Search

This article presents the Action--Reflection--Modelling (ARM) pedagogical approach for teacher education developed during a Malaysia-UK collaborative project to construct a Bachelor of Education (Honours) degree programme in Primary Mathematics, with English and Health and Physical Education as minor subjects. The degree programme was written collaboratively by teacher educators in two Institutes of Teacher Education in Malaysia and in the University of Hertfordshire, UK, to meet the requirements for training Malaysian school teachers to teach in Malaysian schools. A cohort of 120 students studied the programme full-time over four years, graduating in 2010. The three principles of the ARM approach were chosen to underpin the learning and teaching for the programme. These principles highlight the role of active participation and active learning on the part of the learner; the value of reflective learning and reflection for both student teachers and pupils; and modelling by staff to student teachers and by student teachers to pupils in school. The approach was aligned with the curriculum specifications for mathematics in primary schools in Malaysia, which emphasised components of active learning. This article explains how the ARM approach was developed, shared and used during the BEd degree programme; provides the rationale for selecting the three principles; and describes the research methods used to explore the views and experiences of programme participants. Some findings from the research are presented, drawn from a dataset that comprises survey responses from more than 180 participants: Malaysian senior managers, teacher educators, student teachers and school mentors. The findings are discussed in the context of using ARM in teacher education and in primary schools in Malaysia, and of implementing change in learning and teaching. Throughout this project the teacher educators from Malaysia and the UK engaged in dialogue about their professional practice and learnt about the personal, professional and cultural values and beliefs that shaped the pedagogies of both parties and of the individual practitioners. The value of articulating pedagogy as a means of developing practice endorses the views of others with expertise in this area who stress the importance of making pedagogies explicit in teacher education and has implications for the practice of student teachers and teacher educators.

Members of staff joining a school of education often have extensive experience in practice but not in academia and the university setting may present a complex diversity of roles, ways of working, values and goals. Colleagues may face issues of understanding the organisational structure and culture, changing identities, and concerns about their academic reading and writing abilities. This paper presents a study designed to examine the efficacy of a personalised needs-led self-study group approach to induction for experienced professionals joining a University School of Education. The approach was new to both current staff members and the four early academic staff, most of whom were teacher educators. In group sessions new colleagues had space for dialogue and story-telling based on their experiences, and created visual images for reflection and discussion with group members. Progressive group activities included presentations at local and international conferences, and academic writing. The purpose of the research reported here was to examine the efficacy of the self-study group as part of an induction process; exploring the developing professional identity of the new staff, the role of the group, and the effects of collecting visual research data for reflection and analysis of personal and group themes. New colleagues prepared a reflective account of their experiences of the group and their developing professional identity, took part in an evaluation workshop, and responded to questions on the longer term impact of the group. Outcomes of the group process included participants' increased confidence to work in the context of complexity, and the ability to embrace their changing identities. A self-study group process can help facilitate the development of the professionals needed to work in the dynamic context of the university of today and is likely to have implications for a range of organisational settings. (Contains 6 tables.)

This article presents a strategy for teaching newly qualified teachers (NQTs) during their first year of teaching, developed by teacher educators from the University of Hertfordshire School of Education. The strategy included a new learning and teaching approach designed to enable NQTs to: develop as critically reflective teachers; build confidence in their professional "voices"; learn collaboratively; and assess their learning. Pedagogical tools created to support the new approach included "Discover--Deepen--Do" (3D), a model for driving change in teaching through analysing critical incidents or critical moments. The NQTs who completed the Master's level module used the 3D model, completed critically reflective "learning journals" and were assessed through "learning conversations". This article describes the learning and teaching approach and evaluation method. Findings from the evaluation provide insight into the participants' perspectives of the approach, and the NQTs' development as confident and critically reflective teachers and as professional learners. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.)