An Interview with Denise Wood

This paper documents the development of a new website (www.rrrtec.net.au) specifically designed to better equip teacher educators to prepare graduates to teach in rural and regional communities. The two year study (2009-2011) that informed the website’s creation included three data sources: A literature review of research into rural teacher education, a survey of pre-service students who had completed a rural practicum and interviews with teacher educators about the current strategies they used to raise awareness and understanding of the needs of rural students, their families, and communities. An analysis of the data revealed that teacher educators need to focus more on developing graduates to be not only ‘classroom ready’ but also ‘school and community ready’. This analysis provided the framework for the creation of a set of curriculum modules and resources including journal articles, film clips, websites and books that teacher educators could readily and publicly access and use in their own classroom teaching. AcknowledgmentsThe RRRTEC project has been supported by the Australian Teaching and Learning Council (ALTC).The RRRTEC TeamThe RRRTEC project team consisted of Professor Simone White (Monash University), Dr Jodie Kline as Research Fellow (Deakin University), Dr Wendy Hastings (Charles Sturt University) and Dr Graeme Lock (Edith Cowan University). The RRRTEC curriculum writing team consisted of Professor Simone White (Monash University), Dr Wendy Hastings (Charles Sturt University), Dr Elaine Sharplin (University of Western Australia), Dr Pauline Taylor (James Cook University) and Dr Jan Page (Charles Sturt University).

Within the Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE) at Charles Sturt University, teacher education researchers have been quick to respond to the opportunities created by what is known as ‘the practice turn’ that characterises contemporary theory around the globe and across disciplines. We are working, together and in parallel, to explore ways in which we can take up the affordances of renewed attention to theories of practice in professional (teacher) education. Our aim is to build new theories of teacher education practice that can sustain us as we interact within and around contemporary higher education and school education policy and regulatory frameworks. While these may work to constrain and delineate teacher education curriculum decisions, they also delineate the social and interpersonal parameters of the field on which we practise as teacher educators in universities today. In this paper I explore and examine the idea of practice in pre-service teacher education to ask if there are ways to reconceptualise professional practice and professional experience outside of the now dominant ‘days in schools’ model that has become the major way in which we provide pre-service (student) teachers with the opportunity to actually study the act of teaching and the actions that are involved in the practice of their profession. Drawing on the work of Grossman, teaching is an idea that has devolved over time. What was once a core teacher education practice of the ‘demonstration lesson’ followed by student practice of key skills has disappeared from initial teacher education curricula. Similarly, other forms of studying teaching such as the ‘micro-teaching’ approach of the 1970s and 80s have also diminished over time. With new developments in practice theory and attention to professional practice as a research area within Charles Sturt University and elsewhere, a focus on the study of teaching as a practice is timely.

Why do we emphasize reflective practice so extensively in pre-service teacher education? What evidence do we have that frequent references to reflection are improving the quality of the teachers we prepare for certification and careers in teaching? Whatever reflection and reflective practice are, they are not ends in themselves; hopefully, they are means to the end of better teaching practices and better learning by students in schools. In this article I explore reflection and reflective practice from several perspectives, including my personal experiences as a teacher educator working with individuals preparing to become teachers of physics. The question asked in the title captures my fear that the ways teacher educators have responded to and made use of the concepts of reflection and reflective practice may be doing more harm than good in pre-service teacher education. To begin, I consider teacher education practices before and after the arrival of the term reflective practice. I then consider elements of Schön’s (1983) work and review five articles about reflective practice in teacher education; this is not a formal literature review, but rather an effort to show how virtually every article about reflective practice seems to be driven by its author’s personal perspective. The article continues with personal interpretations and illustrations and concludes with five generalizations about teacher education practices that indicate that much more work needs to be done if references to reflection are to do more good than harm in preservice teacher education programs.

