Abstract
In 2014, the Ministry of Education in New Zealand funded innovative initial teacher education programmes using school/university partnerships to improve achievement for priority learners. My ‘being’ as a teacher educator would need to become a member of a professional learning community with student teachers and teachers in schools rather than solely a lecturer in a university classroom. Using a phenomenological theoretical foundation for a practitioner-based research methodology, I reveal my their lived experiences of this new role trialling a range of strategies for enhancing school/university partnerships to support student teachers’ confidence to meet the needs of diverse learners as preparation for their first year of teaching. Through a personal/professional reflective process, new strategies emerged: lesson study, an evolving list of teaching practices to unpack and the use of practitioner-based inquiry for student teachers. In the discussion, observations are made about the partnership and particularly the role of the university lecturer. A significant finding was that as an initial teacher educator, I needed to adopt the dispositions for student teachers, such as adaptability and flexibility, articulated in the graduate profile for the programme to enhance the professional learning community partnership. All members of the professional learning community partnership valued the three-way partnership between the student teacher, school and university in which every contribution was valued, new strategies could be trialled and reviewed, resulting in opportunities to learn from the different perspectives to engage children in their learning.
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Appendix
Appendix
Master of Teaching and Learning (Primary) Graduate Profile XXX University.
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1
A resilient and ethical professional, with deep understanding of the social, cultural, economic and political influences on education, expressed through a commitment to inclusion and social justice.
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2
A critical and creative thinker who can engage in deep learning, analyse, articulate and apply key theoretical principles of education to practice contexts, to build new knowledge and intellectual capabilities of all learners.
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3
A critical inquirer who assumes a reflexive stance towards practice and is able to report on research findings as a contribution to the education community.
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4
Playful, passionate and purposeful, creating learning opportunities for creative problem-solving and innovation through knowledge-building discourses in third spaces for twenty-first century learning, utilizing technology as appropriate.
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5
Able to initiate, work autonomously and collaboratively, assume responsibility and accept accountability for academic and professional learning. Is able to self-regulate to meet new challenges yet is collaborative and collegial.
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Grounded in professional practice which draws upon a sound knowledge base, relevant pedagogical content knowledge and effective assessment options to ensure that learning and teaching environments are sensitively constructed.
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An adaptive expert who confidently uses data and seeks research evidence to make decisions about learning and teaching interventions when restrictive factors are identified in learning contexts with priority learners, and consequently reflects and evaluates through teaching as inquiry feedback loops.
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Able to demonstrate commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and biculturalism through respect for Te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga, demonstrated through appropriate pedagogies for Māori learners.
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Relational and respectful, with highly developed interpersonal skills and integrity, evident in collaborative communities of practice, strong professional relationships with children and their whānau, displaying sensitivity in intercultural competencies, particularly those of Tātaiako and expressed through an understanding of language and custom of indigenous and immigrant groups in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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10
Presenting a strong teacher identity and holding to a personal teaching philosophy which can be articulated and defended, and which is demonstrated through professional practice, a sense of self-efficacy and agency.
(Leiws, 2014)
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Bernay, R. A School/University Partnership Changed My ‘Being’ as a Teacher Educator. NZ J Educ Stud 55, 303–319 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-020-00173-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40841-020-00173-1