A Model for Sustainable and Supportive Practicum

in Rural and Regional Locations: A Pilot Study

Josephine Ryan (ACU, Melbourne)Caroline Walta (La Trobe, Shepparton)

Mellita Jones (ACU, Ballarat and Alan McLean, La Trobe Shepparton)

Overview

• The project• Research perspectives• Pilot: activities and methodology• Findings• Directions

ALTC Priority ProjectPre-service Teacher Education Partnerships: Creating an effective

practicum model for rural and regional pre-service teachers

Projected outcomes

The project aims to create a sustainable, supportive model of practicum in rural and regional locations through:

1. Intervarsity cooperation ‘think tank’; shared supervision and inter-university regional preservice teacher clusters

2. Exploration of supportive communications technology (Skype for supervision; mobile phone for peer feedback …)

3. Exploration of approaches to creating sustainable partnerships with rural and regional teacher supervisors

Research context

• Rural educational disadvantage (Hardré, 2009)

• Higher education provision in rural areas

-Bradley: need for universities to be “flexible and innovative” (DEEWA, 2008, p.111)

Research perspectives

• Significance of the practicum

• Scarcity of true partnerships between unis and schools (Ure, 2009)

• ICT as mode of instruction and communication

Pilot

• Semester 2, 2010, based on where both unis had practicum students 2 regions chosen:

1. Central Victoria (closer to Shepparton)2. South western Victoria (closer to ACU

Ballarat)• ACU and La Trobe PSTs from each region

put together in Blackboard discussion groups (both blogs and issue-based groups)

Shared supervision (and data collection)

• Using each other’s documentation lecturers visited their own and other uni’s PSTs and supervisors in their region

• Interviewed PSTs and supervisors and Student Teacher Coordinators (STCs) about project initiatives

• Practicum website; Skype for supplementary supervision

Recognition and reward for supervisors: to be explored

• Communication approaches• Need for mentor pd?• VIT professional development

credit?• Masters credit?• Other?• AITSL approaches-accreditation for

supervisors

Methodology

• Semi-structured interviews with PSTs and supervisors

• Discourse analysis of PSTs online activities (not yet completed)

Findings

Shared supervision• PTSs- • “(It’s) someone with

experience...coming from either ACU or La Trobe...I don’t find it threatening.”

• “We learn something new...the more people you can connect with, especially in this environment I think is really good.”

Shared supervision

Supervisors• Having a qualified and experienced

person visit more important than which university the lecturer represents.

Lecturers• Soon forgot who were ‘their’ PSTs

and who were not; valuable to see another course.

Technology

• Inter-university clusters• . “This is the first time I’ve seen C.

but we’ve chatted on Blackboard quite a few times and M. and I only met the other day and again we’ve had more contact by our Blackboard than we would have all being in the same location.”

Inter-university IT

• Danger of access being too complex • Mature age PST: too many IT

options:• “Blackboard …LMS… emails …it’s

just another thing you have to do.”• Others cruised around as suited.• Lecturers found monitoring it

engaging but voluminous.

Inter-university clusters

• “I have agreed to catch up with someone who is working at a nearby school and go through some research stuff we’ve got coming up...Blackboard, the online tool enabled us to do that.”

Communication with Supervisors

• On-going frustrations: non-arrival of documentation.

• Interest in website for communication seemed more ‘if needed’. Email and phone were favoured.

• Skype as an addition not replacement to face to face meeting.

Communication

• ‘The human face is still hugely important”.

• In terms of value of Skype project methodology of 2 visits took away incentive.

Professional development for supervisors

• Differences between younger/less experienced supervisors (who were interested) and veterans (less)

• AITSL accreditation: requirement to prove proficiency may be disincentive to be a supervisor

• Lecturers would value the chance to work with supervisors on mentoring

Sustainable ways to recognise and reward supervisors

• Credit-based maybe more appealing; money not as important as time

• Affirmation for Deans’ recommendation of it being part of work load (Ure, 2009)

Directions for the project

• Affirmation for inter-university practicum approach

• Need to:1.Streamline ICT instruction options2.Find ways of balancing visits with

ICT options3.Delve deeper into finding ways for

universities and teachers to talk about practicum.

Project website

• http://www.joryan.id.au/

ReferencesDepartment of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2008).

Review of Australian higher education. [Electronic version] accessed January 16, 2009. http://www.deewr.gov.au/HigherEducation/Review/Pages/ReviewofAustralianHigherEducationReport.aspx

Hardré, P. (2009) Nurturing the rural teaching experience. Lessons from the United States. In T. Lyons, J.Choi & G. McPhan, (Eds.) (2009). Innovation for Equity in Rural Education, Symposium Proceedings International Symposium for Innovation in Rural Education, 11-14 February, UNE: Armidale, 137-145. Electronic version retrieved January, 2010 from http://www.une.edu.au/simerr/ISFIRE/pages/ISFIRE_proceedings.pdf

Ure, C. (2009). Practicum Partnerships: Exploring Models of Practicum Organisation in Teacher Education for a Standards-Based Profession. Final Report of ALTC funded project.