Abstract:
Initial teacher educators have an integral role in the AfGT in determining whether graduating teachers are ‘’classroom ready” (DET, 2015). They provide guidance and support to pre service teachers (PSTs) and are also responsible for assessing the PSTs’ assessments. They also liaise, either directly or indirectly, with school-based teachers and principals.
A number of focus group discussions with initial teacher educators from across the Consortium were conducted in order to learn about the educators’ experiences at different stages of the life course of the AfGT. Participants recalled their initial reactions to the requirements of implementing a TPA and spoke of the sometimes challenging and sometimes rewarding aspects associated with piloting, trialling and/or implementing the AfGT, depending upon where in the life course of the innovation they found themselves. Participants noted some changes in the type of work that they were undertaking and how they sought to maintain balance in their mix of teaching, research and service. Participants also reflected on the challenges and opportunities that being part of a consortium of institutions offered.
In this presentation, semi-fictionalised narratives are developed as a device (Whiteman & Phillips, 2008) to weave ‘like’ stories together in an anonymised fashion and are utilised in readers’ theatre, or ‘data as drama’ (Donmoyer & Yennie-Donmoyer, 1995; Manathunga et al., 2017; Teaching Heart, 2008), as an alternative to traditional reporting approaches. Audience members will be encouraged to participate in the readers’ theatre to provide illustrations of the changed and changing nature of our colleagues’ work as a consequence of being part of the AfGT Consortium.
A number of focus group discussions with initial teacher educators from across the Consortium were conducted in order to learn about the educators’ experiences at different stages of the life course of the AfGT. Participants recalled their initial reactions to the requirements of implementing a TPA and spoke of the sometimes challenging and sometimes rewarding aspects associated with piloting, trialling and/or implementing the AfGT, depending upon where in the life course of the innovation they found themselves. Participants noted some changes in the type of work that they were undertaking and how they sought to maintain balance in their mix of teaching, research and service. Participants also reflected on the challenges and opportunities that being part of a consortium of institutions offered.
In this presentation, semi-fictionalised narratives are developed as a device (Whiteman & Phillips, 2008) to weave ‘like’ stories together in an anonymised fashion and are utilised in readers’ theatre, or ‘data as drama’ (Donmoyer & Yennie-Donmoyer, 1995; Manathunga et al., 2017; Teaching Heart, 2008), as an alternative to traditional reporting approaches. Audience members will be encouraged to participate in the readers’ theatre to provide illustrations of the changed and changing nature of our colleagues’ work as a consequence of being part of the AfGT Consortium.