G'aim'ing to be a rural teacher?: Improving pre-service teachers’ learning experiences in an online rural and remote teacher preparation course

Paper


Heffernan, Amanda, Fogarty, Roderick and Sharplin, Elaine. 2015. "G'aim'ing to be a rural teacher?: Improving pre-service teachers’ learning experiences in an online rural and remote teacher preparation course ." Annual International Australian Association for Research in Education Conference 2015 (AARE 2015). Fremantle, Australia 29 Nov - 03 Dec 2015 Australia.
Paper/Presentation Title

G'aim'ing to be a rural teacher?: Improving pre-service teachers’ learning experiences in an online rural and remote teacher preparation course

Presentation TypePaper
AuthorsHeffernan, Amanda (Author), Fogarty, Roderick (Author) and Sharplin, Elaine (Author)
Journal or Proceedings TitleProceedings of the Annual International Australian Association for Research in Education Conference 2015 (AARE 2015)
ERA Conference ID50546
Number of Pages2
Year2015
Place of PublicationAustralia
Web Address (URL) of Paperhttp://www.aare.edu.au/publications-database.php/10075/gaiming-to-be-a-rural-teacher-improving-pre-service-teachers-learning-experiences-in-an-online-rural
Conference/EventAnnual International Australian Association for Research in Education Conference 2015 (AARE 2015)
International Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education
Event Details
Annual International Australian Association for Research in Education Conference 2015 (AARE 2015)
Event Date
29 Nov 2015 to end of 03 Dec 2015
Event Location
Fremantle, Australia
Event Details
International Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education
Abstract

Many Australian teachers will spend part of their careers working in small rural schools and communities, yet specific preparation for rural and remote teaching contexts during preservice teacher education remains very limited. While recent government reports recommend the use of innovative and engaging teacher education approaches to enhance the classroom readiness of pre-service teachers, the use of such approaches to the contextualised preparation of rural and remote teachers has not been specifically addressed. In a teacher education program, offered by the University of Southern Queensland, an innovative place-based pedagogy has been utilized to redesign an online preservice teacher rural education course. A gamified, case-based approach was applied to increase student engagement and motivation. The development of game-based curriculum design has progressed since the mid 1980s to enhance engagement and collaboration, based on cascading information theory. Preservice teachers are immersed in a simulated rural context, where they navigate the experience of appointment to a rural school. This paper describes the rationale for the course redevelopment and outlines the design process. Student course feedback pre and post development were quantitatively and qualitatively analysed to evaluate the outcomes achieved from the course redevelopment. The findings indicate that student engagement within the course rose after the redevelopment, and critical reflection from the course team indicated that students were more effectively able to connect with course themes and project themselves into the position of a beginning teacher in a rural or remote location. While the development of the course is a continuing work in progress, the gamification strategy has enabled preservice teachers to improve their classroom and community readiness for appointment to rural and remote schools, while modelling effective and contemporary use of technology and pedagogy which can be applied to their future classroom contexts.

Keywordsrural teachers; pre-service teacher education
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020390307. Teacher education and professional development of educators
Public Notes

Abstract published on conference website.

Byline AffiliationsSchool of Teacher Education and Early Childhood
James Cook University
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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