Search

Within practical placements, Australian pre-service teachers acquire a range of skills and strategies. This is in addition to linking the theory that they acquire at university to that in the classroom context. In 2020, to ensure that the pre-service teachers in education courses continue this practical component of their degree, remote and flexible placements were negotiated between the schools and the university. These changes were embedded in order for pre-service teachers to work with schools, students and mentors and they did so from within their homes. This chapter focuses on the experiences from three pre-service teachers during their time on practicum in remote and flexible contexts. A case study approach was applied to analyse each individual’s experiences. The case studies highlight the commonalities in experiences for each individual pre-service teacher. Upon analysis of these case studies, these commonalities included implications around how these capabilities were being formed and developed throughout the placement. These capabilities included inference, deduction, pivoting and empathy. These common capabilities across the pre-service teacher’s experiences, during their remote and flexible placement, highlight the need for a new narrative around the emerging skills, strategies and capabilities for teacher education in the 21st Century.

In the Australian context, while the population is largely clustered in metropolitan areas, much of the country can be defined as regional, rural and remote. This reality means that significant numbers of students are experiencing their schooling across these locations. This raises questions around how universities are preparing pre-service teachers to live and work in these contexts where work is readily available and quality educational opportunities are much sought after. This chapter uses case study methodology to tell the stories of two rural and regional professional experience programs supported by different Australian universities. Using Community of Practice (CoP) as a framework for sense-making, these two cases are unpacked to reveal the embedded structures and processes that supported pre-service teachers to engage in a quality rural professional experience. Key learnings relating to the three components of a CoP are shared—domain, community, and practice—before considerations and implications for other contexts and initial teacher education providers are discussed.

This chapter follows one teacher’s journey from pre-service teacher, to primary teacher, through to mentor and Professional Practice Consultant (PPC). The author journeys through an analysis of self, and analysis of her identity as an educator, showing how aspects of each of the roles experienced and explored have contributed to her current identity. Throughout the chapter, poetry is used to provide an insight into the various encounters that occur in the Professional Experience space. The poetry marks significant milestones in the 12-month process of being a PPC and assists to uncover the nuances and tensions associated with being in the PPC role.