Examining Preservice Teachers' Applied Learning Experiences in the Teacher Education Done Differently Project

Reviews have criticized universities for not embedding sufficient praxis for preparing preservice teachers for the profession. The Teacher Education Done Differently project explored praxis development for preservice teachers within existing university coursework. This mixed-method investigation inv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTeacher education & practice Vol. 25; no. 3; pp. 422 - 441
Main Authors Hudson, Peter, Hudson, Suzanne
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Rowman & Littlefield 2012
Subjects
Australia
Case Studies
Elementary School Students
Environmental Education
Field Experience Programs
Foreign Countries
Gifted
Likert Scales
Mixed Methods Research
Physical Education
Praxis
Preservice Teacher Education
Preservice Teachers
Questionnaires
Student Surveys
Australia
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Summary:Reviews have criticized universities for not embedding sufficient praxis for preparing preservice teachers for the profession. The Teacher Education Done Differently project explored praxis development for preservice teachers within existing university coursework. This mixed-method investigation involved an analysis of multiple case studies with preservice teacher involvement in university programs--namely, Ed Start for Field Experiences 1 (n = 26), 3 (n = 23), and 4 (n = 12); Move It, Use It (health and physical education program; n = 38), Studies of Society and Its Environment (n = 24), and Science in Schools (n = 38). The project included preservice teachers teaching primary students at the campus site in gifted education (the B-GR8 program; n = 22). The percentage range for preservice teacher agreement of their praxis development leading up to Field Experiences 1, 3, and 4 was between 91% and 100%, with a high mean score range (4.26-5.00). Other university units had similar findings, except for Studies of Society and its Environment (percentage range, 10%-86%; M = 2.33-4.00, SD = 0.55-1.32). Qualitative data presented an understanding of the praxis development leading to the conclusion that additional applied learning experiences as lead-up days for field experiences and as avenues for exploring the teaching of specific subject areas presented opportunities for enhancing praxis. (Contains 7 tables.)
ISSN:0890-6459