What does it mean when they don't seem to learn from experience?
- Authors: Zink, Robyn , Dyson, Michael
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Cambridge Journal of Education Vol. 39, no. 2 (2009), p. 163-174
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: In this paper we use an example of when students appear not to have learnt from their experience to examine some of the 'orthodoxies' of experiential education. This frames a discussion exploring how it is possible for a teacher to declare that students have got it 'wrong' in relation to learning from experience. It is argued that both learning through experience and who has experiences is viewed through specific forms of reason within contemporary experiential education. The paper concludes with a challenge to open reason up to greater scrutiny in experiential education and consider the possibilities that emerge through the indeterminacy of relationships inherent in experience and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
New teachers learning in rural and regional Australia
- Authors: Somerville, Margaret , Plunkett, Margaret , Dyson, Michael
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education Vol. 38, no. 1 (2010), p. 39-55
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper reports on a longitudinal ethnographic study of beginning primary school teachers in rural and regional Victoria, Australia. The study uses a conceptual framework of place and workplace learning to ask: How do new teachers learn to do their work and how do they learn about the places and communities in which they begin teaching? In this paper, we focus on data from the first year of the three-year longitudinal study, using a place-based survey and ethnographic interviews. We found that the space of the classroom was the dominant site of learning to become a teacher for the new teachers in this study. This learning was understood through the discourse of classroom management. Analysis of these storylines reveals the ways in which the community and classroom are not separate but intertwined, and the process of learning about their communities began through the children in their classes.
Thirty teachers go to school : New teachers learning in rural and regional communities in Australia
- Authors: Somerville, Margaret , Plunkett, Margaret , Dyson, Michael
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: British Educational Research Association (BERA) Annual Conference 2008 p. 1-17
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
A chronological history of the school
- Authors: Reeves, Mark , Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Surviving, thriving and reviving in adolescence : Research and narratives from the school for student leadership Chapter 2 p. 7-25
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This chapter introduces the Alpine School and its original purpose and goals before leading into the story of the historical development of the current School for Student Leadership (SSL). It outlines the extensive political background behind the creation of this unique Victorian school and the search for an appropriate principal. The development of the school from a single campus to the current three campuses is detailed, with photos of each included to illustrate the diverse environmental contexts that are represented. Also presented is an outline of some of the major differences in the curriculum and overall experience that students receive through a term spent at the SSL, compared to that offered via traditional mainstream education. The different learning opportunities resulting from a program that focuses on providing a rite of passage for adolescents and includes experiential learning, reflection and a Community Learning Project are discussed, illustrating the contemporary approach used at the school to meet the cognitive, physical, social and emotional needs of the attending Year 9 students.
Making a difference: a different way of being a teacher in an alternate educational setting
- Authors: Plunkett, Margaret , Dyson, Michael
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: AARE Conference 2010 p. 1-13
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Alternate or non-traditional educational settings within Australia have undergone a period of expansion over the past two decades, with a greater range of opportunities being afforded to both students and teachers. Although very little research has been conducted, most studies to date have concentrated on the student experience of education in such settings. There has been minimal focus on teachers, particularly in relation to self perceptions and what it might mean to be a teacher in an environment that differs substantially from the type of educational setting in which many teaching careers had begun. This paper outlines part of a longitudinal study involving the School for Student Leadership (SSL), an alternate educational setting in Victoria, Australia , which offers residential programs for Year 9 students. The focus of the school is on the development of self-understanding and positive relationship building through a holistic approach that is underpinned by the philosophy of cooperative learning. Not all teachers would choose to teach in this type of school, so this project aimed to investigate the hopes and aspirations of the teachers working in the SSL. The findings illustrated a genuine commitment to the principles underpinning the core moral purpose of the SSL and the concomitant level of involvement required. While most did not see their role as teacher to be substantively different from their earlier perceptions, they acknowledged the difference in emphasis that was both possible and necessary within the different context of the setting.
Becoming a teacher and staying one: examining the complex ecologies associated with educating and retaining new teachers in rural Australia?