Migration Histories, National Memory, and Regional Collections

Teacher Education needs to move beyond the limitations of existing pre-service and in-service courses. Instead, teacher education should be regarded as a career long process of professional learning 'which takes place prior to and during pre-service, and continues through induction and inservice' (Gore, 1995). An innportaut step in this direction is partnerships between schools and teacher education institutions in initial teacher preparation. Many such partnerships already occur across states and institutions. This paper outlines a rationale for a teacher education course that seeks to achieve a partnership between Charles Sturt University Dubbo and the Department of Education and Training (DET) in NSW within the framework of career long professional learning for teachers.
 The existing political climate with the restructuring of the DET bureaucracy as well as the proposed NSW Institute of Teachers presents a serendipitous moment for the establishment of such a course. The course would follow what the author has termed the 'two cubed' model of teacher education. That is, the fIrst two years of teacher education in the university, followed by two years in school based teacher education (SBTE) with the fmal two years as a begirming teacher mentored by both the training and employing institutions. The initial teacher education course will be the Trojan horse that makes professional learning a formal part of the teaching profession as the interaction between the DET and Charles Sturt University creates professional learning opportunities for existing teachers. This professional learning will be linked strongly to the bioregion of the Murray-Darling Basin, thus addressing both the ecological and social sustainability issues of this region. As well, the qualifIcation gained will be for K-10, addressing the needs of middle school students in central and high schools in the central west of New South Wales.

The problem addressed in this study was to understand how preservice teachers documented and communicated learning via working eportfolios to demonstrate reflective practice in a teacher education class. The purpose of the study was to use mixed methods to understand how preservice teachers document and communicate their learning in working eportfolios and for reflective practice, to understand if the use of visual imagery supports them in demonstrating their competency in a teacher education course. Because education now occurs in a technology-rich learning environment, visual imagery can chronicle learning and teaching experiences. This descriptive study was conducted in a teacher education classroom at a large state university in the southeast. The study focused on individual teachers who completed electronic portfolios as part of their clinical research, showing how they have used and implemented visual imagery and visual tools for assessment in their eportfolios. This study looked at preservice teachers' perceptions of using visual imagery in teaching and learning. Specifically, the questions asked were: 1) What are the most important attitudes and perceptions of preservice teachers that influence their use of visual imagery in eportfolios for reflective practice? 2) What are the differences in teachers' attitudes and perceptions towards use of visual imagery in eportfolios for reflective practice? 3) How do preservice teachers use visual imagery to structure eportfolios and illustrate evidence of reflective teaching and learning practice within their teacher preparation program? 4) How do preservice teachers describe how visual imagery supports or constrains reflective practice? 5) What are the preservice teachers' attitudes and perceptions of the technology challenges of using visual images in their electronic portfolios to support reflective practice? This study also addressed new teacher evaluation and professional growth implementation scheduled to launch in Georgia during the school year 2014-2015 (Georgia Department of Education, 2012). In the 21st century, many teacher education faculties will become reliant upon eportfolios for evaluations. The current study aligns with the newly adopted effectiveness system for teacher evaluation and professional growth, a part of the (2012) Race to the Top Initiative (RT3), in Georgia, and includes the Teacher Keys Effectiveness System (TKES). This three-phase study employs mixed methodology including survey questionnaires, post-survey interviews and document analyses of eportfolio artifacts; data sources include electronic portfolio documents. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies, means, and standard deviations were used in the survey analysis. Open coding methods were employed for the interview analysis. Rich visual descriptions and examples are included of the preservice teachers' eportfolios that support evidence of visual representation. These outcomes identified the most important influences and differences using visual imagery and visual tools perceived by the preservice teachers. Factors relating to challenges and how visual imagery and visual tools supports and constrains reflective practice are also identified. These outcomes indicated that visual imagery and visual tools can be used in the classroom to increase and support student engagement and communication during the learning and teaching process. The perceived influences regarding influence of visual image use include discussions of 21st century tools used as part of reflection in eportfolios. Findings may support 21st Century Teacher Education programs that use or anticipate using electronic portfolios for reflective practice. (Keywords: E-portfolios, visual thinking, visual learning, 21st Century Literacy, emerging media, teacher education).

