“Quality teachers make a quality system” (Tan, Liu, & Low, 2017, p. 4). As such, teacher education institutions aim to equip teachers not only with the knowledge and competence to teach well but also to develop strong commitment to do the best for their students (Darling-Hammond, 2001). In this symposium, we will present 4 case studies of innovative pedagogies in the teacher education programmes from Switzerland, New Zealand and Singapore.
Dr Carola Mantel and Prof Esther Kamm, from the University of Teacher Education Zug, Switzerland, will be presenting on student teachers’ learning experiences during their international practicum. Student mobility programmes are often believed to be beneficial. Therefore, this study aims to find out more about the quality of the mobility experience among primary school student teachers. A group discussion will be conducted with approximately 10 student teachers who have returned from their international practicum to understand their perceived learning during this journey.
Dr Mirjam Kocher and the team from the Zurich University of Teacher Education will be presenting on the second career teachers’ workplace learning. The shortage of teachers in Switzerland has led to the introduction of the training programmes for candidates over 30 years old with a bachelor’s degree and working experiences. The researchers believed that the knowledge and skills obtained in their first career and life experiences would be transferable to the teaching profession within a short period of time. This training programme is being evaluated longitudinally and the study presented in this symposium includes teachers who started their programme between 2012 and 2014. The findings of this study contribute to the teaching curriculum for second career teachers’ workplace learning.
Next, Mrs Beverly Cooper and Prof Bronwen Cowie from the University of Waikato, New Zealand, will be presenting on two longitudinal research projects that have informed the initial teacher education programme design at the university. In the first project, the presenters will discuss about the Collaborative University School Partnership (CUSP) from 2012 to 2016 - a reframed practicum programme for the first-year student teachers as a result of the collaboration between the university and seven schools. The nature of the collaboration and the decision making processes were investigated and key findings are presented. The second project focused on the Mathematical Reasoning and Thinking in Initial Teacher Education (MARKITE). As teachers are expected to not only be proficient in their mathematical reasoning but also to be able to critically use these mathematical thinking and reasoning across all aspects of their professional role, this study aims to examine how this thinking programme could support student teachers’ mathematical thinking and reasoning not just in the mathematics courses.
Last but not least, Dr Bee Leng Chua will be presenting on the use of e-Portfolio at National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University Singapore. NIE aims to develop teachers who are thoughtful, reflective, and innovative in teaching pedagogies for the best of their learners (Tan, Liu, & Low, 2012). The e-Portfolio was introduced to facilitate students’ aggregation and integration of their learning in the initial teacher preparation programme. Using the e-Portfolio, student teachers build their conceptual map of teaching and learning, by collating and combining diverse forms of artefacts that are meaningful to them. It serves as a platform for student teachers to articulate their teaching philosophy, shares their beliefs on learning and teaching, and inquire into their teaching practices. This study aims to examine (i) the motivational profiles of the student teachers when building their e-Portfolios and (ii) the relationships between these motivational profiles and student teachers’ teacher identity, metacognitive processes, and perceived ability to inquire.
