School Centres
for
Teaching Excellence
Symposium Two
Session Two
Theme: Beyond the Classroom: The need
for a new teacher educator workforce
Education
Crossing boundaries in schooluniversity partnership
Rosalyn Black, SCTE seminar, 24 May 2013
Education
Why school-university
partnership? Ina nutshell …
The challenge of a globalised context
• Multidimensionality: traditional boundaries between school and other
agencies are blurring – we have to integrate elements from different contexts
to solve problems
• Complexity: our students’ lives (and their families and communities) are
becoming more complex – education needs to accommodate this complexity
• Interconnectivity: it is no longer enough to have expertise within the boundary
of our own profession – we have to engage with other communities of practice
• Local needs and global agendas: these intersect in complex ways that
demand new approaches (Tsui 2005)
Education
What challenges face school- university
partnership?
The challenge of defining partnership
Is it a partnership or is it a:
• Collaboration
• Consortium
• Cooperative
• Alliance
• Dalliance?
Where does it sit on the VicHealth
spectrum: Networking - coordination collaboration – partnership (VicHealth
2009)
The challenge of capacity
• Schools often seek partnership to
generate improvement, but may
struggle to integrate it into existing
commitments or sustain it (Black,
2007)
• Limited time and resources and
competing commitments
• are a given for most schools (and
universities)
Education
What challenges face school- university
partnership?
• It can be hard to navigate the
‘closed culture’ of schools or
We may all be educators, but schools
universities
and universities can be very different:
• Differences between the goals of
• Priorities
schools and universities can be
• Structures
problematic
• Levels of resourcing/remuneration • Partnerships may be school- or
• Levels of education
university-centric
• There may be unequal power and
• Terminology
control between partners
• Cultures.
The challenge of culture
Education
What does school-university partnership look like
when it works well?
It has good governance
• It is guided by shared values and
realistic purposes
• It is governed by clear agreements
MOUs, contracts, letters of
understanding). These set out:
• Why and how each partner is
involved
• The outcomes expected from the
partnership
• The parameters of the partnership.
• It has clear operating procedures
including good communication
It keeps its eye on the main
game
• Its primary aim is to enhance
educational outcomes
• Its operations do not take
precedence over these
outcomes
Education
What does school-university partnership look like
when it works well?
It is sustainable
• It attracts significant and
sustained commitment from all
partners
• It is adequately resourced (not
just at the outset)
• It has processes to ensure that
issues are not ignored or
superficially resolved in ways
that will endanger it further down
the track
It adds to our knowledge
• It is informed by the best
knowledge in the field
• It is monitored and evaluated
from the start
• It documents and shares its
learnings with a wide
audience
Education
What does school-university partnership look like
when it works well?
It is more than business as usual It positions students as
• It tackles causes, not just symptoms participants
•
•
•
It promotes innovative practice:
•
crossing boundaries can help us
take a fresh look at our long-standing •
practices and assumptions (Tsui,
2005)
•
It responds to local circumstances
and builds on local strengths
It also looks beyond the local to the
systemic. It may inform policy, or
practice elsewhere
Students are not just the
beneficiaries of partnerships
They can also help to generate,
inspire, inform and drive them
Yet they are the group most
consistently left out of the creation
and implementation of
partnerships
Education
SCTE: Gippsland Reshaping teacher
education curriculum
Kelly Carabott
Kim Davies
Wendy Goff
Simone White
Monash University Focus
• While many of the SCTE have focused on the theory-practice nexus at the
site of the practicum, at Monash the focus has been on reconceptualising
and designing teacher education curriculum in order to develop and
maintain sustainable practices to work for social inclusion in particular
in rural and regional community areas.
• A key research focus has been to examine the design features of such a
teacher education curriculum.