Review: Seeing the Forest and the Trees By Emilio F. Moran and Elinor Ostrom (Eds.) Reviewed by Elery Hamilton-Smith Charles Sturt University, Australia Emilio F. Moran & Elinor Ostrom (Eds.). Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Human-Environment Interactions in Forest Ecosystems. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2005. 442 pp. ISBN 0-262-63312-4. US$35.00 (trade paper). This is an intensive and tightly focused discussion that reviews current thinking about changes in the ecology and geography of forests as shaped by human actions. It concentrates its discussion at the global level, with some local examples that further elucidate global understandings. The book is lodged firmly in the context of contemporary United States scholarship. Virtually all authors are associated with the Center for the Study of Institutions, Population and Environmental Change at Indiana University in Bloomington. Given that, the subtitle might have provided a better description of the book if it had been based upon the name of the Center. Although the book provides a high quality analysis of global changes in forest distribution and character, it simply does not deal with perception or with ecosystems in the generally understood meaning of these terms. It emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary cooperation, but the tight focus upon the field of global change research obscures and overrides interdisciplinary exploration. It does not draw upon perceptual theories, the psycho-physiology of human-environment interactions, or the models of mutual interaction between human beings and their environment developed by Rapaport and his colleagues in their studies of built environments. It is also seriously deficient in paying no attention to historical and philosophical analysis of its own topic. Similarly, I find the total lack of attention to fire and its influence on forest ecosystems to be quite inexplicable, when catastrophic fires have so often generated significant change, not only in forests, but also in the institutional arrangements that govern them. I feel it is problematic to focus upon what a book is not when it fulfils its own mission so well, but it seems necessary to emphasize that the book is not, in my view, what the title promises. For readers who are centrally interested in models for analysis of global changes, this is an excellent book. But outside of that, I seriously question the extent of its contribution. Elery Hamilton-Smith, AM. , Adjunct Professor, School of Environmental and Information Sciences, Charles Sturt University,

Review: A Safe and Sustainable World: The Promise of Ecological Design By Nancy Jack Todd Reviewed by Elery Hamilton-Smith Charles Sturt University, Australia Nancy Jack Todd. A Safe and Sustainable World: The Promise of Ecological Design. Washington: The Island Press. 2005. 203pp. ISBN 1-55963-778-1 This is a very personal story of the efforts by the Todd Family and their friends to establish and test ecologically designed environments. The dimensions of personal and emotional experience are interwoven with the lessons learned from their two arks and the extent to which they have been recognized for their pioneering experiments. It is a valuable example of the “Think globally; Act Locally” principle, but goes further than most in making a genuine contribution to the broader conversation on sustainability. The bibliography is a remarkable lesson in itself. It comprises philosophical and conceptual works that helped to establish the directions and principles upon which the Todds built. Given the successful demonstration, by this work and many other similar projects, of the value of ecological principles as a basis for human action, it is disappointing that there is still limited broad-scale action in this area. I recently visited a wondrous and very successful dry land vineyard – the only one among an immense number of heavily irrigated neighboring plantings. It uses selected ground cover plantings between the grapevines to both hold water and exercise control over many potential pests. One can only wonder why irrigation survives when it is so costly in both economic and environmental dimensions and now clearly so un-necessary in that region. But one could cite hundreds of such examples of failure to adopt new strategies. The very concept of sustainability will only grow and develop its full potential if our political and economic masters rethink their policy assumptions and practices. But in turn, that demands wide-scale public understanding and acceptance. Nancy Todd has certainly made a contribution to that movement. Elery Hamilton-Smith, AM. , Adjunct Professor, School of Environmental and Information Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia.

