Learning from Pre-service Teachers Introduction to the Book.- Reflection on preparing students for Learning.- Banish the Graveyard How Does Classroom Layout Affect Students’ Engagement?.- ‘Johnny’s Just Disruptive’ Changing Behaviours within the Classroom.- Closing the Gap: Improving Reading Fluency in the Struggling Middle-School Reader.- Direct Instruction with EAL/D Learners in the Northern Territory.- Visuals in the Special Needs Classroom.- The Bigger Picture: Authentic Assessment and Visual Literacy: Applying a Nordic Approach to an Australian Context.- Mathematics Homework.- Reflection on Engaging Students as Learners.- Motivating Students to Learn What Works? Intrinsic or Extrinsic Motivation?.- The Role of Positive Teacher-Student Relationships How Can They Help Improve Engagement for Secondary School Students with Challenging Behaviours?.- Music in Schools The Importance of Meaningful Relationships in Music Education.- Blame it on the Boogie Does Listening to Personal Music Devices within the Classroom Hinder Adolescent Students’ Ability to Be Mindful Learners?.- Negative Attitudes towards Learning Languages in the Middle Years Can These be Changed by Increased Awareness of Language Learning Benefits and Making Learning Easier?.- Reflection on perspectives on ICT.- Education in the Computer Age Information Technology and its effects on Student learning in a Classroom Setting.- Has ICT Revolutionised the Way That We Teach in Secondary Schools?.- Personal ICT Devices for Year 9 Students A Tool of Engagement or Distraction?.- Approaches to Teaching on the Tablet Why Australian public schools might not be rushing to introduce tablet computing to classrooms?.- The Utilisation of Virtual Reality to Engage High School History Students.- The Inclusion of Technology in Mathematics The Effects of Electronic Mobile Devices in Early Years Mathematics.- Reflection on wellbeing and the Learning Environment.- Student Well-Being Teaching with Empathy and Staff Collaboration.- The Right Response! Discovering Necessary Skills for Teachers and Parents to Collaborate Positively to Benefit a Child’s Education.- Understanding the Impacts of Mobile Phones and iPads on the Sleep Patterns of Adolescence in the Twenty-First Century.- Physical Classroom Environment and Anxiety Primary School Teachers’ Consideration of Their Physical Classroom Environment.- Effect of Arts Pedagogies on the Emotional Intelligence of Middle to Upper Primary Age Boys.- The Benefits of Yoga for Primary Students A Mindfulness Program.- The National School Chaplaincy Programme: An Itch That Can’t Be Scratched Politicians Satisfying the Church by Exploiting Public School Needs at the Expense of its Students.- Reflection on education and society.- It’s Not All Fun and Games.- NAPLAN Negativity: The Effects of NAPLAN on Teachers and Students.- Letters to Max: Errors with Empathy Enabling a Growth Mindset for Exams.- Will Culturally Relevant Content in Mathematics Improve Engagement of Indigenous Students?.- Breaking the Cycle: What Influences do Families Have on Lower Primary School Students’ Attendance in Remote Communities?.- Varying Gender Contexts to Increase Female Engagement in PE.- “He Never Wears the Hat”: Listening to Parents' Concerns.- The Powerless Choice Mainstream versus Specialist: The Critical Deci-sion for Parents of School Aged Children with Mild to Moderate Physical and/or Intellectual Disabilities.- Reflections on Reflections.
Dr Gretchen Geng is currently a regional VP of the International Group at Beijing Foreign Studies University. Before that, she was a leader of Teaching and Learning Design at the DVC (Education) Office of RMIT University, and an Associate Professor at Charles Darwin University. Dr. Geng also provides consultancy to online TESOL companies in China on how to use educational technologies in teaching and learning in a global learning context.
Pamela Smith is an Honorary Fellow at Charles Darwin University, having retired from a lecturer position in 2016. She had been involved in lecturing and coordinating pre-service degree programs within the School of Education. Pamela has come to tertiary education after a long career in teaching spanning the early years to secondary teaching, as well as several executive leadership positions.
Dr Paul Black retired from Charles Darwin University in 2015. With a Yale doctorate in Linguistics, he came to Australia in 1974 to undertake descriptive and comparative studies of Australian Indigenous languages, and many of his publications relate to his specialisation in comparative historical lexicostatistics. Most recently he served a joint editor of The Challenge of Teaching — Through the Eyes of Pre-service Teachers and Challenges in Global Learning.
Dr Yoshi Budd is currently a lecturer in Education at RMIT University, where she designs and delivers units of study in (under)graduate literacy programs. Yoshi began her teaching career as a teacher of English, German and Japanese. This experience was significant in developing her interest in the relationship between education, society and literacy pedagogy.
Dr Leigh Disney is an Early Years lecturer within the Faculty of Education at Monash University. He began his career as an early childhood educator in both prior-to-school and school-based settings. He has developed an in-depth understanding of the educative and care needs of young children through supporting young children’s social and emotional development.
This book investigates the ways in which pre-service teachers develop and articulate their professional knowledge by presenting their reflections on contemporary issues and topics they have explored during their own teaching practicums. It uses reflective practice to connect pre-service teachers’ personal backgrounds with their placement experience concerning a self-selected topic, including teacher educators’ reflections on the pre-service teachers’ reports on these placement topics. By illustrating the broad range of issues encountered by pre-service teachers, sharing multiple perspectives on the complexity of classroom practice, and demonstrating the importance of reflective practice, it also provides a valuable mentoring framework.
Moreover, the book studies how examining pre-service teachers’ life experience can facilitate in-depth understanding, specifically in the context of pre-service teachers’ reflections on their own practices in different educational settings. In short, the book helps current and prospective pre-service teachers and teacher educators get to know their students and themselves better using reflective practice.