a model for sustainable and supportive practicum in rural and regional locations: a pilot study
DESCRIPTION
A Model for Sustainable and Supportive Practicum in Rural and Regional Locations: A Pilot Study. Josephine Ryan (ACU, Melbourne) Caroline Walta (La Trobe, Shepparton) Mellita Jones (ACU, Ballarat and Alan McLean, La Trobe Shepparton). Overview. The project Research perspectives - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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A Model for Sustainable and Supportive Practicum
in Rural and Regional Locations: A Pilot Study
Josephine Ryan (ACU, Melbourne)Caroline Walta (La Trobe, Shepparton)
Mellita Jones (ACU, Ballarat and Alan McLean, La Trobe Shepparton)
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Overview
• The project• Research perspectives• Pilot: activities and methodology• Findings• Directions
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ALTC Priority ProjectPre-service Teacher Education Partnerships: Creating an effective
practicum model for rural and regional pre-service teachers
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Projected outcomes
The project aims to create a sustainable, supportive model of practicum in rural and regional locations through:
1. Intervarsity cooperation ‘think tank’; shared supervision and inter-university regional preservice teacher clusters
2. Exploration of supportive communications technology (Skype for supervision; mobile phone for peer feedback …)
3. Exploration of approaches to creating sustainable partnerships with rural and regional teacher supervisors
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Research context
• Rural educational disadvantage (Hardré, 2009)
• Higher education provision in rural areas
-Bradley: need for universities to be “flexible and innovative” (DEEWA, 2008, p.111)
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Research perspectives
• Significance of the practicum
• Scarcity of true partnerships between unis and schools (Ure, 2009)
• ICT as mode of instruction and communication
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Pilot
• Semester 2, 2010, based on where both unis had practicum students 2 regions chosen:
1. Central Victoria (closer to Shepparton)2. South western Victoria (closer to ACU
Ballarat)• ACU and La Trobe PSTs from each region
put together in Blackboard discussion groups (both blogs and issue-based groups)
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Shared supervision (and data collection)
• Using each other’s documentation lecturers visited their own and other uni’s PSTs and supervisors in their region
• Interviewed PSTs and supervisors and Student Teacher Coordinators (STCs) about project initiatives
• Practicum website; Skype for supplementary supervision
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Recognition and reward for supervisors: to be explored
• Communication approaches• Need for mentor pd?• VIT professional development
credit?• Masters credit?• Other?• AITSL approaches-accreditation for
supervisors
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Methodology
• Semi-structured interviews with PSTs and supervisors
• Discourse analysis of PSTs online activities (not yet completed)
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Findings
Shared supervision• PTSs- • “(It’s) someone with
experience...coming from either ACU or La Trobe...I don’t find it threatening.”
• “We learn something new...the more people you can connect with, especially in this environment I think is really good.”
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Shared supervision
Supervisors• Having a qualified and experienced
person visit more important than which university the lecturer represents.
Lecturers• Soon forgot who were ‘their’ PSTs
and who were not; valuable to see another course.
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Technology
• Inter-university clusters• . “This is the first time I’ve seen C.
but we’ve chatted on Blackboard quite a few times and M. and I only met the other day and again we’ve had more contact by our Blackboard than we would have all being in the same location.”
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Inter-university IT
• Danger of access being too complex • Mature age PST: too many IT
options:• “Blackboard …LMS… emails …it’s
just another thing you have to do.”• Others cruised around as suited.• Lecturers found monitoring it
engaging but voluminous.
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Inter-university clusters
• “I have agreed to catch up with someone who is working at a nearby school and go through some research stuff we’ve got coming up...Blackboard, the online tool enabled us to do that.”
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Communication with Supervisors
• On-going frustrations: non-arrival of documentation.
• Interest in website for communication seemed more ‘if needed’. Email and phone were favoured.
• Skype as an addition not replacement to face to face meeting.
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Communication
• ‘The human face is still hugely important”.
• In terms of value of Skype project methodology of 2 visits took away incentive.
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Professional development for supervisors
• Differences between younger/less experienced supervisors (who were interested) and veterans (less)
• AITSL accreditation: requirement to prove proficiency may be disincentive to be a supervisor
• Lecturers would value the chance to work with supervisors on mentoring
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Sustainable ways to recognise and reward supervisors
• Credit-based maybe more appealing; money not as important as time
• Affirmation for Deans’ recommendation of it being part of work load (Ure, 2009)
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Directions for the project
• Affirmation for inter-university practicum approach
• Need to:1.Streamline ICT instruction options2.Find ways of balancing visits with
ICT options3.Delve deeper into finding ways for
universities and teachers to talk about practicum.
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ReferencesDepartment of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2008).
Review of Australian higher education. [Electronic version] accessed January 16, 2009. http://www.deewr.gov.au/HigherEducation/Review/Pages/ReviewofAustralianHigherEducationReport.aspx
Hardré, P. (2009) Nurturing the rural teaching experience. Lessons from the United States. In T. Lyons, J.Choi & G. McPhan, (Eds.) (2009). Innovation for Equity in Rural Education, Symposium Proceedings International Symposium for Innovation in Rural Education, 11-14 February, UNE: Armidale, 137-145. Electronic version retrieved January, 2010 from http://www.une.edu.au/simerr/ISFIRE/pages/ISFIRE_proceedings.pdf
Ure, C. (2009). Practicum Partnerships: Exploring Models of Practicum Organisation in Teacher Education for a Standards-Based Profession. Final Report of ALTC funded project.