Review: Environmental Policy: A Casebook By Robert P. Watson, Dwight C. Kiel, and Stephen F. Robar (Eds.) Reviewed by Elery Hamilton-Smith Charles Sturt University, Australia Robert P. Watson, Dwight C. Kiel, & Stephen F. Robar (Eds.). Environmental Policy: A Casebook. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing. 2003. 171 pp. ISBN 1- 5752-4233-8. US$27.50 This would be indeed a valuable work for those who like to teach by the book. It comprises twenty realistic but fictional case studies, each with questions for discussion and a role-play scenario. The themes covered are natural resources management, water, air quality, the urban environment, and waste management. The various authors have provided a competent although comparable (or is it stereotyped?) series of relatively familiar examples. The treatment throughout is obviously focused upon what the individual might achieve through local action: nice demonstrations of the “Think Globally, Act Locally” strategy. There is little discussion of culturally-based differences in assumptions and values and the way in which cultural difference shapes competing hegemonies. Having taught in this area at both undergraduate and staff development levels over many years, I must say that I would not use such a text. It is all too neatly pre-fabricated, and while it might create awareness and interest in beginning students (or beginning faculty), I fear it would do little to foster a sense of critical inquiry as a basis for action. The classes in which my own students appeared to gain most were those in which the students were divided into small groups and each group had to carry total responsibility for a fortnight’s teaching of their peers. It was all based in someone’s comment that lectures are not very useful because the lecturer learns more than their students! But most of my students obviously recognized that, and so their teaching involved very little lecturing. Elery Hamilton-Smith, AM. , Adjunct Professor, School of Environmental and Information Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia.

Review: Invasive Species in the Pacific Northwest By P.D. Boersma, S.H. Reichard & A.N. Van Buren (Eds.) Reviewed by Elery Hamilton-Smith Charles Sturt University, Australia P.D. Boersma, S.H. Reichard & A.N. Van Buren (Eds.). Invasive Species in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 2006. 285pp. ISBN 0-295-98596-8 (pbk) $US29.95. This is a very professionally compiled reference book and is beautifully produced and printed. There is a strange sense of ambiguity in the sheer beauty of the presentation alongside of the appalling problem being discussed. Regrettably, its utility inevitably diminishes in inverse proportion to the reader’s distance from Seattle. But it provides an excellent model for a comparable book dealing with any other region of the world and hence is worthy of attention. . The book opens with several very clear contextual chapters on invasive problems and ends with several useful appendices, including the IUCN list of the 100 worst invasive species of the world. The damage wrought by many of the species discussed in indeed frightening. The Nile Perch, introduced to Africa in order to improve fishing, exterminated over 200 endemic species. The water hyacinth clogs wetlands all over the world; a snake has virtually eliminated the birds of Guam. These are only three examples of hundreds that might be cited. Worst of all, most such species were introduced deliberately by well-meaning people. The major part of the book is a catalogue of the endangered species of the Pacific Northwest. Each species is dealt with under the headings of species description and current range, impact upon communities and native species, control methods and management, life history and species overview and history of invasiveness, together with a photograph and a map of distribution within the region. The appendices include a comprehensive bibliography. Elery Hamilton-Smith , Adjunct Professor, School of Environmental and Information Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia. Electronic Green Journal , Issue 26, Spring 2008 ISSN: 1076-7975

This paper explores catalysts and contexts leading to a restructuring of the secondary teacher education program at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst. The Dean of the Faculty of Education and the Head of the School of Teacher Education had been involved in discussions over a number of years about the unsatisfactory nature of the ‘Dip Ed’ (see Eltis, Meyenn and Parker, 1993). The dissatisfaction was exacerbated by surveys of, and interviews with, students and by the publication in early 1994 of Shaping the Future (Wiltshire Report). There was, too, the influence of overseas developments in teacher education, particularly those that reflected a determination to ensure schools, practising teachers and universities were working in partnerships to design, implement and evaluate more relevant programs. And just as significantly, there was the close association between the School of Teacher Education and one of the local secondary schools, Bathurst High School, which heralded the possibilities of a purposeful...

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Stage 1: Survival During Stage 1, which may last throughout the first full year of teaching, the teacher's main concern is whether she can survive. This preoccupation with survival may be expressed in questions the teacher asks: "Can I get through the day in one piece? Without losing a child? Can I make it until the end of the week? Until the next vacation? Can I really do this kind of work day after day? Will I be accepted by my colleagues?" Such questions are well expressed in Ryan's enlightening collection of accounts of first-year teaching experiences (3).

