Powerful pedagogical strategies in initial teacher education

The development of beginning teachers’ practice during a school placement is a multiplicity of mediated interaction between university and school based systems. Both systems have the common aim of training effective teachers. However day‐to‐day internal institution matters can cause tension between the learning goals set out for the beginning teacher by the university and the schools’ drive to ensure maximum student performance in ‘high stake’ national tests. The aim of the intervention was to set up structures which might enable beginning teachers to develop the capacity to think about and reflect explicitly on their practice, through purposive activity in an authentic classroom environment. The context of the activity was a secondary science course which aimed to encourage new teachers to empathize with secondary school pupils (aged 11–16) and understand their conceptual difficulties in learning about science within the constraints of a ‘curriculum delivery’ lead culture. The dialogue engaged in as part of the intervention helped beginning teachers to think critically about practice during school placements.     

Making sense of research-based learning in teacher education

Research-based learning challenges teacher educators to rethink pedagogical strategies, particularly so in a context where views about the role of research in pre-service teachers' professional development are contested. The views of academics implementing a research-based learning course in teacher education are examined through qualitative semi-structured interviews in order to understand how learning autonomy is fostered. Variation was found in what teacher educators thought the course was intended to achieve and in their teaching strategies. The basis for pedagogical decision-making appeared to be their own research learning experiences. Implications for teacher education and for implementing research-based learning more generally are discussed.     

Using information and communications technology as a pedagogical tool: a survey of initial teacher education in Scotland

Abstract

In common with other parts of the United Kingdom, teacher education in Scotland is facing a period of rapidly changing demands with respect to the use of information and communications technology (ICT), together with high levels of investment, rising expectations, and increased scrutiny and accountability. In this article, we present an account of a national survey of the ICT skills and attitudes of students entering and exiting from the teacher education institutions in Scotland in the session 1996-97. The students are extremely positive in their attitudes, their enthusiasm for ICT use in education is high and their aspirations clear – they expect ICT to permeate their professional work now and in the future. Their experiences during their period of training fall considerably short of their expectations. We discuss the reasons for some of the difficulties and consider the challenges faced by tutors in initial teacher education courses who must now ‘model the message’ of a learner-centred approach to the education of their students.     

Using iPads as a learning tool in cross-curricular collaborative initial teacher education

Mobile technologies are becoming more and more prevalent in learning environments. This means that teacher education must keep pace with the use of mobile technologies. Baran (2014) argues that the ‘greatest added value of mobile learning vis-a-vis PC learning lies in the aspects that extend classroom interaction to other locations via communication networks’. (p. 18) This article outlines a pilot study developed to support collaborative working between the English and science pre-service teachers, in which mobile technologies were used to extend students interactions outside the classroom, using iPads in authentic, fieldwork situations.     

Making connections: a conference approach to developing transformative environmental and sustainability education within initial teacher education

Abstract

Children today face significant challenges in response to living in a globalised world and the predicted environmental threats to the planet. However, implementing environmental and sustainability education (ESE) within schools can be complex and is often ignored within initial teacher education (ITE). In response, this project aimed to evaluate pedagogies for developing transformative learning for ESE within the context of university-based ITE. We ran a conference for trainee teachers informed by critical, participatory and arts-based pedagogic approaches. Alongside this, we undertook an interpretive case study, collecting data through questionnaires, focus groups and in-conference spoken reflection. Findings suggest trainee teachers gained a more nuanced understanding of the value and nature of ESE, as well as more affective and informed engagement with it, across the conference. Implications for ESE within ITE focus around the potential of pedagogies which provide affective experiences, in particular participatory and arts-based pedagogical approaches, for inspiring and empowering trainee teachers to enter into schools and develop their own ESE practice as classroom teachers.     

Community-based field experiences in teacher education: possibilities for a pedagogical third space

The present article discusses the importance of community-based field experiences as a feature of teacher education programs. Through a qualitative case study, prospective teachers’ work with homeless youth in an after-school initiative is presented. Framing community-based field experiences in teacher education through “third space” theory, the article discusses the value that such experiences have for prospective teachers’ learning. The goals of the article align with the commitment to preparing a future teaching force for the diverse educational settings that they will encounter in the twenty-first century.     

Transforming traditional models of initial teacher education through a mandatory experiential learning programme

This paper reports on the impact of a compulsory credit-bearing experiential learning (EL) block embedded into an initial teacher education (ITE) programme in Hong Kong. Student teachers engage in extended participation with community-based projects, aimed at enhancing their understanding of real-world environments, expanding their capacity to integrate theory and practice, and broadening their global outlook. The projects include community placements in Hong Kong, as well as regional learning opportunities. Qualitative data from a hundred participants reveal important outcomes in terms of pedagogical development, students’ understanding of diverse others and enhanced reflective practices. The paper attends to global changes in education.     

