Faculty of Education - Research Publications
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ItemClinical Praxis exams: Linking academic study with professional practice knowledge(Springer Singapore, 2017-01-01)One of the more salient challenges facing teacher educators and curriculum leaders in schools is how to assist beginning teachers to link their academic studies with professional practice knowledge. Solutions from within the university frequently emphasise links between theory and practice through university based tasks requiring pre-service teachers (teacher candidates) to trial an idea in the classroom and report back in university classes. This approach can be seen as intrusive by classroom teachers or as decontextualised by teacher candidates and students in schools. On occasions, teacher candidates have reported complaints about this approach, as well as feeling the need to “take sides” in a perceived debate between academic studies and professional practice knowledge; however, the relationship between the two is more nuanced, complex, and multidimensional than a simple theory practice divide might suggest. In this chapter, we review literature that examines the complex and multidimensional nature of the challenge of linking academic studies with professional practice learning both in schools and within the university. This provides a context for our discussion of an innovative pedagogical and assessment practice, the Clinical Praxis Exam (CPE), which is a key feature of all Master of Teaching programs at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education. The CPE is described and the theoretical basis for the innovation is outlined. Particular attention is paid to the way in which the content of each CPE is drawn from the classroom practice of individual teacher candidates and their negotiations with students, mentor teachers, and school based university staff. The chapter then outlines responses from teacher candidates, mentor teachers, teaching fellows and university teachers who participated in two qualitative research projects examining the efficacy and impact of the CPE. Findings are then summarised and the next steps in the on-going refinement of the CPE are outlined.
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ItemClinical Practice in Education: Towards a Conceptual Framework(Springer, 2017)Clinical practice has recently emerged as a promising approach that is being applied to teaching and teacher education. Despite this growing interest, however, conceptual and practical ambiguities continue to surround the term. This chapter provides a critical and comprehensive review of how clinical practice is being conceptualised in education by: (a) identifying the core components that characterise clinical practice in education; and (b) discussing the complexities and possibilities of clinical practice in theory and practice. The chapter begins by forging a conceptual framework for understanding clinical practice by identifying three core components that are central to characterising teaching as a clinical practice profession: (1) a focus on student learning and development; (2) evidence-informed practice; and (3) processes of reasoning that lead to decision-making. In summary, we argue that clinical practice offers important possibilities for deepening the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching and teacher education, but that several cautions need to be born in mind in order for it to continue to develop into a meaningful and sustainable concept. While adapting a medical model to teaching should be done with caution and a number of caveats, on balance it offers an approach that has the capacity to strengthen teaching and teacher education.