School Centres for Teaching Excellence

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School Centres for Teaching Excellence

• Symposium Two

Session Two
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Theme Beyond the Classroom The need for a new
teacher educator workforce
Education
Crossing boundaries in school-university
partnership
Rosalyn Black, SCTE seminar, 24 May 2013
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Education
Why school-university partnership? In a nutshell

• The challenge of a globalised context
• Multidimensionality traditional boundaries
  between school and other agencies are blurring
  we have to integrate elements from different
  contexts to solve problems
• Complexity our students lives (and their
  families and communities) are becoming more
  complex education needs to accommodate this
  complexity
• Interconnectivity it is no longer enough to have
  expertise within the boundary of our own
  profession we have to engage with other
  communities of practice
• Local needs and global agendas these intersect
  in complex ways that demand new approaches (Tsui
  2005)

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Education
What challenges face school- university
partnership?

• The challenge of defining partnership
• Is it a partnership or is it a
• Collaboration
• Consortium
• Cooperative
• Alliance
• Dalliance?
• Where does it sit on the VicHealth spectrum
  Networking - coordination - collaboration
  partnership  (VicHealth 2009)

• The challenge of capacity
• Schools often seek partnership to generate
  improvement, but may struggle to integrate it
  into existing commitments or sustain it (Black,
  2007)
• Limited time and resources and competing
  commitments
• are a given for most schools (and universities)

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Education
What challenges face school- university
partnership?

• It can be hard to navigate the closed culture
  of schools or universities
• Differences between the goals of schools and
  universities can be problematic
• Partnerships may be school- or university-centric
• There may be unequal power and control between
  partners

• The challenge of culture
• We may all be educators, but schools and
  universities can be very different
•  Priorities
• Structures
• Levels of resourcing/remuneration
• Levels of education
• Terminology
• Cultures.

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Education
What does school-university partnership look like
when it works well?

• It keeps its eye on the main game
• Its primary aim is to enhance educational
  outcomes
• Its operations do not take precedence over these
  outcomes

• It has good governance
• It is guided by shared values and realistic
  purposes
• It is governed by clear agreements MOUs,
  contracts, letters of understanding). These set
  out
• Why and how each partner is involved
• The outcomes expected from the partnership
• The parameters of the partnership.
• It has clear operating procedures including good
  communication

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Education
What does school-university partnership look like
when it works well?

• It adds to our knowledge
• It is informed by the best knowledge in the field
  
• It is monitored and evaluated from the start
• It documents and shares its learnings with a wide
  audience

• It is sustainable
• It attracts significant and sustained commitment
  from all partners
• It is adequately resourced (not just at the
  outset)
• It has processes to ensure that issues are not
  ignored or superficially resolved in ways that
  will endanger it further down the track

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Education
What does school-university partnership look like
when it works well?

• It positions students as participants
• Students are not just the beneficiaries of
  partnerships
• They can also help to generate, inspire, inform
  and drive them
• Yet they are the group most consistently left out
  of the creation and implementation of
  partnerships

• It is more than business as usual
• It tackles causes, not just symptoms
• It promotes innovative practice crossing
  boundaries can help us take a fresh look at our
  long-standing practices and assumptions (Tsui,
  2005)
• It responds to local circumstances and builds on
  local strengths
• It also looks beyond the local to the systemic.
  It may inform policy, or practice elsewhere

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Education
SCTE Gippsland Reshaping teacher education
curriculum
Kelly Carabott Kim Davies Wendy Goff Simone White
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Monash University Focus

• While many of the SCTE have focused on the
  theory-practice nexus at the site of the
  practicum, at Monash the focus has been on
  reconceptualising and designing teacher education
  curriculum in order to develop and maintain
  sustainable practices to work for social
  inclusion in particular in rural and regional
  community areas.
• A key research focus has been to examine the
  design features of such a teacher education
  curriculum.
• Model 1 A Community Development Partnership
  Model Extending Learning through Teacher
  Education (to be presented by Wendy Goff and
  Kelly Carabott)
• Model 2 Learning Clubs and teacher education for
  social justice and inclusion Preliminary
  findings of a pilot study of service learning for
  community, school and classroom readiness (to be
  presented by Kim Davies)

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Pilot Core features

• Two different SCTE models of school-university
  partnerships have been developed and trailed in
  the first and second semester of 2012 within the
  Graduate Diploma of Education (Primary) program
  at Monash University (Gippsland campus) and the
  B.Ed (Primary)
• Although different in their design the models are
  both embedded into a core curriculum unit so that
  all pre-service teachers participated in the
  model (Approx 60 students participated)
• Both have been developed from the position of the
  partner/s identifying a key issue where a teacher
  education partnership was viewed as integral to
  addressing.
• Both involve teacher educators, pre-service
  teachers, teachers and community members working
  together.
• Both have involved significant examination of
  the curriculum and the site of learning