- Authors: Plunkett, Margaret , Dyson, Michael
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Teacher Education Vol. 36, no. 1 (2011), p. 31-47
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Abstract: The problem of teacher retention has intensified in Australia, particularly in rural areas, with a number of studies suggesting that beginning teachers are not entering the profession with a commitment to remaining there. This paper reports on a study of 102 new teachers graduating from a rural campus of a major Australian university. Utilising a self devised survey over a 3 year period, graduate reflections were captured on what it meant for them to become a teacher. The research sought to determine graduates’ goals and aspirations for working in the profession in both the long and the short term. Participants reported that while they were looking for stability and would like to remain in their current positions, they were hampered by the present contractual system which eroded any sense of permanence. It is argued that contractual employment disrupts the development of a sense of belonging to the profession and the building of meaningful connections between teachers and their schools, a factor that will require attention if retention issues within rural Australia are to be seriously addressed.
A unique educational experience for adolescents: what do students and parents love and fear about the School for Student Leadership?
- Authors: Plunkett, Margaret , Dyson, Michael , Schneider, Peter
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: AARE 2013: Shaping Australian Educational Research, Australian Association for Research in Education p. 1-9
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The School for Student Leadership (SSL) was set up in Victoria, Australia, in 2000 to provide an avenue for Year 9 students in government secondary schools to experience an alternative to the ‘traditional classroom’. The three campuses of the school provide nine-week fully residential programs that promote the development of leadership skills and relationship building, within a framework underpinned by experiential education and cooperative learning practices. At a time when engagement and expectations are not necessarily in alignment, an opportunity to experience education in a unique way is enticing for both students and their parents. Yet there are also associated fears, particularly for parents. For example, the experience provided deviates substantially from the traditional school curriculum and this could be seen as impacting on student progress. There are also fears about how fifteen year olds will cope with sharing dormitories, taking responsibility for their own washing and cleaning, helping with cooking, taking part in physically challenging expeditions, having limited access to social media and surviving without ‘junk food’. This paper reports on part of a longitudinal study that began in partnership with Monash University in 2000. The most recent aspect involved a mixed methods study to collect data from parents and students who were participating in the program at the SSL during Terms 3 and 4 in 2012. Pre and post surveys were conducted as well as interviews with both parents and students. Data was analysed using SPSS and NVivo, however the focus of this paper will be the qualitative aspects of the initial findings from the interviews. Preliminary findings from 12 focus group and 24 individual interviews conducted with student participants, suggest a high level of respect for and engagement with the program offerings. While initial concerns about coping with physical and social challenges were expressed, educational concerns were almost non-existent. A major theme that emerged from the data was the importance of relationships, with the vast majority perceiving that lifelong friendships had been forged with their peers. Students also drew clear distinctions between the positive relationships they had developed with SSL teachers compared to teachers at their home schools. Parents were also overwhelmingly positive about the experiences they perceived their adolescent children had while at the SSL, despite initial fears. Interviews with 15 parents illustrated that they did have a number of concerns that were both educational and social, which was different to the focus of the students. However the reality for these parents was that these fears did not come to fruition, and thus they ended up sharing their child’s enthusiasm for the program, which they felt had supported both cognitive and social development in their adolescent children to a greater extent than traditional education.
The parent perspective
- Authors: Plunkett, Margaret , Dyson, Michael
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Surviving, Thriving and Reviving in Adolescence : Research and Narratives from the School for Student Leadership Chapter 7 p. 107-125
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This chapter discusses the parent perspective in terms of what parents of students attending the SSL think about their child's involvement. Over time, a number of projects have examined parent perceptions but the most recent one is discussed in this chapter. This particular project involved surveying and interviewing parents of students attending the three SSL campuses during Terms 3 and 4 of the 2012 school year. While the sample is not large, it certainly provides support to the large body of anecdotal evidence about the very high level of parent satisfaction with the SSL. The findings from the interviews conducted with 15 parents have already been published in a refereed conference paper, which is referred to later in this chapter. The findings from the pre- and post-surveys completed by 38 parents indicated that parents were aware of both the benefits and challenges faced by their children. Moreover, they had very high expectations in terms of the type of growth in understanding of self, others and the ecosystem in which they were living, as outcomes of the SSL experience. Post-survey results illustrated that these expectations were not only met but exceeded.
