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This article describes the design of a web-based environment that links teaching strategies used in different faculties with graduate attributes. Whilst graduate attributes have existed at the University of Wollongong since the 1990s, this is the first time teaching strategies that enable students to develop these attributes have been articulated and shared electronically. The strategies are the practical or tacit knowledge of university teaching. The paper provides a background for the role of graduate attributes in higher education and explains the reason for focussing on teaching strategies. It describes the website resource with some examples and outlines dissemination and evaluation plans for the initiative. It is hoped that the website will become a "growing" site as a resource for a university community to share teaching strategies across different faculties.

This paper offers an overview of what motivates and challenges Australian supervising teachers to work with preservice teachers in their classrooms. In the contemporary Australian context of new National Professional Standards for Teachers, a new national curriculum and new standards for Initial Teacher Education programs, what motivates and challenges supervising teachers becomes a focus for professional learning through analysis presented in this paper. Data are reported from a national data set that includes 314 responding supervising teachers who took the "Mentoring Perspectives Inventory" from 2012-2014. The MPI data are aggregated in this paper to suggest that the wider system of teacher education could benefit from attention at various levels of interest to develop the underlying knowledge base of supervising teachers and our understanding of how they are challenged and motivated in their work with preservice teachers.

The aim of this study was to gather university student perspectives on a new type of assessment task requesting them to create "blended media". Blended media is a new form of student-generated multimedia whereby students devise a narration or voiceover to explain a science concept complemented by any combination of visuals such as video, animation or still images that are original or created by others to enhance the explanation. In the assessment task all the students successfully made a blended media product in their own time using their own technology and only requiring one session of media instruction. Surprisingly, the three case students who volunteered to be interviewed stated that they had never made a media product for a science assignment before and enjoyed creating this new form of assignment because they found it engaging and interesting. It also required them to represent content in new ways. Blended media is an innovative way for students to make digital media that engages them with content and as an assessment task could be used in any subject.

This research studied a group of three preservice elementary teachers creating a narrated stop-motion animation (Slowmation) from start to finish in 3?hours to explain the challenging concept of "phases of the moon" to elementary school children. The research questions investigated the preservice teachers' learning before and after the construction as well as how the preservice teachers designed the slowmation as a teaching resource. Data collection involved individual interviews immediately before and after the construction in conjunction with analysis of video and audio data collected during the construction process. Before the animation construction, the participants had little understanding of the causes of moon phases and one held an alternative conception. After creating the slowmation all three preservice teachers demonstrated more "elements" of the concept and appeared to resolve an alternative conception. There are two findings from this research: (i) creating a slowmation enabled the preservice teachers to develop more elements to contribute to their understanding of moon phases; (ii) the design of the slowmation was based on breaking the concept into a sequence of sub-concepts that were represented digitally. Designing a digital teaching resource such as a slowmation to explain a concept involves preservice teachers breaking a concept down into coherent parts or "chunks" and representing the concept in multiple ways. This can be done within a science method class and is also a good way for the them to negotiate meanings about a difficult concept.

We report a case study of two highly qualified science teachers as they implemented laptop computers in their Years 9 and 10 science classes at the beginning of the "Digital Education Revolution," Australia's national one-to-one laptop program initiated in 2009. When a large-scale investment is made in a significant educational change, it is important to consider teachers perspectives and responses to such change and we draw from sociocultural perspectives for our analysis. Through interviews and classroom observations, our interpretive analysis identified four key tensions and contradictions. These include the following: (1) barriers to innovative science teaching; (2) maintaining classroom and school connectivity; (3) teacher versus student expectations; and (4) changes to classroom management. Analysis leads to implications for the future of this and similar programs. The study shows that while these two teachers were committed to developing and delivering technology-rich science lessons, there were many factors that challenge how the implementation progressed. The findings from this study have implications for the continued engagement of teachers in this and other jurisdictions considering the introduction of one-to-one laptop programs.