• Model 1: A Community Development Partnership Model – Extending
Learning through Teacher Education (to be presented by Wendy Goff and
Kelly Carabott)
• Model 2: Learning Clubs and teacher education for social justice and
inclusion: Preliminary findings of a pilot study of service learning for
community, school and classroom readiness (to be presented by Kim
Davies)
Pilot – Core features
• Two different SCTE models of school-university partnerships have been
developed and trailed in the first and second semester of 2012 within the
Graduate Diploma of Education (Primary) program at Monash University
(Gippsland campus) and the B.Ed (Primary)
• Although different in their design the models are both embedded into a
core curriculum unit so that all pre-service teachers participated in
the model (Approx 60 students participated)
• Both have been developed from the position of the partner/s identifying a
key issue where a teacher education partnership was viewed as integral to
addressing.
• Both involve teacher educators, pre-service teachers, teachers and
community members working together.
• Both have involved significant examination of the curriculum and the site
of learning
Education
Key literature informing our
practice/research - A thought experiment
Theory into a conceptual framework?
"There seems to be little contact
between student teachers and
school principals during the
practicum: the school as a
whole is not engaged in the
preparation of future teachers;
it seems to be the task of specific
people within the school, mainly
the mentor. The findings suggest
that there is not a shared
responsibility between the field
and teacher education institutions
in preparing a new generation of
teachers (Smith and Lev-Ari
2005, p. 299).
Think
- Whole School
engagement and whole
school mentoring.
Consider introducing new
and diverse perspectives
from community, school
and other education
stakeholders.
Theory into a conceptual framework?
".... teachers need access to a
wider community of discourse.
School/university
partnerships, subject matter
organizations, and networks of
various kinds can expand the
community of educators and
resources that inform and
support teachers in their work
(Lieberman and Grolnick,
1996)." 1044(Feiman-Nemser
2001)
Think – Unsettle students
thinking about teaching and
unpack their own
experiences. Introduce them
to theories such as ‘Funds of
Knowledge’ (Moll) and ‘Virtual
Schoolbags’ (Thompson).
Immerse the pre-service
teachers in a range of
settings and communities.
Theory into a conceptual framework?
"Research suggests that
professional communities in
which teachers share
understandings about the
nature of good teaching and
work together to enact them
provide particularly conducive
settings for learning to teach."
(Darling-Hammond and
Bransford 2005, 404)
Think – teams of preservice teachers placed to teams
of teachers in teams of schools
with a team of teacher
educators.
New conceptual model: White, 2010; White &Kline, 2012
Reference:
White, S. (2010) Creating and
celebrating place and partnerships: A key
to sustaining rural education
communities, Keynote address for the
Society for the Provision of Education in
Rural Australia (SPERA). University of
the Sunshine Coast, 15-17th of
September
White, S & Kline, J. (2012) Developing a
Rural Teacher Education Curriculum
Package, The Rural Educator, 33, 2, 3642
Community
ready
School ready
Classroom
ready
Education
Exploring this framework and
Building communities
2 models
Education
A Community Development Partnership Model –
Extending Learning Through Teacher Education
Kelly Carabott
Wendy Goff
The Partnership
1 Introduction
- Innovative teaching practices
impacting on communities
- Overview of the partnership
The Model - Weekly
The
Lecture
The
Practical
The
Reflection
• Theoretical perspectives relating to literacy
presented by teacher educators.
• Pre Service Teachers (PST) work with P-2
children on scaffolding oral language skills.
• Classroom teachers present a 15 minute
snapshot of the practical applications of the
theory presented.
• PST plan in teams for their 2 children.
• Discussion with teacher educators relating to
how theoretical perspectives relate to
practice that the PST have observed.
• Personal and Peer reflection by PST.
The Initial Model
Monash
• Teacher
Educators
• Monash
Students
School
LaTrobe
Health
• Teachers
• Children
• Families
• Recreation
Facilitators
• Clients
C
O
M
M
U
N
I
T
Y
The Partnership – Challenges or Opportunities?
• The meeting of different organisations
• The meeting of individuals
• The cultural interface (Nakata, 2002; 2007)
C
O
M
M
U
N
I
T
Y
Lessons Learned and Ways Forward…..
