Mellita Jones

Learning in the practicum: engaging pre-service teachers in reflective practice in the online space

It is argued that online discussion is a useful tool for creating opportunities for learning in teacher education. In a project designed to improve the practicum in rural areas, researchers placed pre-service teachers (PSTs) in two different moderated online discussion forums: an unstructured personal blog space and a structured threaded discussion forum where discussion topics guided them to reflect on their practicum experiences in relation to theoretical components of their studies. Findings indicated a marked difference in the contributions made to each form of online discussion with significantly greater participation in the unstructured blog format. Using Kreber and Cranton’s hierarchy of reflection, analyses of both forums found that PSTs rarely engaged in high-level reflection. Examination of lecturer involvement in the forums suggests that their contributions did not sufficiently encourage PSTs towards optimum critical reflection. These results leave the researchers considering ways in which the practicum experience can better promote reflective practice in this crucial, component of teacher education.

Transformative Learning in Science Education: Investigating Pedagogy for Action

Sociocultural approaches to science education that aim towards a kind of scientific literacy for active citizenship have been increasing in recent years and are now firmly entrenched. Areas of interest are broad and include calls to socio-political action like those from Derek Hodson (Int J Sci Educ 25(6):645–670, 2003) and Larry Bencze (Can J Sci Math Tech Educ 8(4):297–312, 2008). Hodson argues that if contemporary social and environmental problems are to be solved, we need to orient science education strongly towards action. Included in much of this literature, either explicitly or implicitly, is the notion of a transformation in attitudes, behaviours, values, beliefs, and actions. While more often than not used colloquially, transformation is also a term d’art within field of transformative learning (TL). TL in not well known within science education, and we believe it may offer new insights into ways of progressing some of our sociocultural agendas. This chapter outlines research that uses the key precepts and processes of TL and presents findings from a pre-service teaching unit that was framed within TL theory. We ask what real TL may look like in a science classroom and what challenges and issues accompany its implementation.

Communication in the Practicum

In the contemporary teacher education world many commentators see close relationships between schools and universities as critical to quality teacher education (House of Representatives, 2007; Parliament of Victoria, 2005; Zeichner, 2010). Schools and universities must work together, it is argued, because they must support the crucial site of professional learning, the practicum. The practicum, known by a range of other terms including professional experience, field experience, teaching placement, teaching round and internship, is the period of time that teacher education students, or pre-service teachers, develop their planning and teaching capabilities within the school context.

The Online Space: Developing Strong Pedagogy for Online Reflective Practice

This chapter will investigate the complexities of designing an optimum online learning environment in which pre-service teachers can reflect on their practicum teaching experiences and come to critical understandings about their practice. It charts the pedagogical journey of two teacher educators engaged in a series of teaching initiatives implemented with a view to fostering critical reflective practice in pre-service teachers during the potentially isolating practicum component of their course. To counter this isolation, online forums were established to promote critical reflection among pre-service teachers, and lecturers monitored the impact of the pedagogical choices. Findings point to the need for teacher educators engaged in promoting online discussion with pre-service teachers during practicum to maintain a delicate balance between addressing pre-service teachers’ social and cognitive needs.

Improving a School-Based Science Education Task Using Critical Reflective Practice

This chapter outlines a self-study project I engaged in to examine and subsequently improve my teaching within a 4th-year, core science education unit for primary pre-service teachers (PSTs) at a regional university in Australia. The impetus for this study was tied to widely reported issues about the quality and quantity of science teaching in primary schools and my desire to provide the best science teacher education possible to help address these concerns. The initiative involved the design and implementation of a teaching, learning and assessment task that required small groups of PSTs to plan a mini-unit of science that they then taught in a classroom. PSTs had to report on children’s science learning and reflect on their own learning about science teaching. Quantitative and qualitative data collected from PSTs and from my personal reflections were analysed for statistical significance and key themes, respectively. Results show the potential for a school-based approach to science teacher education to better achieve a nexus between theory and practice; align teaching, learning and assessment in more meaningful ways; and allow for critical reflective practice that enhances both the teacher education experience and the learning achieved by PSTs.

