Questioning pedagogies : Hong Kong pre-service teachers' dialogic reflections on a transnational school experience

There are increasing opportunities in many countries for pre-service teachers to engage in a transnational school-based experience as part of study abroad programmes. The transformative potential of such transnational teaching experiences is recorded in research studies, often supported by data from participant surveys. However, there has been a lack of evidence investigating how shifts in professional understanding derive from such experiences. This qualitative study addresses this issue by exploring the perspectives of 16 pre-service teachers of English as a Second language from Hong Kong, who engaged in transnational teaching activities with primary school pupils in Australia, during their study abroad program. Discourse analysis of participants’ dialogues traces how they encountered conflicting Discourses of ‘student-centredness’ in the Australian classroom. Reflecting dialogically on their experiences led participants to negotiate and reframe their understandings of language teaching pedagogy and themselves as language teachers. The findings demonstrate the importance of both peer and lecturer feedback into the process of dialogic reflection and the need for more longitudinal research into the impact of transnational school-based experience in pre-service teacher education.

Assessing for work integrated learning experiences : a pre-service teacher perspective

A critical aspect of the debate about work integrated learning in the university context is the blurring of boundaries and responsibilities in terms of student learning. In an Australian pre-service teacher education program this blurring of boundaries is apparent in stakeholder tensions about the nature and role of assessment during the practicum. In the study reported in this paper, students responded positively to the content of assessment tasks but maintained that their efforts to implement the associated planning in the workplace were stymied because of disparate understandings between university and school staff about the purpose of the task.

Holistic blended design studio model : potential implication in education of Iran

Iran as a developing country faces many considerable shortages of both physical learning environment and inefficient budget to resolve this shortage. Today, Iran needs a $28 billion budget to add 23,000 schools to the existing 120,000 schools to be able to omit two shifts schools [1], [2]. Moreover, the standard learning space is 6-8 square meter per student, while this rate for big cities in Iran is about one square meter per student [1]. This decrease the time students spend in schools. In addition, the education approach in k-12 and higher education is still teacher-centered based and needs to be contemporized with educational, cultural, and technological changes.

An Assessment of Undergraduate Paramedic Students’ Empathy Levels

Abstract: Objectives Evidence suggests that improved empathy behaviours among healthcare professionals directly impacts on healthcare outcomes. However, the ‘nebulous’ properties of empathic behaviour often means that healthcare profession educators fail to incorporate the explicit teaching and assessment of empathy within the curriculum. The objective of this study was to assess the extent of empathy in paramedic students across seven Australian universities. Methods A cross-sectional study using a paper-based questionnaire employing a convenience sample of first, second, and third year undergraduate paramedic students. Student empathy levels were measured using the Medical Condition Regard Scale (MCRS). Results A total of 783 students participated in the study of which 57% were females. The medical conditions: intellectual disability, attempted suicide, and acute mental illness all produced mean scores above 50 suggesting good empathetic regard, while patients presenting with substance abuse produced the lowest mean score M= 41.57 (SD=12.29). There was a statistically significant difference between males (M= 49.79) and females (M=51.61) p=0.006, for patients with intellectual disability. Conclusions The findings from this study found that student reported poor empathetic regard for patients with substance abuse, while female students report higher levels of empathy than their male colleagues across each medical condition. The overall findings provide a framework for educators to begin constructing guidelines focusing on the need to incorporate, promote and instil empathy into paramedic students in order to better prepare them for future out-of-hospital healthcare practice.

Practical considerations for integrating alternate reality gaming into science education

In this article, I present my experience with integrating an alternate reality gaming (ARG) framework into a pre-service science teacher education course. My goal is to provide an account of my experiences that can inform other science education practitioners at the tertiary and secondary levels that wish to adopt a similar approach in their classes. A game was designed to engage pre-service teachers with issues surrounding the declining enrolments in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines (i.e., the STEM crisis; Tytler, 2007) and ways of re-engaging learners with STEM subjects. The use of ARG in science education is highly innovative. Literature on the use of ARG for educational purposes is scarce so in the article I have drawn on a range of available literature on gaming and ARG to define what it is and to suggest how it can be included in school science classrooms.