Experimenting with place : The China project
- Authors: Plunkett, Margaret , Dyson, Michael , Holcombe, Wendy
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Surviving, thriving and reviving in adolescence : Research and narratives from the school for student leadership Chapter 11 p. 173-201
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This chapter presents an overview of a research project conducted to determine the impact of an immersion experience in China that was offered to students attending the Alpine campus of the SSL in 2014. The students participated via a state government initiative—the Victorian Young Leaders to China (VYLC) program, which aimed to aid intercultural awareness and understanding of secondary school students. Through pre- and post-surveys and focus group discussions with 43 students and 10 teachers, data was collected about the immersion experience and the impact it had on the participants. Both students and teachers reported on the value of the experience, particularly in terms of increasing intercultural awareness. However, as it was the first time that the China program was offered through the SSL, a number of issues and challenges were highlighted, which provided a sound context for associated changes to ensure that future experiences were as successful as possible. The program was also offered to groups of students attending the SSL during 2015 and 2016 due to the positive feedback from the initial pilot reported in this chapter.
'Broadening horizons' : raising youth aspirations through a Gippsland school/industry/university partnership
- Authors: Plunkett, Margaret , Dyson, Michael
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Educational researchers and the regional university : agents of regional-global transformations 6 p. 93-114
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The International Labour Organization characterises being young in today's labour market as 'not easy'. In parts of Gippsland, a regional area of Victoria Australia, it is certainly not easy because youth unemployment reached 21.7% in 2016, the second highest in the state. Within this regional-global context, research into youth aspirations is often bounded by a deficit-focused framework with little emphasis on contextual positives. This chapter, however, reports on a 5-year project of an innovative regional school-industry partnership. 'Broadening Horizons' provides project-based workplace learning units where partners immerse students in 'realworld problems' such as road safety and public transport. The Gippsland regional office of the Department of Education sought a formal evaluation of the project from the local university, at the time Monash Gippsland, but in 2014, we became part of FederationUniversity Australia. This chapter outlines findings from a mixedmethodology evaluation of the project's pilot stage and points out a number of important factors. These include a broader understanding of youth career support, youth aspirations and education/industry partnerships in a regional context, and the importance of involving parents. One school, in particular, achieved very successful parental involvement, which had a major impact on the learning and engagement of the students involved.We conclude that projects like this help to illustrate the complexities associated with youth aspirations in a regional context and may help to challenge associated, unsubstantiated stereotypes. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019. All rights are reserved.
The teacher perspective
- Authors: Plunkett, Margaret , Dyson, Michael
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Surviving, thriving and reviving in adolescence : Research and narratives from the school for student leadership Chapter 6 p. 91-105
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: As indicated in other chapters of this book, the School for Student Leadership has a focus on relationships and development or growth in understanding of self and others. Not all teachers would choose to teach in this type of school, so this chapter on the teachers’ perspective highlights some of the hopes and aspirations of the teachers working in the SSL. A number of studies within the longitudinal project have included teachers, but the study discussed in this chapter involved a mixed methods study of the 33 teachers working across the 3 campuses of the school during 2010. They were surveyed and interviewed about their perceptions of being a teacher in the SSL. The findings illustrated a genuine commitment to the principles underpinning the core moral purpose of the school and the concomitant level of involvement required to teach in such an environment. While most reported that they did not see their role as ‘teacher’ in this environment to be substantively different from original perceptions they held of themselves as teachers, there was an acknowledgement of the different emphasis that was both possible and necessary within the distinctive context of the setting.
