From classroom reality to virtual classroom: the role of teacher-created scripts in the development of classroom simulation technology

This paper describes a specific kind of teacher narrative (the teacher created script) to support the design of a classroom simulation to be used in pre-service teacher education. We intend to share our experiences in exploring and developing the kind of narrative text which can be developed from a large reservoir of ethnographically generated data collected from the teachers and classrooms we have closely observed and documented over the last two decades. In particular, we explore the role which these narratives play within the development of the kind of classroom simulation we have produced. Reflection has long been acknowledged as a useful process for teachers to engage with. Also, the notion of formalising such reflections through writing has been acknowledged as a way to share, refine and articulate teaching practice. As stated by Barth (2001:66) “…with written words come the innermost secrets of schools”. This prototype simulation allows the user to adopt the role of a Kindergarten teacher using a daily literacy teaching episode we refer to as “days of the week” and encourages the user to reflect upon the decisions they make about the organisation and implementation of this recurring teaching experience. The range of options that occur in this simulation stem from the teacher-created script we developed drawing from our own teaching experiences and classroom-based research to shape this virtual classroom

Kinder kids: learning to read in the 21st Century

Children who enter kindergarten bring to the school environment, a wide range of abilities in reading. Prior literacy experiences in the home and the wider community have been shown to contribute towards these wide ranging abilities (Cairney & Munsie, 1992; Cairney & Ruge, 1997; Brown, 1998; Brooker, 2002; McNicol & Dalton, 2002; Manzo & Robelen, 2003). Our society today, though, is changing rapidly. Our task, therefore, as educators is to prepare our children to function in a future civilization created by the biggest leap in technology since the Industrial Revolution two centuries ago. We have entered a time when advances in technology are having an important effect on literacy development (Snyder, 2001; Leu, 2002; Cloonan, 2005).This study set out to explore the nature of kindergarten childrens multi-literate practices in their homes. In paper-based materials, the study explored the frequency of storybook reading, the activities parents participated in during storybook reading, the reading activities that young children initiated, and other reading activities apart from storybook reading. In technology, the study explored the frequency of use of different techno-literacies (Snyder, 2001) and parents views on the role of these techno-literacies in learning to read and write.It was found that while there was a wide range of multi-literate practices in the homes of kindergarten children that comprised both paper-based and techno-literacies, parents held different views about the role that techno-literacies played in learning to read and write. These views seem to mirror those of early years teachers, namely that print and paper-based skills are more highly valued for young emergent readers and writers

Looking back to look forward: understanding the present by revisiting the past: an Australian perspective

Cambourne and Turbill trace the growth, change and finally marginalisation of progressive approaches to literacy education by examining whole language philosophy in Australia from the 1960s to the present. Using a critical lens, Cambourne and Turbill describe how whole language has been positioned throughout the last nearly 50 years in terms of curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. Cambourne and Turbill offer a personal history of whole language in Australia and draw connections of the educational changes occurring in their country to other western democracies. Their insights are valuable in order to examine other grass roots programs and to better understand how politics impact educational movements

Simulation technology in pre-service teacher education: \u27Pleasurable learning\u27 to inspire \u27passionate teaching\u27

Reviews of beginning teacher programs over the past eighty years within an Australian context continually identify a number of key skills that are not well developed by traditional pre-service teacher preparation programs. In more recent times the teaching of literacy has been targeted as needing specific attention, especially at the pre-service level. Advances in educational software have demonstrated that it is feasible to create a representation of a real situation through simulation. The authors believe that creating a virtual classroom environment for pre-service teachers to interact with is one way to support them with understanding the theory of literacy learning and the delivery of meaningful literacy classrooms. This paper explores research findings related to the use of web-based simulation technology designed to support pre-service teacher education students\u27 understandings of the teaching of literacy. The prototype version of the software is described with description of the planning, design and research that underpin this. The findings from a case study of one pre- service teacher\u27s interaction with the software are outlined

Mapping the archive: An Examination of Research Reported in AJLL 2000-2005

Amidst commissioned research reports and policy reforms in literacy education, this paper examines research reported in the 2000–2005 archive of the Australian Journal of Language and Literacy (AJLL). This focus arises from the selective inclusion of literacy research in recent literacy education policy reform documents in Australia and overseas and the exclusion of other research, including research from this AJLL 2000/5 archive. Given the high national and international standing of AJLL, we felt it was timely and important to engage in a retrospective mapping exercise with this collection of research and critically examine its relationship to literacy education policy. So doing forms part of our broader concerns about connections between literacy research, policy and practice

Incorporating real experience into the development of a classroom-based simulation

This paper reports on the design of an on-line simulation that enhanced preservice teacher practicum experience in the important area of literacy teaching. Research with more than 200 users of the simulation showed that it developed pre-service teacher understanding of complex classroom situations associated with the teaching of literacy by giving them the opportunity to slow down or accelerate classroom events, revisit and reflect on critical decision points and replay events in the light of new understandings. This gave preservice teachers time to think critically about complex teaching situations which relied on the teacher’s ability to tune into children’s experiences, engage with them in dialogue and negotiation as well as utilise a range of indirect instructions such as questioning, modelling and prompting. Preservice teachers reported that their experience with the simulation enabled them to more fully appreciate the impact of subtle changes that experienced teachers made during lessons

Operationalizing nine design elements of authentic learning environments in a classroom-based on-line simulation

Herrington, Oliver and Reeves (2003) assert that many researchers and teachers now accept that well designed multimedia environments provide an alternative to real-life settings without sacrificing the authentic context. Further, researchers report that recent educational software advances have demonstrated that it is feasible to create a motivational simulation that supports pre-service teachers by providing them with tools that allow them to view the effects of their decisions within a virtual classroom context (Aldrich, 2004) However, limited research has been reported on the use of authentic simulations in pre-service teacher education. This paper describes the on-line simulation that we developed to support our first year pre-service teacher education program. We explain how we operationalized the nine design elements of authentic learning environments as reported by Herrington, Oliver and Reeves (2003) as a framework for the design of this software. In addition we describe the teaching and learning experiences incorporated within this virtual classroom and the responses to these experiences form the perspective of the initial users of the simulation