The importance of promoting reflection and reflective practice in teacher education programmes is widely acknowledged. This exploratory study describes how a revised B. Ed initial primary teacher education programme created a renewed focus on reflection and reflective practice to support students in becoming reflective practitioners The work on developing the new programme was a collaborative effort of staff, both at the planning and implementation stages. This paper reports on an evaluation of Year 1 of the B.Ed programme in which 440 undergraduate students and 24 staff were involved. The results were mainly positive, indicating that the changes in the programme have been largely successful in their goals. However, the results also show that further work needs to be done in this area with more in-depth research and analysis of the ongoing work being needed.

This study explored professional learning with the aim of improving teaching performance in chemistry in Kenyan secondary schools. The study investigated how and what Kenyan County chemistry teacher trainers learn from participating in a study where they reflect on their teaching. Reflective practice is not commonly used in teaching and teacher education in Kenya. Teaching and learning of chemistry at the secondary level in Kenya has received criticism overtime because of students’ low achievement and declining numbers of those opting to pursue courses in the university related to the subject. This is partly attributed to inefficient teaching methods. Initial teacher training to some extent does not match with changes in the education sector and the current group of students. Hence, teachers are expected to embrace long-life professional learning to keep abreast with the dynamic changes in the education system in many countries, Kenya included. The research takes the form of a qualitative case study. Four volunteer, experienced, Kenyan County chemistry teacher trainers, who are also secondary school classroom teachers, participated in the study over a period of nine months. The study was situated within a social constructivist view of learning, through which teacher trainers were provided an opportunity to examine their own prior knowledge of teaching and construct new knowledge through the process of shared reflection and dialogue. They reflected on critical incidents they chose from their own classroom teaching experiences they thought they could learn from, individually, and in collaboration with their participant colleagues. Data were collected from group reflection discussions and interviews. The process of thematic coding was employed to analyse data. The process of developing a coding scheme for data analysis was guided by the research questions and literature related to teacher learning in practice. The findings revealed that although teacher trainers missed many opportunities to learn from their teaching experiences, reflecting on a critical incident did offer them some opportunities to learn. They individually, and in collaboration with one another, reflected on their teaching and discussed problems regarding pedagogy, content knowledge, and learning resources. It was found that participants mainly adopted three professional learning activities: reflecting, experimenting and interacting with contact (with students and their participant colleagues) to develop knowledge of teaching methods, student learning needs and subject content. The findings also revealed that teaching and learning in the teacher trainers’ classrooms was affected by a myriad of contextual problems. Although not expected at the outset of the study since the participants were considered to be accomplished teachers with more than fifteen years of teaching experience in secondary school, it was found that in some topics they had limited pedagogical content knowledge. Assumptions about teaching and student learning they made also affected teaching and learning. Moreover, it was found that many students had a negative attitude towards chemistry and lacked knowledge of basic scientific concepts. Teaching and learning of chemistry in the teacher trainers’ classrooms was also found to be affected by a lack of time, laboratory facilities, and laboratory assistants. Findings further revealed that many schools in Kenya lacked qualified teachers and newly employed qualified teachers lacked skills to conduct practical lessons. Gaps were also identified in the Chemistry syllabus and in textbooks. Some content in the chemistry syllabus was not aligned with cognitive abilities of the students for whom they had been designed. A focus by the teacher trainers on external examinations also affected teaching because it was found that they did not teach for students’ conceptual understanding, but rather, to pass examinations. The study recommends introduction of school-based in-service training in Kenya, focusing on giving teachers an opportunity to reflect on their practice, increasing the frequency of national and County in-service training for teacher trainers and teachers, from the current one week per year to address the issue of limited pedagogical content knowledge. Findings also indicate a need for the current review of the education system in Kenya to consider better aligning the content found in the syllabus and textbooks with the cognitive abilities of students. Since the County is also in the process of phasing out the use of external examinations, as they affect teaching and learning in the classroom, the study findings provide insights and ideas that can be considered in this process.