•
•
•
Positives and Negatives
Revisiting and Remembering
Growth and Development
Community Development
Partnership Model
Shared Goal
Shared Goal
Partnership
Goal
Individual
Goal
Shared
Goal
Individual Goal
Monash – Albert St- LCHS Community
Development Partnership Model
C
O
M
M
U
N
I
T
Y
Education
Community, School and Classroom Readiness:
Insights from Student Assessment
•
•
•
Kim Davies
Faculty of Education
Monash Gippsland
The Learning Clubs (TLC’s)
•
Connections with PST core
curriculum:
–
•
Connections with local partners:
–
–
•
EDF 1306 Spaces of Difference
Local primary schools (x5)
The Smith Family
Theoretical resources for
community, school, classroom
readiness:
–
–
–
–
Funds of Knowledge (Moll et al,
2005)
Virtual School bags (Thomson,
2002)
Productive Pedagogies (State of
Qld, 2002)
Transformability (Hart et al, 2004)
The rationale…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Connecting community, school and
classroom readiness with
Preparation for inclusive education by
Working with, for and across difference
In a region characterised by high exclusion
and school drop out, low post school
transition rates and persistent
socioeconomic disadvantage
Because teaching is complex, multi-faceted
work and
Students can be supported to learn
successfully with their differences and
identities respected and valued if
They are appreciated in their full,
complicated, interconnected community,
school and classroom contexts
The assessment tasks in EDF 1306
• Task #1: Design for Difference Task : TLC Plan
• Part A:
» Community and school contexts
» TLC clubbers Funds of Knowledge (FoK)
• Part B:
» TLC plan incorporating FoK in a negotiated inquiry project bridging to academic
learning
• Task #2: Creative Presentation:
• Unpacking PST’s virtual school bag, identifying key discourses and reflecting on
implications for inclusive practice
Community readiness?
Opportunities?
• Mapping of local neighbourhood - Resources, facilities, services
•
•
•
•
Workshop presentation by Latrobe City Council Community Development
teaM
Weekly on site support from TSF Learning for Life worker
Invitation to partner with carers and families
Interrogating assumptions and stereotypes - Especially around poverty and
‘boganism’
•
•
Revisiting and reconsidering personal history and local experiences
Re-contextualising and reconsidering local history and reputation via
theoretical lenses
Community readiness?
Evidence?
“I noticed on the way to school that the area was of quite low socio economic level. There didn’t
appear to be any new development areas, and the infrastructure was reasonably old. There was a
new shopping plaza but I couldn’t see any new houses.
One more than one occasion, one of the house opposite the school had a fire on the front lawn and
several drunk adults singing quite loudly to a country and western CD, seemingly ignoring several
small children (pre school age) standing out on the road abusing passers by. The adults seemed to
not notice or were unperturbed by this behaviour. I had a sinking feeling that this may be
representative of the children in my TLC – but luckily it wasn’t. This spectacle however was a perfect
representation of the stereotype associated with this school region and I wasn’t surprised to see it. I
was disappointed that this was occurring right opposite a primary school and concerned for what this
means of the community and its living standards.”
“ The school location is in a tucked away part of Churchill, completely residential, very quiet. This
particular area of Churchill seems to display some elements of low socio-economic population; it has
the distinctive uniform architecture of government housing. And some other social signifiers such as
overgrown gardens and car hulks. Although the street does not have the edgy, dangerous vibe of
some other areas in the valley.”
School readiness?
Opportunities?
Evidence?
•
•
“So from these snapshots into the boys lives and those
of their community both inside and outside the
classroom, I learnt a great deal. The school community
is respectful and tolerant to each others differences,
however some tensions were evident, particularly
between parents and teachers…I wanted to meet their
parents and carers – however they were very reluctant.
This in itself showed me the tensions and space
between parents and the school – one parent I finally
managed to corner into a chat was thoroughly (and
pleasantly) surprised when I wanted to have a
conversation with her. I learnt so much about her child
in those 2 minutes; it was invaluable. By inference I was
disgusted that the school discourages parent teacher
interaction to this level.”
•
•
School TLC coordinator attends each week
Orientation to TLC school
– Resources, facilities
– Routines and protocols
– School’s focus for TLC
– Must contact TLC coordinator if absent
or if requiring special facilities,
resources etc
Working with TLC tutor partner
– Collaboration
– Grouping options
– Team teaching
– Must notify partner of absence and
forward plan
Information and opportunity to meet
clubber’s teachers
Classroom readiness?