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Education
Key literature informing our practice/research -
A thought experiment
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Theory into a conceptual framework?
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Theory into a conceptual framework?
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Theory into a conceptual framework?
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New conceptual model White, 2010 White Kline,
2012

• Reference
• White, S. (2010) Creating and celebrating place
  and partnerships A key to sustaining rural
  education communities, Keynote address for the
  Society for the Provision of Education in Rural
  Australia (SPERA). University of the Sunshine
  Coast, 15-17th of September
• White, S Kline, J. (2012) Developing a Rural
  Teacher Education Curriculum Package, The Rural
  Educator, 33, 2, 36-42

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Education
Exploring this framework and Building communities
2 models
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Education
A Community Development Partnership Model
Extending Learning Through Teacher
EducationKelly CarabottWendy Goff
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The Model - Weekly
The Partnership

• 1 Introduction
• Innovative teaching practices impacting on
  communities
• Overview of the partnership

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The Initial Model
C O M M U N I T Y
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The Partnership Challenges or Opportunities?

• The meeting of different organisations
• The meeting of individuals
• The cultural interface (Nakata, 2002 2007)

C O M M U N I T Y
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Lessons Learned and Ways Forward..

• Positives and Negatives
• Revisiting and Remembering
• Growth and Development

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Monash Albert St- LCHS Community Development
Partnership Model
Community Development Partnership Model
C O M M U N I T Y
Shared Goal
Shared Goal
Partnership Goal
Shared Goal
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Education
Community, School and Classroom Readiness
Insights from Student Assessment

• Kim Davies
• Faculty of Education
• Monash Gippsland

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The Learning Clubs (TLCs)
The rationale

• Connecting community, school and classroom
  readiness with
• Preparation for inclusive education by
• Working with, for and across difference
• In a region characterised by high exclusion and
  school drop out, low post school transition rates
  and persistent socioeconomic disadvantage
• Because teaching is complex, multi-faceted work
  and
• Students can be supported to learn successfully
  with their differences and identities respected
  and valued if
• They are appreciated in their full, complicated,
  interconnected community, school and classroom
  contexts

• Connections with PST core curriculum
• EDF 1306 Spaces of Difference
• Connections with local partners
• Local primary schools (x5)
• The Smith Family
• Theoretical resources for community, school,
  classroom readiness
• Funds of Knowledge (Moll et al, 2005)
• Virtual School bags (Thomson, 2002)
• Productive Pedagogies (State of Qld, 2002)
• Transformability (Hart et al, 2004)

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The assessment tasks in EDF 1306

• Task 1 Design for Difference Task TLC Plan
• Part A
• Community and school contexts
• TLC clubbers Funds of Knowledge (FoK)
• Part B
• TLC plan incorporating FoK in a negotiated
  inquiry project bridging to academic learning
• Task 2 Creative Presentation
• Unpacking PSTs virtual school bag, identifying
  key discourses and reflecting on implications for
  inclusive practice

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Community readiness?

• Opportunities?
• Mapping of local neighbourhood - Resources,
  facilities, services
• Workshop presentation by Latrobe City Council
  Community Development teaM
• Weekly on site support from TSF Learning for Life
  worker
• Invitation to partner with carers and families
• Interrogating assumptions and stereotypes -
  Especially around poverty and boganism
• Revisiting and reconsidering personal history and
  local experiences
• Re-contextualising and reconsidering local
  history and reputation via theoretical lenses

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Community readiness?
Evidence? I noticed on the way to school that
the area was of quite low socio economic level.
There didnt appear to be any new development
areas, and the infrastructure was reasonably old.
There was a new shopping plaza but I couldnt see
any new houses. One more than one occasion, one
of the house opposite the school had a fire on
the front lawn and several drunk adults singing
quite loudly to a country and western CD,
seemingly ignoring several small children (pre
school age) standing out on the road abusing
passers by. The adults seemed to not notice or
were unperturbed by this behaviour. I had a
sinking feeling that this may be representative
of the children in my TLC but luckily it
wasnt. This spectacle however was a perfect
representation of the stereotype associated with
this school region and I wasnt surprised to see
it. I was disappointed that this was occurring
right opposite a primary school and concerned for
what this means of the community and its living
standards. The school location is in a tucked
away part of Churchill, completely residential,
very quiet. This particular area of Churchill
seems to display some elements of low
socio-economic population it has the distinctive
uniform architecture of government housing. And
some other social signifiers such as overgrown
gardens and car hulks. Although the street does
not have the edgy, dangerous vibe of some other
areas in the valley.
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School readiness?

