Carolyn Broadbent

Lecturer, Australian Catholic University School of Education, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Promoting the Professional Growth of Pre-Service Teachers Through Community-Based Learning

Abstract

Opportunities for pre-service teachers to engage in individualised and self-directed learning experiences are essential to equip them for the changing environmental demands and workplace expectations of the future. They need to be flexible thinkers, have effective decision making skills and become creators, rather than mere recipients, of knowledge if they are to revitalise educational practice.

This paper reports on one initiative for pre-service teachers to determine the direction and scope of their learning while participating in a community-based field experience component of a Bachelor of Education course. Through an analysis of over one hundred and fifty personal reflections, this study found that pre-service teachers benefit significantly from experiences in alternative learning environments, which provide opportunities for the development of new skills and understandings. By encountering and responding to problems that differ from those of the regular classroom, pre-service teachers are more likely to cope with and become more effective contributors to changing workplace environments of the future.

Bionote

Carolyn Broadbent is a lecturer in educational and organisational psychology at the Australian Catholic University, Canberra. She has lectured in a diverse range of subjects including educational change and teacher career development, learning, personality and learning, and education and the arts. She is also Coordinator of the B.Ed field experience program. Her doctoral studies focus on the impact of change on academics within the higher education sector in Australia.

Presentation Type
30 min. Paper

Presentation Equipment and Other Requests
Slide projector

Speaking Date/Time Restrictions

Country
Australia