A journey to transformism in Australia teacher education : Reconceptualising teacher education in the 21st Century
- Authors: Dyson, Michael
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Book
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This book presents an alternative way of perceiving both formal schooling and teacher education. It challenges the educational community to examine the current practice of education and suggests a transforming alternative. Using the methodology and writing style of auto ethnography, the author has investigated an internship, in which interns were given room to negotiate their role, make mistakes, form relationships, and come to know the work of teachers. They were encouraged to become thinkers and were nurtured in their state of 'becoming' by mentors. As a result of this study a new model of teacher education, known as 'The Transformism model',is suggested. This involves the evolution of student teachers from a 'me view' perception to a 'worldview' perception. This model is not about training people to be teachers but is about the education of teachers through the adoption of adult learning and the incorporation of "Choice Theory". A new form of educational politics and practice is proposed where people come together in community; share their beliefs and knowledge, their likes and dislikes, their differences and their similarities in openness and with hope for a better world. " From publisher site"
Making a difference by embracing cooperative learning practices in an alternate setting: an exciting combination to incite the educational imagination
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Classroom Interaction Vol. 47, no. 2 (2012), p. 13-24
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper outlines a study of an alternate approach to educating Year 9 students in a residential setting. The School for Student Leadership (SSL) in Victoria, Australia, provides a nine-week program focusing on leadership, relationship-building and self-awareness. The philosophy of the school, which has continually evolved since its inception in 2000, appears to have strong connections with the principles of cooperative learning, while also being influenced by theories relating to experiential and service learning and adolescent leadership development. A mixed methods approach was used to collect data through surveys and focus group interviews relating to student perceptions of their educational experience at the SSL. The qualitative findings presented in this paper suggest that all five elements of cooperative learning, as theorized by Johnson and Johnson (1989; 2009), feature in students' discussions of their experiences and that cooperative learning within this context provides a unique platform for the development of positive attitudes toward learning and engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
What might a person-centred model of teacher education look like in the 21st century? The transformism model of teacher education
- Authors: Dyson, Michael
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Transformative Education Vol. 8, no. 1 (2011), p. 3-21
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This article focuses on Big Picture thinking about 21st-century teacher education and presents a conceptual shift as the result of two decades of research and practice centred around an understanding that we live in a world troubled by a massive breakdown in relationships. Through reflection within four specific educational contexts and with the recognition of a need for the personal and social development of teachers, a person-centred model of teacher education, the transformism model, has been developed. The transformism, or evolution of teacher education, seeks to use a different mind-set, or a changed psychology, which moves away from a focus on the control of others by those who think they know what is best. Rather it is about transformative learning, achieved through reflection within a landscape of transformation. Effective teacher education, using this model embraces Gardner’s Five Minds for the Future and the embedding of Glasser’s choice theory. The conceptual shift occurs through a major change in consciousness and the concomitant development of a worldview rather than a me view
Alternative settings - alternative teachers? Reflections on teaching outside the mainstream
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Joint AARE-APERA conference,Australian Association for Research in Education p. 1-12
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: While alternative educational settings in Australia have expanded over the past two decades, there has been little formal research conducted into teacher perceptions of what it means to teach outside the mainstream. This paper outlines part of a longitudinal study involving the School for Student Leadership (SSL), an alternate educational setting in Victoria, Australia, which offers residential programs for Year 9 students. The SSL began operating in 2000 as the Alpine School situated at Dinner Plain and since then two further campuses have been added. A research partnership between Monash University Gippsland and the SSL began in 2001, with this component commencing in 2009 involving a mixed methods study consisting of both surveys and interviews. The focus of this paper is the qualitative findings resulting from interviews with 33 teachers across the 3 campuses. While a small body of literature relating to environmental and experiential education (Brown, 2006, Schartner, 2000, Simmons, 1988, Smith-Cabasto & Cavern, 2006) from a teaching perspective does exist, none really captures the breadth of the type of program offered through the SSL, which does not sit in isolation from broader educational, social and global discourses. While there is an ongoing debate about how we should educate young people there are some points of general agreement. One is that we live in a world of rapid global, technological and social change and education should equip young people to deal with these changes. This particular research provided an opportunity to seek teachers' perceptions about whether this goal was easier to achieve in a non-traditional setting. A particular focus was on participants' current perceptions about their role as 'teacher' and whether it differed depending on the setting. The findings provided interesting insights about the focus of the teachers that choose to become involved, with most suggesting that they were searching for more meaningful ways to connect their pedagogy and practice. They also felt that mainstream settings rarely provided opportunities for the development of substantive relationships with students. There was an acknowledgement that the alternate setting of the SSL did provide a greater opportunity for equipping students to deal with change but this also required teachers to respond differently, shifting the emphasis from content to context and from being a teacher to being an educator, facilitator or mentor.