The challenges of preparing pre-service teachers to embrace a digital pedagogy

The need for pre-service teachers to be proficient in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the classroom once they graduate is essential, though this process is not a straightforward process (Zhang, 2008) and needs to go beyond pre-service teachers just being able to use ICT. Research suggests that for teachers to successfully use ICT in their classrooms they need to be specifically trained to do so (Markauskaite, 2007; Batane, 2004; Jacobsen, Clifford & Friesen, 2002). Pre-service teachers must also be able to embrace and use new and emerging ICT’s, often referred to as digital technologies, within their pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning. According to UNESCO, these “new technologies require new teacher roles, new pedagogies, and new approaches to teacher training” (2008, p.9). However, new approaches to teacher training have moved very slowly in many areas and preparing pre-service teachers to develop proficiency in embracing a digital pedagogy within their own classrooms can be a challenge for teacher training institutes. This paper reports on a case study of first year education students (N=667) and their experiences during their first semester of pre-service teacher education in a core ICT unit. It will report on the background ICT knowledge and skills that these students bring to the course as well as their expectations of the unit and ICT in their future teaching. The paper will then draw on the research results to identify challenges facing teacher training of pre-service teachers in using digital technologies in their future classrooms.

Understanding pre-service teacher conceptual change through slowmation animation

This paper is an exploration of conceptual change. It reports on a study which utilised Hewson and Lemberger’s (2000) Conceptual Status Elements, and explores the unique contribution of Slowmation Animation in the conceptual learning of pre-service science teachers. 15 short animations were created by 55 participants in a single two hour tutorial class as a part of their methods training. Conceptual change was found to occur when their animation topic challenged their understandings of the processes within the scientific concept. The pre-service science teachers reported an enthusiasm for Slowmation Animation as a method for learning how to learn, as well as for highlighting what they thought they knew, but didn’t really know.

Weight stigma in maternity care : women's experiences and care providers' attitudes

Background: Weight stigma is pervasive in Western society and in healthcare settings, and has a negative impact on victims’ psychological and physical health. In the context of an increasing focus on the management of overweight and obese women during and after pregnancy in research and clinical practice, the current studies aimed to examine the presence of weight stigma in maternity care. Addressing previous limitations in the weight stigma literature, this paper quantitatively explores the presence of weight stigma from both patient and care provider perspectives. Methods: Study One investigated associations between pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and experiences of maternity care from a state-wide, self-reported survey of 627 Australian women who gave birth in 2009. Study Two involved administration of an online survey to 248 Australian pre-service medical and maternity care providers, to investigate their perceptions of, and attitudes towards, providing care for pregnant patients of differing body sizes. Both studies used linear regression analyses. Results: Women with a higher BMI were more likely to report negative experiences of care during pregnancy and after birth, compared to lower weight women. Pre-service maternity care providers perceived overweight and obese women as having poorer self-management behaviours, and reported less positive attitudes towards caring for overweight or obese pregnant women, than normal weight pregnant women. Even care providers who reported few weight-stigmatising attitudes responded less positively to overweight and obese pregnant women. Conclusions: Overall, these results provide preliminary evidence that weight stigma is present in maternity care settings in Australia. They suggest a need for further research into the nature and consequences of weight stigma in maternity care, and for the inclusion of strategies to recognise and combat weight stigma in maternity care professionals’ training.

Intern underperformance is detected more frequently in emergency medicine rotations

Objective: To determine the frequency and nature of intern underperformance as documented on in-training assessment forms. Methods: A retrospective review of intern assessment forms from a 2 year period (2009–2010) was conducted at a tertiary referral hospital in Brisbane, Queensland. The frequency of interns assessed as ‘requiring substantial assistance’ and/or ‘requires further development’ on mid- or end-of-term assessment forms was determined. Forms were analysed by the clinical rotation, time of year and domain(s) of clinical practice in which underperformance was documented. Results: During 2009 and 2010 the overall documented incidence of intern underperformance was 2.4% (95% CI 1.5–3.9%). Clinical rotation in emergency medicine detected significantly more underperformance compared with other rotations (P < 0.01). Interns predominantly had difficulty with ‘clinical judgment and decision-making skills’, ‘time management skills’ and ‘teamwork and colleagues’ (62.5%, 55% and 32.5% of underperforming assessments, respectively). Time of the year did not affect frequency of underperformance. A proportion of 13.4% (95% CI 9.2–19.0%) of interns working at the institution over the study period received at least one assessment in which underperformance was documented. Seventy-six per cent of those interns who had underperformance identified by mid-term assessment successfully completed the term following remediation. Conclusion: The prevalence of underperformance among interns is low, although higher than previously suggested. Emergency medicine detects relatively more interns in difficulty than other rotations.

