Christine Redman

The Melbourne Graduate School of Education Master of Teaching

This chapter explores a clinical practice model of teacher education at the University of Melbourne and the influences behind the decision to investigate and establish this new model of teacher education. It has been constructed in three key sections. Section one reviews the progressive changes in teacher education since the mid-1980s and Section two describes the theoretical conceptual thinking behind the restructuring of the Melbourne Graduate School of Education’s model for the Master of Teaching degree.

Shared cognition facilitated by teacher use of interactive whiteboard technologies

– The purpose of this study is to examine questioning opportunities afforded by interactive whiteboards (IWBs) by highlighting pedagogical decisions enacted by teachers to ensure that they work with the wider affordances of the device. , – Three primary/elementary teachers participated in a study designed to identify the types of questions that teachers could enable, sustain and afford with an IWB. The teachers selected lessons to be videotaped. Pre- and post-lessons interviews were held with each teacher. Pre-lesson interviews sought the intent of the lesson and intended use of the IWB. Post-lesson interviews included teachers reviewing videotapes of the lessons and teachers reflecting on, reviewing and explaining significant and key events. They provided their reasons and justification behind their informed choices. , – Teachers enacted a framework that demonstrated their commitment to developing communities of learners. They sought strategic ways to utilise the IWB in dialogically focussed classrooms. Teachers used IWBs to sustain conversations that raise and resolve their learners’ questions, to present challenges to the group. , – This study has a small number of participants, but is fine-grained in analysis. The recorded lessons have only occurred in mathematics classes. Lesson sequences are short, and a longer sequence, over eight weeks, would have also been illuminating. , – The study is unique in showing the shift in power and ownership between interactions among the teacher, students and the IWB.

Would Increasing Engineering Literacies Enable Untapped Opportunities for STEM Education

The main focus here is to examine the benefits of defining and developing an engineering curriculum for elementary schools. Like many other international educational systems, Australian educational settings have been seeking to effectively implement science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. However, current assumptions and expectations of STEM education are broad, poorly defined and intangible. This article deliberates on possible contributions and impediments that are preventing teachers from achieving engineering education in their classrooms. Using positioning theory, this article offers possible ways that the specific literacies of engineering can be better realized in teacher practices. A closer alignment will be necessary between the visions and expectations of STEM education, as perceived by governments, business, industry, and schools, to ensure a realization of the potential of STEM education. Engineering education in elementary school settings warrants the investment of time to understand what it proffers, and to enable teachers to identity and refine their practices to optimize the many benefits afforded.

From Philosophy and Research to Pedagogy and Practice

As a teacher educator you are (or were) identified as a credible practitioner in your given community of practice. If you are an early career teacher educator, there is an assumption that the transition from your successful position in your original community of practice to that of an academic teacher educator will occur through a process of osmosis and automatic learning in situ.

Models of School-Based Practice: Partnerships in Practice

This chapter describes the five individual models of school-based practice involving university–school partnerships, each presented as a single case study. Each partnership was independently developed, and there are both common and unique characteristics of the partnership and the pedagogical practices that emerge when a cross-case analysis is conducted. This variety illustrates that there is not one way to work in partnerships in teacher education. Each case study is presented including a set of pedagogical principles that are common across the case studies, and set of themes are developed that are further explored in Part 2 of this book.

Sustaining School–University Partnerships: Threats, Challenges and Critical Success Factors

The purpose of this chapter is to consider the threats and challenges which impact on the sustainability of a partnership. By identifying elements that contribute to success and underpin the future sustainability of the relationships, an understanding of how the theoretical framing (Interpretive Framework) for university–school partnerships draws together the facilitation and maintenance of partnerships is gained. The focus is a consideration of each of the aspects of the Interpretive Framework, as outlined in earlier chapters, and a discussion of the threats and challenges evident in data drawn from partnership stakeholders including teacher educators, pre-service teachers, teachers and principals. Three key issues drawn from the data are raised and analysed and are presented as sub-themes. These sub-themes are the elements required for: sustainability; measuring sustainability; and threats to sustainability of partnership practices.