Opportunities
Evidence?
•
“The activities were thoroughly designed in a way to
utilise the boy’s virtual school bags and funds of
knowledge, everything we did related to them as
individual people and as students – and they
responded positively. Three of the boys were team
players while the 4th preferred to sit quietly and talk to
me when we had a break and the other three ran
around outside…Upon unpacking this boy’s virtual
school bag I learnt that he had a very disruptive home
life, and extreme anger issues of his own. One week
there was an incident between the end of the school
bell and the start of TLC that got him sent to timeout to
‘cool down’…No one told me what happened or where
he was – so I went to investigate…I found the teacher
responsible and explained that I think participating in
TLC will be more valuable to him as a learner and
person than detention, and consequently he was finally
allowed to join back in.
•
•
•
•
•
Information about clubbers from and
opportunity to meet and talk with
clubber’s classroom teachers
Insider stories (from students
themselves and carers/families)
Team teaching (with TLC partner)
School TLC coordinator on hand to
support and advise
Planning for learning (with feedback),
implementation, evaluation and
reflection of TLC learning plan
Cohort-wide support through
collaboration and online discussion
Classroom readiness?
Evidence? (cont…)
“The TLC member was so surprised that I pestered the teacher to let him
join back into TLC – I could see he was not used to people sticking up for him and
supporting him like that. Consequently the following week he was absent from school
during the day, and he confided in me that his Mum wouldn't let him attend school
that day – so at 3.30pm he ran out of the house and jumped on his bike without her
knowing, just so he could attend TLC because he didn't want to miss out. The
teachers came up to him and congratulated him for trying so hard, and he was
positively ecstatic to have made the right choice and be commended for it. I was so
pleased to have had such a positive impact on this boy and his learning that he was
so desperate to participate!”
Final thoughts: Tensions and dilemmas?
•
Benefits of after school learning and learning
about teaching
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A different ‘space’ (i.e. context and relationship)
To learn and teach differently
A different position from which to observe school and
classroom processes and practices
Moving these dispositions (as orientation to
action) and emerging skills into a school and
classroom context
Managing frustration and avoiding
resignation through burn out
Sustaining reflexivity and critique to keep
open inclusive spaces that value (recognise
and respect) learner differences and identity:
Differences do matter (Allard and Santoro,
2006)
Questions?
Contacts
• Kelly.carabott@monash.edu
• Wendy.goff@monash.edu
• Kim.davies@monash.edu
• Simone.white@monash.edu
Rural Centre of Excellence
- Four partnerships
-
King Valley
Mansfield
St Arnaud
Tallangatta
- Three universities
-
University of Melbourne
Latrobe University – Wodonga Campus
University of Ballarat
Key Elements
Background to Centre
•
Yarrawonga Project (1998)
– Partnership between
Yarrawonga cluster and Latrobe
University
•
Ararat Project (2000)
– Partnership between Ararat
cluster and University of Ballarat
– Groups of teacher trainees
within a cluster of rural schools
– A focus on a curriculum area
identified by the cluster
– Becoming part of the school
teaching team
•
•
Key focus on encouraging teacher
trainees to see a teaching career in rural
Victoria as a real option
Elements
–
–
–
Involvement of pre service teachers on the
basis of a whole of community approach;
groups of PSTs within a cluster of rural
schools; centred on an identified learning
area of need/interest within the cluster
The provision of ongoing professional
learning for existing cluster staff
The potential for research – both at an
individual partnership level and across all
partnerships
Approaches Taken
St Arnaud Partnership
•
•
•
Curriculum area of focus
Whole of community approach –
school supporting PSTs during
school, school councilors support
PSTs outside school hours
Inclusion in the whole community
Tallangatta Partnership
•
•
•
•
Cluster approach – involvement in both
primary and secondary schools within
the cluster
The direct involvement of principals
The development of a “real induction” –
exploration of school data, community
profile, school cultures, etc.
The development of a Professional
Learning Team approach to support the
learnings of pre service teachers
Youth Aspirations Research
•
•
•
•
•
•
Youth aspirations identified as a real area of concern by all partnerships
Three universities working in partnership – with each university providing a
mentor/facilitation role in their “host partnership” – lead by University of
Melbourne.
