Abstract:
This paper presents an evaluation of an innovation to the School Experience program introduced to the UTAS Bachelor of Teaching in 2002. School Experience 1 represents the first formal contact between pre-service teacher and school. It performs two important functions: to introduce pre-service teachers to the school setting and the work of practitioners and; to make early and explicit theory into practice connections. This innovation provided early, supported entry into schools and involved placing teams of pre-service teachers (Professional Learning Teams) into a small number of schools. Reduction in number of schools aimed to facilitate better communication between University staff and schools hence developing shared understandings and increasing the ability for University staff and colleague teachers to work with pre-service teachers on orientation to the profession and in making authentic theory-practice connections. Feedback was received through anonymous web-based surveys and analysed for themes grounded in the data. The concept of early entry for orientation was overwhelmingly supported by the pre-service teachers, however issues of program structure and supervision were raised as concerns. The majority of pre-service teachers responding to the survey believed links were made between the practicum and the Professional Studies and Curriculum strands of the degree.