Representing Partnerships Practices

A range of partnership types is explored in this chapter. The purposes and characteristics of a partnership determine the degree to which a partnership needs to be embedded within the partner organisations. This chapter presents the ‘Representing Partnerships Practices’ (RPP) element of the Interpretive Framework. The RPP is useful to guide thinking about the desired nature of a particular partnership. The RPP recognises that a range of purposes, intended outcomes and commitments that can be afforded by partnerships, and that all have a value, which is determined by how it meets the needs of each partner. In the RPP, partnerships are described as being Connective, Generative or Transformative. Examples of practice are used to illustrate the opportunities, benefits and possible limitations of each of these partnership typologies in affecting quality learning outcomes for the different partner stakeholders. At all levels of partnership, it is important to ensure that the partnership itself is managed and fostered.

How Interactives Can Change Learnability of Science Concepts for Young Children – Re-positioning Them as Learners ‘Who Can and Did’

This paper explores what young children can and will ‘say and do’ when positively positioned to think with scientific concepts using ICT interactives. The progress with meaning-making of three young children (7, 9 and 12 years old) when playing a game is tracked and analysed. How these children were positively positioned with the concepts and what this afforded them in the setting are outlined. Analysis of their ‘sayings and doings’, using affordances and positioning theory, details their progress in meaning-making with the offered chemistry concepts. What each child did with the three levels of thinking of chemistry (macro/sub-micro/symbolic), was tracked. Three chemical thinking storylines are described to highlight that exploring molecular and chemical symbolic thinking can lead young children to engage with more scientifically sophisticated thinking and is of interest to them. Many scientifically relevant questions were raised while ‘playing’ with the interactive. The game directed their attention to the chemistry concepts and led to meaning-making opportunities. This examination provides insights into how suitable interactives can offer, direct and help structure early ‘knowing of’ scientific concepts by positively positioning learners with the concepts. Implications for restructuring early learning opportunities with central concepts using ICT are proposed.

Mobile Technologies Supporting Professional Learning Communities Within Pre-service Teacher STEM Education

Over a three-year period, academics from the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, The University of Melbourne, have partnered with a range of academics to facilitate an elective subject for pre-service teachers (PSTs). These academics include staff from the Faculty of Science (The University of Melbourne), the Victorian Space Science Education Centre (VSSEC) and the Gene Technology Access Centre (GTAC) Together we have sought to develop and strengthen their teaching in the area of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. Students in this subject were supported to develop 21st century skills that enabled them to work effectively in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). Pre-service teachers observed and responded to each other’s teaching providing real time feedback using ‘Padlet’ (a readily available web based application). Following each lesson students used the resultant ‘Padlet’ data as a prompt to promote reflective discussion. We analyse excerpts of Pre-service teacher responses to an online survey as a means to gain some understanding of their perception of working in this way. Additionally, Padlet feedback was thematically analysed in an effort to understand how teacher candidates focussed their feedback and limitations of this approach to facilitating professional development. Through adoption of this tool, critical collaborative reflection was fostered.

Editorial on Educational challenges: ICT-based responses

Education systems around the world face many challenges. Educators, parents and administrators frequently look to ICT for possible solutions but the complexity of most social and technical settings makes it difficult to determine appropriate courses of action. The papers in this Special Edition each concern an educational challenge where ICTs are being used to bring about positive and effective change. Several of the papers focussed on social inclusion while others examine effective teaching. All of them offer implications for pre-service and in-service teacher education in the areas that they address. The International Conference “Addressing educational challenges: the role of ICT” was held in Manchester, UK in July 2012. Authors of highly rated refereed papers were invited to submit extended and updated versions of their work to this special issue. The six papers presented in this section of the special issue are the result of that process. In “Aligning digital and social inclusion: A study of disadvantaged students and computer access” Nicola Yelland & Greg Neal discuss key findings from a study of an Australian programme designed to provide home Internet access for low socioeconomic status families. The findings emphasise that a well-designed programme needs to do far more than simply provide equipment. In “Creating an effective Professional Learning Sessions model on technology integration for a Kenyan school district” Anthony Gioko considers the design of effective ICT related in-service training for teachers in a context where resources are very limited and where high-stakes school evaluations mitigate against change. In “Word Score: a serious vocabulary game for primary school underachievers” Petra Fisser, Joke Voogt, & Mila Bom report on an investigation into the effective use of a serious game with under-achieving and disaffected pupils in a low socioEduc Inf Technol (2013) 18:131–132 DOI 10.1007/s10639-012-9234-8