical model known as Quality Teaching (QT). The essence of …

Emotional Literacy And Pedagogical Confidence In Pre-Service Science And Mathematics Teachers, Tony Yeigh, Geoff Woolcott, Jim Donnelly, Rob Whannell, Matthew Snow, Amanda Scott

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This report details the findings from initial research seeking to improve the pedagogical confidence of pre-service STEM teachers by encouraging emotional literacy in the form of affect awareness. The report discusses how affect was measured for the study, what the affect outcomes were and how these measures are conceptually related to improving confidence for the pre-service teachers (PSTs). Findings indicate enhanced emotional feedback enabled the PSTs to analyse, understand and make use of affect information to reflect on their teaching confidence overall. Ongoing research will need to address the issue of negative affect awareness in teacher training, and strategies for …

Dangerous Practices: The Practicum Experiences Of Non-Indigenous Pre-Service Teachers In Remote Communities, Glenn Auld, Julie Dyer, Claire Charles

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper seeks to explore the risks of providing pre-service teachers with professional experiences in remote communities. In particular this paper focuses on the risks associated with this kind of professional experience. Twelve pre-service teachers were interviewed while on a three-week practicum around Katherine and in Maningrida in the Northern Territory during 2012. The dangers outlined in this paper relate to the way their experiences continued to be mediated by stereotypes and perpetuating colonial practices. The pre-service teachers’ limited understandings of Indigenous knowledges and languages are discussed before exploring the vexed issue of reverse culture shock that some of the …

Classroom Management And National Professional Standards For Teachers: A Review Of The Literature On Theory And Practice, Helen M. Egeberg, Andrew Mcconney, Anne Price

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article reviews the conceptual and empirical research on classroom management to ascertain the extent to which there is consistency between the “advice” found in the research literature and the professional standards for teachers and initial teacher education, in regards to knowledge and perspectives about effective classroom management. Focusing on the evolution of beliefs, knowledge and perspectives about classroom management the article will clarify effective classroom management and place this within the frameworks on effective teaching, in particular the AITSL standards, and consequently consider some implications for best practice.

Unpacking The Clinical And Participatory Dimensions Of The Trump Math-Teacher-Residency-Program, Dalia Imanuel-Noy, Tili Wagner

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Abstract: The research presents a Residency Math teacher education program that has been developed in Israel in search of transforming initial teacher preparation on the Clinical-Participatory continuum. It is a 'multi-phase' mixed-method research aiming to present the clinical and participatory dimensions of the TMR: the way in which they are reflected in the curriculum planning program, how Student Teachers (STs) in the program perceive the program's clinical and participatory dimensions and the nature of the challenges that arise in the program. Tools include: Documents of the programs; observations of the practical school experiences; A closed clinical social-interactive Questionnaire and a …

"There's Too Much To Explain": On Being A Bilingual Pre-Service Teacher In A Monolingual Teacher Education Institution., Jackie Coleman

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article is derived from a study which followed a group of bilingual and multilingual pre-service mainstream primary teachers over three years of their enrolment at an Australian university to investigate their perspectives and experiences related to their linguistic skills and the relationship of these to their English-medium course. By providing a platform for the voice of one study participant, Seo-yun (pseudonym), a bilingual Korean-Australian, to be heard in depth as her ‘story’ develops over three years, this article adds to the ‘stories’ of other linguistically diverse students in monolingual higher education contexts found elsewhere in the literature (For example, …

Comparison Between Primary Teacher Educators’ And Primary School Teachers’ Beliefs Of Primary Geography Education Quality, Gert Jan Bent, Anouke Bakx, Perry Den Brok

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this study teacher educators’ beliefs concerning primary geography education have been investigated and compared with primary school teachers’ beliefs. In this study 45 teacher educators and 489 primary school teachers completed a questionnaire, and nine teacher educators have been interviewed as well. It has been found that teacher educators are more critical about the quality of primary education than the primary school teachers themselves who are generally positive about the quality of primary geography. Teacher educators think that most primary school teachers are sufficiently competent to organise the more basic and simple geography lessons, but somehow lack the ability …

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 …

Exploring Quality Teaching In The Online Environment Using An Evidence-Based Approach, Elena Prieto-Rodriguez, Jennifer Gore, Kathryn Holmes

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Online learning is increasingly ubiquitous in higher education. However, research regarding online teaching often focuses on the affordances of the online environment rather than on the quality of pedagogy. In this paper we consider how online learning could be enhanced using rich pedagogical models that are consistent with a wealth of existing knowledge on pedagogy for face-to-face settings. To do so, we apply an established framework, the Quality Teaching model, to explore pedagogy in the online environment and illustrate its potential benefits using a case study of 60 students in a tertiary mathematics teacher education program. We conclude that the …

