Hipótesis General

The most frequent preservice teacher response (n=86) relating to suggested course enhancements, was the inclusion of more practicum or field experience. There was a general sense that practicum was where “we gain confidence for teaching so there should be more of it”, with some preservice teachers questioning “why isn’t there more prac?”. Greater amounts of practicum was also seen as “expected” for those completing a four year degree, with comments such as “in a four year degree there should be more practicum”. Some participants added that there should be “more practicum and less university”. It was felt by the majority of the preservice teachers that more practicum would allow preservice teachers to “gain greater knowledge for teaching” and more “strategies and practices for engaging middle years learners”. Others made more specific comments that more practicum would allow them to have more experience “developing teacher-pupil relationships”, “trialling an integrated curriculum”, “developing relationships with community members,” and “implementing teaching strategies to challenge and

engage middle years learners”. Understanding early adolescence was also viewed as something they would gain from more practicum, with statements noting “more practicum means we can fully understand middle years students and their development” and how “experienced teachers respond to this development”.

As well as more practicum, the participants also viewed varied experiences in a range of middle schools as being an enhancement for future middle years teacher preparation. It appeared that preservice teachers would have appreciated “more time in a wider range of middle years classrooms” so that they could “observe the range of approaches that different middle years teachers employ”. There was some indication that behaviour

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management was at the forefront of these preservice teachers minds, as over half indicated that practicum in more varied classrooms would provide further knowledge about

“managing the behaviour of the middle years students by seeing it modelled by experienced middle years teachers”. It was also noted that, the way “different schools implement middle years philosophy and strategies varies”, so it was important to see “as many contexts as possible to see how it is done”. Some preservice teachers indicated that by completing more practicum in varied school contexts, it was possible to understand “whole school approaches to middle schooling including transitions”, “how teachers work in teams for planning and teaching”, “a greater understanding of developing suitable assessment”, and “how schools approach developing relationships with the parents and carers of middle years students”.

The importance of the mentor teacher during practicum was raised by over one-third of this cohort. The selection of “mentor teachers who are passionate about middle years students” was a comment that was consistently noted throughout the proposed

enhancements for future middle years teacher preparation. It seemed that some preservice teachers believed their mentor teachers should be “positive role models for preservice teachers” by “modelling affirmative strategies and encouraging middle year learners”. It was also noted that some mentor teachers did not value the middle years teacher education program being undertaken by this cohort, with statements such as “please give us teachers who understand and appreciate middle years courses” and “before allocating us a

supervising (mentor) teacher please ensure they are supportive of middle years programs”. Some members of this cohort were undertaking a one-year graduate diploma. For them, mentor teachers who have an understanding of middle years programs combined with

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support for one-year of teacher preparation was also seen as an enhancement. Participants’ comments such as “please give preservice teachers mentors who like one-year graduate diploma middle years courses” and “send us to mentors who don’t mind that we are doing a one-year middle years course” summed up the views of the group.

Further comments about mentor teachers seemed to revolve around knowledge for teaching middle years students. In some instances the preservice teachers felt they had “more knowledge about teaching middle years students than my mentor teacher”, requesting in future that selected mentor teachers “have in-depth knowledge about teaching middle years students so that I can learn from them” and are “able to share their knowledge about middle years teaching”. More general statements about mentor teachers were noted, with some comments relating to their personal attributes and skills such as “mentors need to be supportive and provide well-delivered feedback”, “they need to be able to share their resources and teaching strategies”, “mentor teachers should instil confidence” and “they should understand we are learning”. Finally, a sentiment that was shared by a number of this cohort is summarised by the statement, “one enhancement for the future is don’t give preservice teachers negative mentor teachers as it is detrimental to our development”. Indeed, it is evident from the data that selecting positive middle years mentor teachers is a perception of these preservice teachers that needs to be considered in future middle years teacher preparation programs.

“Send us to school communities that support middle years preservice teachers and middle years initiatives” was noted as another enhancement for future middle years teacher preparation. Preservice teachers commented that the school community was significant for

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“influencing the attitudes of preservice teachers towards middle years learners” and “showing us how middle years philosophy can be implemented at a whole school level”. Just as the mentor teacher was viewed as pivotal in supporting the development of middle years preservice teachers, so too was a supportive school community. The preservice teachers suggested that practicum placements needed to be carefully considered in the future because “the school community should model middle years strategies”. Other preservice teacher suggestions included “don’t place us in schools where the staff don’t like preservice teachers” and “don’t assign us to schools where they don’t embrace middle years philosophy as it is hard for us to learn”. Another well supported enhancement noted was “encouragement on behalf of the university for the school to have an induction program for preservice teachers”. Some preservice teachers felt being “welcomed to the school” would assist them to “settle quickly into the school community”, “assist them to understand the school culture”, and make them feel that they were “a valued member of the school”.

Debrief sessions that followed practicum was the final subtheme noted by preservice teachers as an enhancement for future middle years teacher preparation. It seems that the preservice teachers who completed the questionnaire felt there should be more opportunity to “talk about prac at the conclusion so we can share our experiences”, “learn more about teaching by sharing, listening and discussing our practice with our peers and the lecturers and tutors”, and “talk more about prac in class so the lecturers can provide us with advice as to how to handle certain situations”. There was also a sense that these sessions would guide the preservice teachers to “become reflective practitioners by talking about prac”, “problem solve difficulties”, and “self evaluate our learning to ensure we are making good

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progress in our teaching”. Hence, it was evident that these preservice teachers recognised the importance of reflection and the inclusion of debrief sessions following practicum would assist them to refine and develop their reflective practices.