Practicalising theoretical knowledge in student teachers' professional learning in initial teacher education

This paper reports the findings collected from a four year longitudinal study aiming to investigate the professional learning of student-teachers in Bachelor of Education programmes. Four case studies which suggest a typology of ways of practicalising theoretical knowledge with one extreme as the testing out of teaching approaches mainly to find out their practicality in the school context to the other extreme whereby the student-teacher sought to work out a schema or personal theory were identified. Influences from the campus-based and the field-based components of the teacher education programme are drawn. The paper ends with implications for initial teacher education.     

Becoming a teacher: Experiences of female trainees in initial teacher education in Nigeria

This article foregrounds the experiences of female trainees on a scholarship programme for initial teacher education aimed at increasing the number of qualified female teachers from rural northern Nigeria, and boosting female pupil enrolments. Challenging conditions in colleges of education, including curricular shortcomings, overcrowding, limited resources and inadequate learning support were compounded by non-academic factors – especially financial, and gendered constraints. Collectively, they threatened student retention, learning and attainment, and the programme’s gender equity goals. Findings highlight the need to move beyond increasing numbers of female student-teachers, to improving quality in teacher education, paying attention to out-of-college conditions too.     

Technological pedagogical content knowledge in teacher education: in search of a new curriculum

The aim of this study was to explore the ways in which teacher education institutions (TEI) prepare pre-service teachers for integrating information and communication technology (ICT) in their classroom practise. Specifically, a multiple case study was conducted to examine the ways in which the development of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) was promoted in the existing curriculum of three TEI in Flanders. In the three cases, data were drawn from semi-structured interviews with the heads of the department and the ICT coordinators. Focus group discussions collected the perspectives of pre-service teachers and teacher educators. The results indicate that (1) the three institutions are moving from ICT as a ‘stand-alone’ course towards embedding ICT across the curriculum and (2) three approaches were adopted for developing pre-service teachers’ TPACK, each representing different ways of understanding the place of ICT in the curriculum. The discussion will focus on the challenges and opportunities inherent in understanding how to develop pre-service teachers’ TPACK in the curriculum of TEI.     

Subject matter and related pedagogical knowledge in teacher education

What kinds of knowledge do teachers need in order to be effective in their classrooms? This question has received much attention recently. This paper outlines a framework for teachers' knowledge, consisting of six major categories, namely: general liberal education, personal performance, subject matter, general pedagogical, subject matter specific pedagogical, and foundations of the teaching profession. Suggestions are provided on ways in which three of the categories, subject matter knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, and subject matter specific pedagogical knowledge can be dealt with in teacher education, especially at the preservice stage. These suggestions are based on actual courses which have been taught in various countries. The outcomes of one such course, which was taught and supervised by the author, are reported in terms of the students' perceptions of the knowledge they have acquired.     

Connecting initial teacher education and continuing professional learning through action research and action learning

This paper reflects our commitments as teacher educators to develop the skills, knowledge and interests amongst ‘nearly qualified teachers’ to establish action learning as an integral part of their professional practice. We outline the development of an undergraduate unit that is endeavouring to achieve this at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. Key principles and characteristics of action research and action learning are used as a framework for critical reflection on the unit. Attempting to provide learning experiences that adhere to these principles within the context of initial teacher education courses is identified as a challenging process. Planned developments in which we seek to enhance the extent to which teacher education can be seen to embrace and promote action research and action learning are discussed.     

Whiteness and social studies teacher education: tensions in the pedagogical task

Utilizing a critical whiteness studies framework, the authors analyzed the experiences of a cohort of predominantly White pre-service social studies teachers discussing race and Whiteness in relation to education. The pre-service teachers resisted identifying White privilege as a form of structural racism, instead preferring individualized understandings of racism. The participants also utilized their personal biographies to accept or reject aspects of race privilege. The authors highlighted three tensions for teacher educators to consider when engaging pre-service teachers in discussions about race privilege, including recognizing the unfamiliar nature of structural thinking, appreciating the limitations of personal experience, and acknowledging the challenges of structural considerations within individual classrooms. The authors’ findings – and the tensions they highlight– depart from previous literature on White teachers and race by paying specific attention to pedagogical issues related to developing a critical racial consciousness in White teachers and by attending to the ways in which Whiteness, as a structural force, limits the ability of White teachers to engage in conversations about race. The authors attempt to trouble the assumption that the pedagogical practices in teacher education adequately create an environment in which White teachers can thoroughly engage in the problematics of race, racism, and Whiteness.