Linking Theory and Practice Through Partnerships

This chapter reports on the important role of establishing partnerships between universities and primary schools to provide the opportunities for school-based teaching that engages pre-service primary teachers in an authentic experience of science classroom teaching and learning. It is argued that partnerships present a mechanism through which teacher educators can best enact praxis—the linking of theory and practice, in their science teacher education courses. Evidence from the STEPS project is drawn upon to demonstrate ways in which partnerships between universities and schools provide an authentic basis for pre-service teachers, teachers, and teacher educators to explore the application of theoretical ideas that underpin effective science teaching practice. Examples of partnership practice illustrate ways in which partnerships enable the successful application of pedagogical content knowledge through pre-service teachers’ planning, implementing and assessment of a learning sequence in science, and reflecting on their teaching. The important role of establishing partnerships between universities and primary schools to provide this school-based teaching and learning opportunity is acknowledged. Moreover, the essential role of the science teacher educator is recognized, as it is the teacher educator who provides active leadership for the effective connection between theory and practice that ultimately builds pre-service teacher confidence and competency to teach science. These elements of linking theory and practice through partnerships culminate in the chapter’s conclusion where the Interpretive Framework model is introduced, to aid thinking and planning around how universities and schools can work together in effective partnerships.

The Science Teaching in Schools Experience ( STISE )

This chapter outlines the Science Teaching in Schools Experience (STISE), a school-based approach to science teacher education that profiles, in particular, the application of a Communities of Collaboration and Learner as Central tenets of personalising learning. The context for this example of personalising learning is the teaching of a science education unit within a pre-service teaching Bachelor of Education course for both primary and early childhood and primary teacher candidates at a local university. In these courses, the science teaching self-efficacy levels of the teacher candidates commencing the unit are persistently low. Efforts to address this widespread concern led to an example of situated learning theory forming the basis for the redesign and delivery of the unit. The ways in which Learners as Central and Communities of Collaboration were established and maintained showcase a successful example of personalising learning within science teacher education that addresses traditionally low science teaching self-efficacy beliefs among pre-service teachers.

Mindsets for Lifelong Learning

This chapter explores the concept of Lifelong Learning, which has been identified as one of the four tenets or themes in personalising learning. Now more than ever before in history does the work and lifestyle changes experienced by individuals warrant consideration of the lifespan of learning acquisition and the requirements for learners. Subsequently, in their teaching, teachers need to encompass flexibility, variable pathways and longer-term “mindsets” and understandings of learning and its implications for life and living. This chapter discusses the importance of Lifelong Learning in the twenty-first century where we are faced with a rapidly and ever-changing world. The importance of the notion of Lifelong Learning for teachers, and teacher educators in particular, is highlighted along with its links to personalising learning in pre-service teacher education to demonstrate how it is only as lifelong learners ourselves that we can continue to provide effective and relevant education to the following and future generations of children, youth and adults.

Personal Means Learner as Central

This chapter explores student-centred learning as a core practice for personalising learning. Keamy et al. (2007) identify this core practice as a key tenet for personalising learning, which they termed “Learner as Central”. As a notion that has been fundamental to more contemporary ideas about effective teaching and learning in recent decades, much of this chapter looks to present an overview of what is already known about student-centred learning and how it has been developed, critiqued and refined in its relatively short history in education. In providing this summary, we are able to clearly explicate the ways in which this particular tenet is essential to personalising learning in the higher education context and more broadly. We also challenge the generally accepted dichotomy that is often presented between student-centred and teacher-centred learning, purporting instead that a strong duality between these approaches is needed to personalise learning in an effective manner.

A Synthesis of Practice Applications in Teacher Education

This chapter examines the cogent features of the practice examples of personalising learning in teacher education that have been depicted in the second part of this book. The key practices that appear to provide successful achievement of each of the four tenets for personalising learning: Learner as Central, Communities of Collaboration, ICT and Lifelong Learning are synthesised and presented. Taken together, the sections comprising this chapter provide a synthesis of practice that informs the emergence of a guide for visualising personalising learning in teacher education.