• Opportunities?
• School TLC coordinator attends each week
• Orientation to TLC school
• Resources, facilities
• Routines and protocols
• Schools focus for TLC
• Must contact TLC coordinator if absent or if
  requiring special facilities, resources etc
• Working with TLC tutor partner
• Collaboration
• Grouping options
• Team teaching
• Must notify partner of absence and forward plan
• Information and opportunity to meet clubbers
  teachers

Evidence? So from these snapshots into the boys
lives and those of their community both inside
and outside the classroom, I learnt a great deal.
The school community is respectful and tolerant
to each others differences, however some tensions
were evident, particularly between parents and
teachersI wanted to meet their parents and
carers however they were very reluctant. This
in itself showed me the tensions and space
between parents and the school one parent I
finally managed to corner into a chat was
thoroughly (and pleasantly) surprised when I
wanted to have a conversation with her. I learnt
so much about her child in those 2 minutes it
was invaluable. By inference I was disgusted that
the school discourages parent teacher interaction
to this level.
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Classroom readiness?

• Opportunities
• Information about clubbers from and opportunity
  to meet and talk with clubbers classroom
  teachers
• Insider stories (from students themselves and
  carers/families)
• Team teaching (with TLC partner)
• School TLC coordinator on hand to support and
  advise
• Planning for learning (with feedback),
  implementation, evaluation and reflection of TLC
  learning plan
• Cohort-wide support through collaboration and
  online discussion

Evidence? The activities were thoroughly
designed in a way to utilise the boys virtual
school bags and funds of knowledge, everything we
did related to them as individual people and as
students and they responded positively. Three
of the boys were team players while the 4th
preferred to sit quietly and talk to me when we
had a break and the other three ran around
outsideUpon unpacking this boys virtual school
bag I learnt that he had a very disruptive home
life, and extreme anger issues of his own. One
week there was an incident between the end of the
school bell and the start of TLC that got him
sent to timeout to cool downNo one told me
what happened or where he was so I went to
investigateI found the teacher responsible and
explained that I think participating in TLC will
be more valuable to him as a learner and person
than detention, and consequently he was finally
allowed to join back in.
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Classroom readiness?

• Evidence? (cont)
• The TLC member was so surprised that I pestered
  the teacher to let him join back into TLC I
  could see he was not used to people sticking up
  for him and supporting him like that.
  Consequently the following week he was absent
  from school during the day, and he confided in me
  that his Mum wouldn't let him attend school that
  day so at 3.30pm he ran out of the house and
  jumped on his bike without her knowing, just so
  he could attend TLC because he didn't want to
  miss out. The teachers came up to him and
  congratulated him for trying so hard, and he was
  positively ecstatic to have made the right choice
  and be commended for it. I was so pleased to have
  had such a positive impact on this boy and his
  learning that he was so desperate to participate!

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Final thoughts Tensions and dilemmas?

• Benefits of after school learning and learning
  about teaching
• A different space (i.e. context and
  relationship)
• To learn and teach differently
• A different position from which to observe school
  and classroom processes and practices
• Moving these dispositions (as orientation to
  action) and emerging skills into a school and
  classroom context
• Managing frustration and avoiding resignation
  through burn out
• Sustaining reflexivity and critique to keep open
  inclusive spaces that value (recognise and
  respect) learner differences and identity
• Differences do matter (Allard and Santoro, 2006)

Questions?

• Contacts
• Kelly.carabott_at_monash.edu
• Wendy.goff_at_monash.edu
• Kim.davies_at_monash.edu
• Simone.white_at_monash.edu

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Rural Centre of Excellence

• Four partnerships
• King Valley
• Mansfield
• St Arnaud
• Tallangatta
• Three universities
• University of Melbourne
• Latrobe University Wodonga Campus
• University of Ballarat

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Background to Centre
Key Elements

• Yarrawonga Project (1998)
• Partnership between Yarrawonga cluster and
  Latrobe University
• Ararat Project (2000)
• Partnership between Ararat cluster and University
  of Ballarat
• Groups of teacher trainees within a cluster of
  rural schools
• A focus on a curriculum area identified by the
  cluster
• Becoming part of the school teaching team

• Key focus on encouraging teacher trainees to see
  a teaching career in rural Victoria as a real
  option
• Elements
• Involvement of pre service teachers on the basis
  of a whole of community approach groups of PSTs
  within a cluster of rural schools centred on an
  identified learning area of need/interest within
  the cluster
• The provision of ongoing professional learning
  for existing cluster staff
• The potential for research both at an
  individual partnership level and across all
  partnerships

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Approaches Taken
Tallangatta Partnership