Influences On Preservice Writing Instruction During The Secondary English As An Additional Language Practicum In Australia, Minh Hue Nguyen, Jill Brown

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Informed by a sociocultural perspective on second language teacher education, the present qualitative study investigates three preservice teachers’ (PSTs) writing instruction during the English as an Additional Language (EAL) practicum in Australian secondary schools in relation to the multidimensional context of the practicum and the PSTs’ personal backgrounds. Sources of data included individual interviews with the PSTs and their school mentors, lesson plans and recordings, teaching materials, the PSTs’ self-reflections, and analysis of the schools’ EAL programs. Data analysis revealed that the main factors shaping PSTs’ writing instruction included the EAL programs at the schools, school teachers and the mentors …

Three Key Conditions To Revitialise An Eportfolio Program In Response To Increasing Regulation Of Teacher Education, John Leslie Kertesz

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This paper describes a study undertaken within the education faculty of a mid-sized university in response to the recommendations of the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG) (2014) that initial teacher education (ITE) graduates emerge with an evidence-based professional standards-focused portfolio of teaching competency. In concluding that current teacher educator usage of, and attitudes to, ePortfolios limit the capacity of this particular faculty to respond to this challenge, the paper proposes three critical conditions to revitalise a stalled ePortfolio program and prepare for an increasingly demanding future. In sharing this experience, the paper seeks to support discussion of how teacher …

Reflective Teaching And Self-Efficacy Beliefs: Exploring Relationships In The Context Of Teaching Efl In Iran, Mehdi Babaei, Arman Abednia

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This article reports on a study that explored the relationship between reflective teaching and teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs. Two questionnaires, the English Language Teaching Reflection Inventory (Akbari, Behzadpoor, & Dadvand, 2010) and Teachers’ Efficacy Beliefs System-Self (TEBS-Self) (Dellinger, Bobbett, Olivier, & Ellett, 2008), were distributed among 225 Iranian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers. Pearson product-moment correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between the general factors of teacher reflectiveness and self-efficacy. Standard multiple regression identified Efficacy for Learner Engagement as the only predictor of teacher reflectiveness and Meta-Cognitive Reflection as the only predictor of teacher self-efficacy. Finally, the interconnections …

Designing A Reflective Teacher Education Course And Its Contribution To Elt Teachers’ Reflectivity, Leila Tajik, Kazem Pakzad

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Researchers in the present study planned a reflective teacher education course and documented the contribution of such a course to improving teachers’ reflectivity. Five English teachers took part in the reflective teacher education course designed by the researchers. To record how the course could help improve reflective teaching, researchers asked participants to take part in stimulated recall prior to and after the course and to write reflective journals. Thematic analysis of the stimulated recall interviews and journals showed improvements in teachers’ reflective teaching as a result of attending the reflective course.

Part-Time Post Graduate Certificate In Education Teacher-Students: What Do They Bring To And Expect From A Formal South African Teaching Programme?, Tabitha Grace Mukeredzi, Doras Sibanda

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

The purpose of this study was to understand the nature and extent of subject content and curriculum knowledge that part-time Post Graduate Certificate in Education students in one South African university, brought to the classroom, and the kind and level of knowledge that they expected and sought from the programme. The study employed a qualitative design and data were collected through a questionnaire administered to 146 part-time students on this programme. These students were teaching in different contexts: urban, rural and, township high schools. The findings indicated that teachers within the 0-3 years’ professional life phase expected to gain knowledge …

Investigating Coherence Among Turkish Elementary Science Teachers’ Teaching Belief Systems, Pedagogical Content Knowledge And Practice, Eralp Bahcivan, William W. Cobern

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

This study investigated comprehensive science teaching belief systems and their relation to science teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and teaching practices. Rokeach’s (1968) belief system was used as a framework for representing the hierarchy among in-service teachers’ teaching beliefs. This study employed a multiple case study design with three in-service science teachers. Cases were selected based on participant’s personal epistemology. Data were collected through interviews and classroom observations. Content analyses showed that when science teachers presented characteristics of autonomous self-construal more than related self-construal, they had a more advanced personal epistemology. In addition, these beliefs shaped participants’ conceptions of teaching and …

Utilizing An Experiential Approach To Teacher Learning About Afl: A Consciousness Raising Opportunity, Helen Dixon, Eleanor Hawe

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In this article we focus on how an experiential based approach to teacher learning about assessment for learning (AfL) provided opportunities for teachers to examine: their deep-seated beliefs about effective learning (and teaching); how these beliefs permeated their day-to-day actions and interactions with students, and the consequence of these actions and interactions for student learning. It also pays attention to how teacher self-efficacy in the use of various AfL strategies was developed through a heightened awareness of the beneficial effects of these strategies on teachers’ own learning in particular.