The confidence of speech-language pathology students regarding communicating with people with aphasia

Background Aphasia is an acquired language disorder that can present a significant barrier to patient involvement in healthcare decisions. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are viewed as experts in the field of communication. However, many SLP students do not receive practical training in techniques to communicate with people with aphasia (PWA) until they encounter PWA during clinical education placements. Methods This study investigated the confidence and knowledge of SLP students in communicating with PWA prior to clinical placements using a customised questionnaire. Confidence in communicating with people with aphasia was assessed using a 100-point visual analogue scale. Linear, and logistic, regressions were used to examine the association between confidence and age, as well as confidence and course type (graduate-entry masters or undergraduate), respectively. Knowledge of strategies to assist communication with PWA was examined by asking respondents to list specific strategies that could assist communication with PWA. Results SLP students were not confident with the prospect of communicating with PWA; reporting a median 29-points (inter-quartile range 17–47) on the visual analogue confidence scale. Only, four (8.2%) of respondents rated their confidence greater than 55 (out of 100). Regression analyses indicated no relationship existed between confidence and students‘ age (p = 0.31, r-squared = 0.02), or confidence and course type (p = 0.22, pseudo r-squared = 0.03). Students displayed limited knowledge about communication strategies. Thematic analysis of strategies revealed four overarching themes; Physical, Verbal Communication, Visual Information and Environmental Changes. While most students identified potential use of resources (such as images and written information), fewer students identified strategies to alter their verbal communication (such as reduced speech rate). Conclusions SLP students who had received aphasia related theoretical coursework, but not commenced clinical placements with PWA, were not confident in their ability to communicate with PWA. Students may benefit from an educational intervention or curriculum modification to incorporate practical training in effective strategies to communicate with PWA, before they encounter PWA in clinical settings. Ensuring students have confidence and knowledge of potential communication strategies to assist communication with PWA may allow them to focus their learning experiences in more specific clinical domains, such as clinical reasoning, rather than building foundation interpersonal communication skills.

Embedding EfS in teacher education : an introductory guide to using the systems change model

Welcome to this introductory guide on using a systems change model to embed Education for Sustainability (EfS) into teacher education. Pressing sustainability issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss and depletion of non-renewable resources pose new challenges for education. The importance of education in preparing future citizens to engage in sustainable living practices and help create a more sustainable world is widely acknowledged. As a result many universities around the world are beginning to recognize the need to integrate EfS into their teacher education programs. However, evidence indicates that there is little or no core EfS knowledge or pedagogy in pre-service teacher courses available to student teachers in a thorough and systematic fashion. Instead efforts are fragmented and individually or, at best, institutionally-based and lacking a systems approach to change, an approach that is seen as essential to achieving a sustainable society (Henderson & Tilbury, 2004). The result is new teachers are graduating without the necessary knowledge or skills to teach in ways that enable them to prepare their students to cope well with the new and emerging challenges their communities face. This guide has been prepared as part of a teaching and learning research project that applied a systems change approach to embedding the learning and teaching of sustainability into pre-service teacher education. The processes, outcomes and lessons learnt from this project are presented here as a guide for navigating pathways to systemic change in the journey of re-orienting teacher education towards sustainability. The guide also highlights how a systems change approach can be used to successfully enact change within a teacher education system. If you are curious about how to introduce and embed EfS into teacher education – or have tried other models and are looking for a more encompassing, transformative approach – this guide is designed to help you. The material presented in this guide is designed to be flexible and adaptive. However you choose to use the content, our aim is to help you and your students develop new perspectives, promote discussion and to engage with a system-wide approach to change.

E-motion diaries : blogging emotional responses to online learning in higher education