This study explored the potential of using a new but simplified form of stop-motion animation called slowmation to support 4 primary school students with mild intellectual disabilities in co-constructing an animated social narrative about their own social skills. The research used a multiple case study design incorporating a range of qualitative methods to identify what stop-motion skills the students could use and to what extent the co-construction of an animation influenced their identification of their own social skills. Findings revealed that each student was able to use a range of stop-motion skills with varying levels of support. As a consequence of their co-construction, the students' understanding of their own social skills increased. Classroom implications, limitations and recommendations for further study are discussed.

Students engage with science content when they are asked to explain and communicate their knowledge to others. In particular, encouraging students to create various digital media forms such as videos, podcasts, vodcasts, screencasts, digital stories and animations to explain science is usually engaging, especially if they have ownership of the process and use their own devices such as smartphones, digital cameras and computers. Whilst each digital media form has particular affordances, they can also be integrated or "blended" to provide a new way for students to explain science using a combination of digital media forms. These can be shared widely to communicate with others by uploading to internet sites.

Many preservice primary teachers have inadequate science knowledge, which often limits their confidence in implementing the subject. This paper proposes a new way for preservice teachers to learn science by designing and making a narrated stop-motion animation as an instructional resource to explain a science concept. In this paper, a simplified way for preservice teachers to design and make an animation called "slowmation" (abbreviated from "slow animation") is exemplified. A case study of three preservice primary teachers creating one from start to finish over 2 h was conducted to address the following research question: How do the preservice primary teachers create a slowmation and how does this process influence their science learning? The method of inquiry used a case study design involving pre- and post-individual interviews in conjunction with a discourse analysis of video and audio data recorded as they created a slowmation. The data illustrate how the preservice teachers' science learning was related to their prior knowledge and how they iteratively revisited the content through the construction of five representations as a "cumulative semiotic progression": (i) research notes; (ii) storyboard; (iii) models; (iv) digital photographs; culminating in (v) the narrated animation. This progression enabled the preservice teachers to revisit the content in each representation and make decisions about which modes to use and promoted social interaction. Creating a slowmation facilitated the preservice teachers' learning about the life cycle of a ladybird beetle and revised their alternative conceptions. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

Research has identified the value of students constructing their own representations of science concepts using modes such as writing, diagrams, 2-D and 3-D models, images or speech to communicate meaning. "Slowmation" (abbreviated from "Slow Animation") is a simplified way for students, such as preservice teachers, to make a narrated animation using a combination of modes. In this study, 13 preservice primary teachers learned how to create a slowmation during a two-hour class in a science methods course and then created one about an allocated science topic as an assignment. The research question that guided this study was, "What are the preservice teachers' perceptions of making a slowmation and how was the science concept represented in the animation?" Data included pre and post individual interviews, concept maps constructed during the interviews and the animations as artifacts. Three case studies provide a window into the perceptions of preservice teachers making a slowmation and show how they represented their concept. Slowmation is a new form of student-generated representation which enables them to use their own technology to construct a narrated animation as a multimodal representation to explain a science concept.

Increased national and international attention towards early childhood education has resulted in the development of an Australian "Early Years Learning Framework" (EYLF) called "Belonging, Being and Becoming" (DEEWR, 2009) for realising agreed practice, principles and outcomes. The EYLF highlights the importance of educators using "intentional teaching" to deliberately promote many important elements of early education. These include children learning about conceptual development, skills and values. In this paper we show how a new teaching approach called "Slowmation" (abbreviated from "Slow Animation"), a simplified way for children to co-construct a stop-motion animation, can be used to support intentional teaching in early childhood settings. We present the outcomes of two exemplars, which used video and field observations to document how scientific concepts become conscious to both children and preservice teachers as they co-constructed Slowmation creations. In drawing upon cultural-historical theory, we argue that Slowmation provides a mediating context where a system of interdependent concepts can be held constant, while the relations between a particular everyday concept and scientific concept can be interrogated through action and thought. Slowmation is an innovative way of realising intentional teaching in early childhood settings as young children co-construct digital animations about science concepts. (Contains 4 tables and 7 figures.)

