Teaching reconceived: Australian teachers re-thinking personal pedagogy within an overseas study program

Teaching reconceived: Australian teachers re-thinking personal pedagogy within an overseas study program

The researchers track the processes and impact of reflective practice for a group of Australian teachers involved in a short-term Indonesian intensive school experience. The participants in the study were Australian teachers who took part in a three week school experience, homestay, cultural and language experience in the city of Padang in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Both experienced and beginning teachers were asked to keep a reflective journal prior to, during and after the overseas experience

Findings included the teachers' realisation of their needing to reconceptualise their teaching practice including their knowledge of teaching, learning, curriculum and pedagogy. No longer were they surrounded by the familiar aspects of their teaching practice. Deep introspection, available through systematic daily reflection, allowed these teachers to face challenges unfamiliar to them. The teachers returned home to Australia changed by the experience. The researchers reflected through journal entries and discussions and came to new understandings about their roles as teacher educators

From the embarkation point of an agreement with research findings that an in-country teaching experience is beneficial, in this paper we explore ideas about what potential a study-abroad experience had for teachers’ views on their teaching, learning, pedagogy and curriculum

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