Professional development for all clusters focusing on the area of “teachers
as researchers”
The involvement of clusters in the gaining of information and data
supported by the “teacher researcher” in each cluster
Involvement of university staff and “teacher researchers” in undertaking
focus group discussions.
Minimal involvement of pre service teachers
Learnings Thus Far
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The need to explore the potential that such partnerships can provide for all involved – the real
need to support the various partners in the knowledge, establishment and operation of a
partnership approach is needed across key areas:
– There is a benefit for the schools involved
– Skills and knowledge of existing school staff is enhanced
– There is an enhanced approach to teacher education
– School student learning opportunities and outcome are enhanced
– Pre service teachers gain a thorough understanding of teaching within a rural learning
community..
The need to support the partnership approach on a broader scale – “pipeline approach” within the
USA and the health sector
The critical role of a “broker” to focus on the development of the partnership and to support change
of thinking, and the support the establishment of sustainable approaches centred on a partnership
approach
Awareness of pre service teachers of teaching opportunities within rural communities enhanced
Pre service teachers perceptions of rural learning communities challenged
The use of communication technology within partnerships, especially when it is a growing area
within rural communities, is very low.
The need to further explore the benefit of a partnership approach to ALL partners and have it
centred on improving/enhancing the learning outcomes and opportunities for rural young people
“Many of the findings and solutions from the research indicate that a relationship built between
rural industries/organisations and higher education institutions have a positive impact on
supporting trainee professionals considering, and in many cases obtaining, a career within a
rural community. This seems to be further enhanced if these relationships are formalised in an
agreed plan and involve a whole of community approach to the practical experience.
However research indicates that a sole focus on recruitment, without a similar planned
approach to retention, is short term, and will produce limited outcomes. The research evidence
clearly indicates that retention of employees in the rural workforce is as large an issue as
recruitment.
Unless the project concurrently develops an overall recruitment and retention framework then
sustainability of any actions will be difficult”
Learnings for Teacher Educators???
•
•
•
•
•
Greater links between approaches utilized within teacher education organisations and those
occurring in schools is needed – eg professional learning teams, etc
With the rapidly increasing use of communication technology within schools (especially rural
schools) the low level of learning within this area across teacher education courses has
been identified as a real area of need
Within a rural context pre service teachers are not necessarily exposed to the variety of
experiences they face within a rural teaching role – multi age classes, team teaching, “super
classes”, Pre to Year 12, etc.
There is a real opportunity to support schools in the areas of research through a partnership
approach:
– Building the capacity of school teachers in relation to the power, and use, of research
(eg teachers as researchers)
– Facilitating research in an area of identified focus to enhance and improve learning
within the school/cluster context.
– Recognizing excellence in teaching and learning and using those with onground
experience in rural contexts within pre service teachers education courses.
The need to see this partnership approach to enhance the capacity of the whole teaching
workforce, not just the “training/education end” – eg the “pipeline model” developed within
the health sector.
The changing work and role of teacher
educators in a local school context
• Bendigo SCTE
• Craig Deed, Scott Alterator, Peter Cox, Bruce
Pridham (La Trobe University)
Drivers of change
• Local context – BEP
• Principal’s
perspective about
‘ready-to-teach’ status
of graduates
• Improving integration
of university and
school-based learning
Leading to …
• Immersive 2-day a week
practicum model
• Team based placement
(neighbourhood)
• Co-teaching
• Expert mentors
• Use of technology to support
communication, planning,
teaching and review
Changes for Teacher
Educators
•
•
•
•
•
Increased presence in school
settings
Responsiveness to school priorities
and emerging issues
Responsiveness to changing
space and culture of
neighbourhood ‘classrooms’
New ‘language’ and models of
practice incorporated into
university subjects
Emphasis on general pedagogical
skills and knowledge
Key ongoing questions
• How to maintain productive
partnerships between university
and ‘our’ schools?
• How to frame flexible practicum
pathways and models, in order to
afford adaptive practice?
• Integration of university and
school-based learning through the
practicum experience?