Research has identified the value of learners using technology to construct their own representations of science concepts. In this study, we investigate how learners, such as preservice elementary teachers, design and make a narrated animation to represent their science knowledge. The type of animation exemplified is called a "Slowmation" (abbreviated from "Slow Animation"), which is a simplified way for preservice teachers to make an animation that integrates features from claymation, object animation, and digital storytelling. Drawing on semiotic theory, a case study of three preservice elementary teachers, who were audio and video recorded as they created a slowmation, illustrates how the construction process enabled them to engage with a science concept in multiple ways. Findings suggest that when preservice teachers create a slowmation, they design and make a sequence of five representations, each being a semiotic system with particular affordances that link as a "semiotic progression": (i) research notes; (ii) storyboard; (iii) models; and (iv) digital photographs, which culminate in (v) a narrated animation. In this study, the authors present their theoretical framework, explain how the preservice teachers created a slowmation using a sequence of representations to show their science knowledge and discuss the implications of these findings for learners in universities and schools. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of 35 preservice teachers as they were introduced to a new digital technology, "Slowmation" (abbreviated from Slow Animation), as a "disruptive" pedagogy over a period of 12 months. The participants in the study were 35 preservice teachers from an elementary cohort. Primary data sources included field notes and semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed that the preservice teachers enjoyed using slowmation as learners during the on-campus part of their program, yet very few used it as a disruptive pedagogy when teaching during their extended practicum. Our study highlights the challenges inherent in introducing "disruptive" pedagogies in a teacher education program. (Contains 1 table.)

In this study, a group (N=15) of final year non-Aboriginal preservice teachers participated in an elective subject that aimed to raise their awareness about Aboriginal ways of knowing. A vital aspect of the course was developing the preservice teachers' awareness of "relatedness to country" which is a key belief for Aboriginal people. The non-Aboriginal preservice teachers selected their own special place and then experienced Aboriginal ways of knowing throughout the course and visited local Aboriginal sites to hear and listen to stories shared by an Aboriginal Elder. At the end of the subject, the preservice teachers created their own animated story about their special place using an approach called called "Slowmation" (abbreviated from "Slow animation"), which is a narrated stop-motion animation that is played slowly at 2 photos/second to tell a story. It is a simplified way for preservice teachers to make animations that integrates aspects of claymation, digital storytelling and object animation. To research this approach, the preservice teachers were interviewed at the beginning and end of the course as well as submitting their animation for assessment. Data collected revealed that all the preservice teachers were able to make an animated story explaining their relationship to their "special place" and most developed a deeper understanding of what a relational approach to country means. Getting the preservice teachers to make animated stories helped them to reflect upon their special place and was a creative way to develop their awareness of cultural diversity, especially about Aboriginal ways of knowing. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

"Slowmation" (abbreviated from "Slow Animation") is a simplified way of making an animation that enables students to create their own as a new way of learning about a science concept. When students make a slowmation, they create a sequence of five multimodal representations (the 5 Rs) with each one contributing to the learning process in particular ways: (1) Representation 1--Background; (2) Representation 2--Storyboard; (3) Representation 3--Models; (4) Representation 4--Digital Photographs; and (5) Representation 5--The Animation. The 5 Rs help students to develop understanding of a science concept by encouraging them to create a stop-motion animation to explain it. (Contains 1 table, 2 figures, and 1 photo.)

Professional learning is an important process in enabling teachers to update their pedagogical knowledge and practices. The use of online technologies to support professional learning has a number of benefits in terms of flexibility and scalability. However, it is not clear how well the approach impacts on teachers' classroom practices. This article outlines a research study conducted on behalf of a state-based Department of Education to evaluate the transfer of professional learning from online modules on the integration of ICT to the practices of K-12 classroom teachers. (Contains 1 table.)

