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Teachers who mentor student teachers have a range of mentoring, coaching and teaching experience. Appropriate professional development for mentors takes consideration of this experience as well as the age phase, context (for example, main-stream or special education setting) and route that the student teacher is taking into teaching (school-based experience varying from a few weeks to a whole school year). Mentors are school-based teacher educators with diverse professional learning and development requirements, for which a personalised needs-led approach may be more effective than a training approach limited to understanding the processes needed for a specific programme and setting. Core essentials for school-based teacher educators' development include introductions to the Partnership team, values, route and procedures; basic mentoring principles and skills; providing feedback to the school-based teacher educator on the professional learning conversation and modelling subject development conversations; and access to a community of teacher educators. Beyond these core essentials, other opportunities can enrich professional learning and practice. Cameos of such enrichment opportunities are described in this article to illustrate the personalised needs-led approach that has evolved within an Initial Teacher Education Partnership in England. The value, drawbacks and implications of this flexibly adaptive approach are discussed.

Over the last decade, in both the Netherlands and England, national policy-driven changes have increased schools' responsibility in initial teacher education. This research gathered teacher educators' stories of challenges experienced 'on the ground' in these school-university partnerships. The aim was to explore the reality of working within school-based teacher education partnerships rather than a comparative study between the two countries. Challenges were identified in guiding and assessing student-teachers; professionalism and well-being of student-teachers and teacher educators; collaborative working and quality assurance. The stories revealed complexities of working across institutional borders with multiple stakeholders. Many teacher educators sought their own solution rather than discussing the challenges with others in the partnership. Resolution was sometimes beyond their control and needed to be dealt with on a different partnership level. The stories provide authentic teacher educator voices for use as a professional learning tool in developing collaborative practices in initial teacher education partnerships.

The functions of teacher leaders and teacher educators, what they do, are critical in teacher education. This article presents the seemingly unexamined concept that some teacher leaders' practice includes a teacher educator dimension. Evidence that supports this claim is provided by exploring the interrelationship between teacher leader and teacher educator functions using a focused analysis of the literature and findings from qualitative research. This research investigated the impact of a professional development programme for primary science leaders. Data were collected from strategic-level informants, programme mentors and science leaders using interviews, questionnaires and a focus group. The findings are analysed to provide a critical overview of the participants' views of the requirements for successful leadership and development of primary science and to illustrate how educator and leader functions are intertwined in science leaders' activities. The article considers the implications of recognising the educator dimension of some teacher leaders' practice and asserts that these implications extend beyond the primary science context of the research. Acknowledging the contribution made by 'unrecognised' teacher educators and enabling them to contribute to and gain from the professional knowledge of the teacher educator community has significant potential to enrich practice in teacher education internationally, nationally and locally.

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.)

This article explores one thread from a larger, longitudinal research project that investigated the views and experiences of teacher educators in Malaysia and from the United Kingdom who were involved in collaboration for the co-construction of a Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Primary Mathematics, with English and health and physical education as minor subjects. The article examines the impact of the approach taken to collaboration, which included the development and sharing of a pedagogical model for teacher education (ARM: action, reflection, modelling) and reflects on the value of this to professional learning and development. The research findings suggest that this co-constructive approach was effective in enabling senior managers and teacher educators involved in the project to critique their own practice and to further develop their understanding of effective teacher education. These findings have implications for developing the pedagogy of teacher educators in other contexts: the co-construction of a programme with colleagues who had different understandings of the nature of teacher education enabled new insight into participants' own practice.

The nature of partnership between schools and higher education institutions is changing in many countries, with experienced teachers taking on more responsibility for teacher education whilst remaining in their school as teachers, rather than entering the higher education sector to become teacher educators. This research considers the perspectives of these school-based teacher educators (SBTEs) in England, exploring the impact that this role has on them, their student-teachers and their schools. Some benefits and challenges that they face in the dual role of teacher and teacher educator are revealed. The research takes an interpretive perspective, listening to the meanings being constructed by the participants through use of a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and a focus group of student-teachers who learned from these SBTEs. Possible impacts on student-teachers' learning and implications for the development of high-quality teacher education are examined.

This article focuses on a blended learning curriculum development project, in which a student was "prospectively" engaged with teacher educators in developing resources designed to increase support for academic reading. Curriculum development took place at the University of Hertfordshire School of Education through the Change Academy for Blended Learning Enhancement (CABLE) project, which was developed through participation in the UK Higher Education Academy and Joint Information Systems Committee Pathfinder programme. Senior colleagues in the School and members of the University of Hertfordshire Blended Learning Unit, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, provided strategic and operational support. The project evaluation framework was based on RUFDATA (reasons and purposes; uses; focus; data and evidence; audience; timing; and agency).The need for support for academic reading had been demonstrated through programme evaluation and review. Gaps in provision were identified following a survey to define the scope of Master's-level reading and an audit of available resources. Resources and activities for accessing, interacting with and sharing reading materials were developed by teacher educators in consultation with the student (education practitioner) team member and a university information consultant. In addition to the student contribution throughout the project, other participants on the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme module contributed to evaluating the resources developed to support their reading.This project provides an example of a learner-centred approach to programme development. Students' views were valued as part of the design process through identifying learning needs and then developing and trialling resources to support academic reading, and as part of the ongoing development and evaluation. (Contains 2 figures, 1 table, and 1 note.)

The functions of teacher leaders and teacher educators, what they do, are critical in teacher education. This article presents the seemingly unexamined concept that some teacher leaders' practice includes a teacher educator dimension. Evidence that supports this claim is provided by exploring the interrelationship between teacher leader and teacher educator functions using a focused analysis of the literature and findings from qualitative research. This research investigated the impact of a professional development programme for primary science leaders. Data were collected from strategic-level informants, programme mentors and science leaders using interviews, questionnaires and a focus group. The findings are analysed to provide a critical overview of the participants' views of the requirements for successful leadership and development of primary science and to illustrate how educator and leader functions are intertwined in science leaders' activities. The article considers the implications of recognising the educator dimension of some teacher leaders' practice and asserts that these implications extend beyond the primary science context of the research. Acknowledging the contribution made by 'unrecognised' teacher educators and enabling them to contribute to and gain from the professional knowledge of the teacher educator community has significant potential to enrich practice in teacher education internationally, nationally and locally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores one thread from a larger, longitudinal research project that investigated the views and experiences of teacher educators in Malaysia and from the United Kingdom who were involved in collaboration for the co-construction of a Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Primary Mathematics, with English and health and physical education as minor subjects. The article examines the impact of the approach taken to collaboration, which included the development and sharing of a pedagogical model for teacher education (ARM: action, reflection, modelling) and reflects on the value of this to professional learning and development. The research findings suggest that this co-constructive approach was effective in enabling senior managers and teacher educators involved in the project to critique their own practice and to further develop their understanding of effective teacher education. These findings have implications for developing the pedagogy of teacher educators in other contexts: the co-construction of a programme with colleagues who had different understandings of the nature of teacher education enabled new insight into participants’ own practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The nature of partnership between schools and higher education institutions is changing in many countries, with experienced teachers taking on more responsibility for teacher education whilst remaining in their school as teachers, rather than entering the higher education sector to become teacher educators. This research considers the perspectives of these school-based teacher educators (SBTEs) in England, exploring the impact that this role has on them, their student-teachers and their schools. Some benefits and challenges that they face in the dual role of teacher and teacher educator are revealed. The research takes an interpretive perspective, listening to the meanings being constructed by the participants through use of a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and a focus group of student-teachers who learned from these SBTEs. Possible impacts on student-teachers’ learning and implications for the development of high-quality teacher education are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]