Educating generation Y in alternate settings : What seems to work
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Zink, Robyn
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Australian Association for Research in Education
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Abstract: This paper presents one element of our research conducted in a contemporary, yet alternate, school setting. This setting provides ten-week residential programs for Year nine students. Year nine has been identified as a significant time when students become disengaged with schooling. These Year nine students also belong to a group known as Generation Y (Gen Y). This group is characterised as having difficulties with communication, developing relationships and functioning as a community. However, our research, at the 'Remote School' suggests that the students in this residential school develop skills that enable them to communicate more effectively and establish relationships with others. One of the key aspects of this appears to be the relationships they form with each other and with the staff while on the program. The environment, or the ecosystem developed in this unique setting, allows students to interact more explicitly with the complexity of life and, in doing so, recognise diversity and the shades of grey, which start to colour their worlds. The students talk about feeling challenged in forming relationships and about comprehending more about themselves, how they operate and how others operate. It would seem likely that there is a gap in understanding the capacities of Year nine students and Gen Y students, who are construed as being difficult to communicate with, form relationships with, or fail to function effectively in communities. It is this gap in understanding, based on the experiences of the young people at the Remote School, which we explore in this paper.
How do preservice teachers learn to become quality teachers? Factors to consider in addressing the issues facing 'new teachers'
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Hutchinson, Steve
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Practical Experiences in Professional Education Vol. 11, no. 1 (2008 2008), p. 44-56
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
Choice theory, relationships and community
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Surviving, thriving and reviving in adolescence : Research and narratives from the school for student leadership Chapter 4 p. 43-67
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The themes of ‘relationships’, and ‘community’, amongst others, have been constantly framed and reframed in the research conducted at the three campuses of the School for Student Leadership (SSL), and in the SSL China project, over the past 16 years. The student participants involved in the various research projects continue to highlight these themes and others, revealing that something unique happens at the SSL. This chapter on the student perspective discusses the themes of relationships and community, in the context of an Indigenous cohort of students who attended the Alpine School, which is what the SSL was originally known as. They were a unique cohort, who attended for a 6-week shortened program in 2006. Through focus group discussions at the end of their stay, these students provided through their narratives, key insights into what the experience meant to them. It appears that while the focus of the SSL experience is different, much of what is covered is transferable into mainstream schooling, which means that schools both nationally and internationally have much to learn from the practices of the SSL. This is further evident in the next chapter (Chap. 5), which is also on the student perspective, particularly examining leadership and student engagement in relation to the SSL experience.
Enhancing interpersonal relationships in teacher education through the development and practice of reflective mentoring
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Book chapter
- Relation: Interpersonal Relationships in Education: From theory to practice Chapter 4 p. 37-56
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This chapter presents research on a model of reflective mentoring developed and implemented as a way of enhancing interpersonal relationships between pre service and mentor teachers involved in a longitudinal school-based professional experience. The process of reflective mentoring (Dyson, 2002) was developed as an alternative to the more traditional forms of supervision, which tend to involve a power relationship in which the student teacher is monitored and assessed by an experienced teacher or a university lecturer.
Surviving, thriving and reviving in adolescence : Research and narratives from the school for student leadership
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Book
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This research-based book focuses on the development and evolution of the School for Student Leadership (SSL), an alternate and unique residential school for year-nine students, operating in Victoria, Australia. It traces the journey of the SSL, a state secondary school, from a single campus in 2000, to its current three campuses, with more to come in the future. The book documents the key findings and insights from a university/school research partnership spanning a 16-year period. Central themes running throughout the book include the importance of social and emotional development/competence to support and guide learning in adolescence; the nature and value of adolescent leadership; relationships and community as foci of middle-years education together with what constitutes a modern ‘rite of passage’. The book explains how, in this particular alternate setting, deliberate steps have been taken – and responsively changed over time – to develop knowledge, skills and competencies, which enable the building of meaningful and sustainable relationships and social and emotional competence within the community. Many of the lessons learned in this setting reveal the potential for transference into mainstream educational settings, to enable all year-nine students to receive the same opportunities to grow and develop as those who have attended the SSL.