Emotions are inherently social, and are central to learning, online interaction and literacy practices (Shen, Wang, & Shen, 2009). Demonstrating the dynamic sociality of literacy practice, we used e-motion diaries or web logs to explore the emotional states of pre-service high school teachers’ experiences of online learning activities. This is because the methods of communication used by university educators in online learning and writing environments play an important role in fulfilling students’ need for social interaction and inclusion (McInnerney & Roberts, 2004). Feelings of isolation and frustration are common emotions experienced by students in many online learning environments, and are associated with the success or failure of online interactions and learning (Su, et al., 2005). The purpose of the study was to answer the research question: What are the trajectories of pre-service teachers’ emotional states during online learning experiences? This is important because emotions are central to learning, and the current trend toward Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) needs research about students’ emotional connections in online learning environments (Kop, 2011). The project was conducted with a graduate class of 64 high school science pre-service teachers in Science Education Curriculum Studies in a large Australian university, including males and females from a variety of cultural backgrounds, aged 22-55 years. Online activities involved the students watching a series of streamed live lectures for the first 5 weeks providing a varied set of learning experiences, such as viewing science demonstrations (e.g., modeling the use of discrepant events). Each week, students provided feedback on learning by writing and posting an e-motion diary or web log about their emotional response. Students answered the question: What emotions did you experience during this learning experience? The descriptive data set included 284 online posts, with students contributing multiple entries. Linguistic appraisal theory, following Martin and White (2005), was used to regroup the 22 different discrete emotions reported by students into the six main affect groups – three positive and three negative: unhappiness/happiness, insecurity/security, and dissatisfaction/satisfaction. The findings demonstrated that the pre-service teachers’ emotional responses to the streamed lectures tended towards happiness, security, and satisfaction within the typology of affect groups – un/happiness, in/security, and dis/satisfaction. Fewer students reported that the streamed lectures triggered negative feelings of frustration, powerlessness, and inadequacy, and when this occurred, it often pertained to expectations of themselves in the forthcoming field experience in classrooms. Exceptions to this pattern of responses occurred in relation to the fifth streamed lecture presented in a non-interactive slideshow format that compressed a large amount of content. Many students responded to the content of the lecture rather than providing their emotional responses to this lecture, and one student felt “completely disengaged”. The social practice of online writing as blogs enabled the students to articulate their emotions. The findings primarily contribute new understanding about students' wide range of differing emotional states, both positive and negative, experienced in response to streamed live lectures and other learning activities in higher education external coursework. The is important because the majority of previous studies have focused on particular negative emotions, such as anxiety in test taking. The research also highlights the potentials of appraisal theory for studying human emotions in online learning and writing.

MUVE-ing pre-service teachers into the future

This paper discusses our experiences of integrating a Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE) called Quest Atlantis into a pre-service secondary science education unit. The use of educational MUVEs as teaching tools is accelerating, so it is crucial that pre-service teachers develop some expertise with these and related technologies. We outline the processes we followed in embedding Quest Atlantis into the content and assessment of the unit, the results of this initiative and its implications for integrating MUVEs and other ICTs into teacher education programs. Challenges such as limited time and expertise, demands of a busy teaching program, and the need for continuous specialist support need to be overcome for sustainable integration of MUVEs and related technologies into preservice teacher education. This is particularly important given the potential of preservice teachers as change agents in schools, and the imperatives of the ICT-related National Professional Standards for Teachers and the Australian Curriculum.

Dancing to too many tunes : contemporary course design in teacher education

Contemporary course designers in schools and faculties of Education are finding themselves dancing to many tunes, arguably too many tunes, in order to have their initial teacher education courses accredited by external agencies whilst satisfying internal approval processes and, critically, maintaining the philosophical integrity of their programs and their institutional watermarks. The “tunes” here are the agendas driven by and the demands made by distinct independent agencies. The external agencies influencing Education include: TEQSA (Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency) which will assure alignment to the AQF (Australian Qualifications Framework); professional bodies such as AITSL (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership) which now accredits all pre-service teacher Education courses across Australia and assures alignment with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers; and the state and territory regulatory authorities that have an impact within a specific jurisdiction, for example, the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) and the Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia (TRBWA). This paper – whose findings have been arrived at through a year-long OLT National Teaching Fellowship - will outline the complex and competing agendas currently at play and focus on the disjuncture evident in the fundamental defining of who is a “graduate.” It will also attempt to identify where there are synergies between the complex demands being made. It will argue that there are too many “tunes” and the task of finding a balance between compliance and delivering effective initial teacher education may not be possible because of the cacophony of their conflicting demands.

Social media and physicians : exploring the benefits and challenges

Healthcare professionals’ use of social media platforms, such as blogs, wikis, and social networking web sites has grown considerably in recent years. However, few studies have explored the perspectives and experiences of physicians in adopting social media in healthcare. This article aims to identify the potential benefits and challenges of adopting social media by physicians and demonstrates this by presenting findings from a survey conducted with physicians. A qualitative survey design was employed to achieve the research goal. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 physicians from around the world who were active users of social media. The data were analyzed using the thematic analysis approach. The study revealed six main reasons and six major challenges for physicians adopting social media. The main reasons to join social media were as follows: staying connected with colleagues, reaching out and networking with the wider community, sharing knowledge, engaging in continued medical education, benchmarking, and branding. The main challenges of adopting social media by physicians were also as follows: maintaining confidentiality, lack of active participation, finding time, lack of trust, workplace acceptance and support, and information anarchy. By revealing the main benefits as well as the challenges of adopting social media by physicians, the study provides an opportunity for healthcare professionals to better understand the scope and impact of social media in healthcare, and assists them to adopt and harness social media effectively, and maximize the benefits for the specific needs of the clinical community.