Preparing for professional experiences—incorporating pre-service teachers as ‘communities of practice’

This paper focuses on a model of delivery of professional experience courses for pre-service teachers that has been running in the author's institution for 9 years. The overall purpose of the model has been to assist the development of a reflective approach in pre-service teachers as they build their professional knowledge in schools and on campus. To achieve this purpose, the design of the courses for professional experience has used a framework of ‘communities of practice’. Following a major evaluation of the course through student surveys, the author examines the achievements and continuing challenges of developing a sense of professional community among pre-service teachers. The model of the course is a substantial teaching experience in a secondary school, supported by a campus-based tutorial component.