Two Cubed

Abstract

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.