• Cluster approach involvement in both primary
  and secondary schools within the cluster
• The direct involvement of principals
• The development of a real induction
  exploration of school data, community profile,
  school cultures, etc.
• The development of a Professional Learning Team
  approach to support the learnings of pre service
  teachers

• St Arnaud Partnership
• Curriculum area of focus
• Whole of community approach school supporting
  PSTs during school, school councilors support
  PSTs outside school hours
• Inclusion in the whole community

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Youth Aspirations Research

• Youth aspirations identified as a real area of
  concern by all partnerships
• Three universities working in partnership with
  each university providing a mentor/facilitation
  role in their host partnership lead by
  University of Melbourne.
• Professional development for all clusters
  focusing on the area of teachers as researchers
• The involvement of clusters in the gaining of
  information and data supported by the teacher
  researcher in each cluster
• Involvement of university staff and teacher
  researchers in undertaking focus group
  discussions.
• Minimal involvement of pre service teachers

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Learnings Thus Far

• The need to explore the potential that such
  partnerships can provide for all involved the
  real need to support the various partners in the
  knowledge, establishment and operation of a
  partnership approach is needed across key areas
• There is a benefit for the schools involved
• Skills and knowledge of existing school staff is
  enhanced
• There is an enhanced approach to teacher
  education
• School student learning opportunities and outcome
  are enhanced
• Pre service teachers gain a thorough
  understanding of teaching within a rural learning
  community..
• The need to support the partnership approach on a
  broader scale pipeline approach within the
  USA and the health sector
• The critical role of a broker to focus on the
  development of the partnership and to support
  change of thinking, and the support the
  establishment of sustainable approaches centred
  on a partnership approach
• Awareness of pre service teachers of teaching
  opportunities within rural communities enhanced
• Pre service teachers perceptions of rural
  learning communities challenged
• The use of communication technology within
  partnerships, especially when it is a growing
  area within rural communities, is very low.
• The need to further explore the benefit of a
  partnership approach to ALL partners and have it
  centred on improving/enhancing the learning
  outcomes and opportunities for rural young people

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• Many of the findings and solutions from the
  research indicate that a relationship built
  between rural industries/organisations and higher
  education institutions have a positive impact on
  supporting trainee professionals considering, and
  in many cases obtaining, a career within a rural
  community. This seems to be further enhanced if
  these relationships are formalised in an agreed
  plan and involve a whole of community approach to
  the practical experience.
• However research indicates that a sole focus on
  recruitment, without a similar planned approach
  to retention, is short term, and will produce
  limited outcomes. The research evidence clearly
  indicates that retention of employees in the
  rural workforce is as large an issue as
  recruitment.
• Unless the project concurrently develops an
  overall recruitment and retention framework then
  sustainability of any actions will be difficult

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Learnings for Teacher Educators???

• Greater links between approaches utilized within
  teacher education organisations and those
  occurring in schools is needed eg professional
  learning teams, etc
• With the rapidly increasing use of communication
  technology within schools (especially rural
  schools) the low level of learning within this
  area across teacher education courses has been
  identified as a real area of need
• Within a rural context pre service teachers are
  not necessarily exposed to the variety of
  experiences they face within a rural teaching
  role multi age classes, team teaching, super
  classes, Pre to Year 12, etc.
• There is a real opportunity to support schools in
  the areas of research through a partnership
  approach
• Building the capacity of school teachers in
  relation to the power, and use, of research (eg
  teachers as researchers)
• Facilitating research in an area of identified
  focus to enhance and improve learning within the
  school/cluster context.
• Recognizing excellence in teaching and learning
  and using those with onground experience in rural
  contexts within pre service teachers education
  courses.
• The need to see this partnership approach to
  enhance the capacity of the whole teaching
  workforce, not just the training/education end
  eg the pipeline model developed within the
  health sector.

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The changing work and role of teacher educators
in a local school context

• Bendigo SCTE
• Craig Deed, Scott Alterator, Peter Cox, Bruce
  Pridham (La Trobe University)

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Drivers of change
Leading to

• Immersive 2-day a week practicum model
• Team based placement (neighbourhood)
• Co-teaching
• Expert mentors
• Use of technology to support communication,
  planning, teaching and review

• Local context BEP
• Principals perspective about ready-to-teach
  status of graduates
• Improving integration of university and
  school-based learning

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Changes for Teacher Educators
Key ongoing questions

• Increased presence in school settings
• Responsiveness to school priorities and emerging
  issues
• Responsiveness to changing space and culture of
  neighbourhood classrooms
• New language and models of practice
  incorporated into university subjects
• Emphasis on general pedagogical skills and
  knowledge

• How to maintain productive partnerships between
  university and our schools?
• How to frame flexible practicum pathways and
  models, in order to afford adaptive practice?
• Integration of university and school-based
  learning through the practicum experience?