G'aim'ing to be a rural teacher?: Improving pre-service teacher's learning exoeriences in an online rural and remote teacher preparation course
Article
Article Title | G'aim'ing to be a rural teacher?: Improving pre-service teacher's learning exoeriences in an online rural and remote teacher preparation course |
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ERA Journal ID | 20132 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Heffernan, Amanda (Author), Fogarty, Rod and Sharplin, Elaine |
Journal Title | Australian and International Journal of Rural Education |
Journal Citation | 26 (2), pp. 49-62 |
Number of Pages | 14 |
Year | 2016 |
Publisher | Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia (SPERA) |
Place of Publication | Australia |
ISSN | 1036-0026 |
1839-7387 | |
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 pre-service teacher education remains limited. While government reports recommend the use of innovative and engaging approaches to enhance pre-service teachers classroom readiness, the use of such approaches to the contextualised preparation of rural and remote teachers has not been specifically addressed. In a teacher education program, an innovative place-based pedagogy has been utilised to redesign an online rural education course. A gamified, case-based approach was applied to increase student engagement and motivation. Preservice teachers are immersed in an online, 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 was analysed to evaluate the outcomes achieved from the course redevelopment. The findings indicate that student engagement 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 work in progress, the initial gamification work has enabled preservice teachers to improve their classroom and community readiness for appointment to rural and remote schools, while exposing them to modelling of effective and contemporary use of technology and pedagogy which can be applied to their future classroom contexts. |
Keywords | teacher education, rural and remote teaching, rural education, gamification, online pedagogy |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 390307. Teacher education and professional development of educators |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
Byline Affiliations | School of Teacher Education and Early Childhood |
James Cook University | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q3qq4/g-aim-ing-to-be-a-rural-teacher-improving-pre-service-teacher-s-learning-exoeriences-in-an-online-rural-and-remote-teacher-preparation-course
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