In this study a teacher educator worked with two elementary teachers to facilitate a self-study of their learning during a professional development programme. The programme extended for 6 months and was underpinned by four learning processes--reflection, sharing, action and feedback. The two teachers documented their learning experiences and were interviewed several times during and after the study. At the end of the 6-month period, the teachers sketched and shared models of their learning and then collaborated to produce a joint model. Sue learned that she needed to start with a small change in her teaching and that her learning involved multiple factors that interacted to create change. Loraine learned that focusing on the teaching of science reminded her of childhood experiences and that it was important for her to analyse why she taught the way she did. Self-study helped the teachers to develop insights about how they learned and enabled them to better understand and manage their own professional development. (Contains 4 figures.)

Slow motion animation ("slowmation") is a new teaching approach that uses a simple animation process to engage learners in creating their own comprehensive animations of science concepts. In this paper, preservice elementary teachers used slowmation, a form of stop-motion animation, to make models of science concepts and take digital still photos as the models were manually manipulated in the horizontal plane. A range of materials can be used, and the animations are played in slow motion at two frames per second. Importantly, the preservice teachers provided pedagogical prompts, such as narration, diagrams, music, and factual text in their animations to help explain concepts. Preservice elementary teachers learned how to create slowmations in their science method course and then made their own comprehensive examples in an assignment to represent a science concept. Slowmation is a use of technology that generates a "real need" for preservice teachers to understand science content so that they can represent and explain it accurately in their animation.

This paper describes a 10-year collaboration between a teacher educator and a high-school science teacher as they investigated different ways to gather student feedback to enhance teacher reflection. Four different procedures were developed during this time: (i) interviews by a teacher educator with students; (ii) learning logs written by students; (iii) observation schedules completed by students; and (iv) a survey completed by students and teachers. Of the four procedures, the most meaningful for teacher reflection was the student interviews because they were the most personal. However, other procedures for gathering student feedback may be more useful to initiate teacher reflection because they are less confronting.

Action learning is based on three educational principles--"reflection", "community", and "action"--that interrelate and reinforce each other to support ongoing learning about experiences in the workplace. This study explains how an action learning program established for a small group of science teachers in a secondary high school lasted for two years. In this study "feedback" in the form of student interviews about teaching and learning were introduced to the teacher discussions to enhance the process of action learning. The student feedback gave the teachers an alternative perspective on their experiences and were a catalyst for reflection that helped the teachers to sustain their learning over a period of two years. (Contains 3 tables, 1 figure and 1 note.)

The quality of existing teacher education programs is currently being debated in many countries and at many educational levels. This article examines the nature of teaching and challenges the common mechanistic approach to teacher education design. If teaching is a complex profession, then a more integrated and dynamic approach to designing teacher education programs is needed. This article proposes a four-dimensional approach for thinking about a conceptual framework to guide teacher education design. The four dimensions include: (a) links across the university-based curriculum; (b) links between schools and university experiences; (c) socio-cultural links between participants; and (d) personal links that shape the identity of teacher educators. It is argued that a conceptual framework based upon the consideration of these four dimensions is likely to ensure quality in a teacher education program.

This article analyses the nature of learning in three long-term professional development approaches from different disciplines--teacher research as used in educational contexts, action learning as used in business contexts, and problem-based learning as used in medical contexts. The lens used for analysis focuses on three dimensions or influences on learning--the action setting, personal influences and sociocultural influences. Although the dimensions are present in each approach, they have a different emphasis. It is argued that planning for long-term professional development needs to consider all three dimensions in conjunction because the key for sustainability in professional development is the dynamic interplay between the dimensions. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure and 1 note.)

The principles of experiential education were applied to a traditional teacher education course through use of a reflective framework that enabled students to study themselves as learners through analysis, synthesis, and theorizing. Reflecting on how they learn empowered students to better manage their own learning and consequently enabled them to develop insights into how to teach. (TD)

Describes a professional-development program that sustained the learning of science teachers from a small high school faculty over three years. The program was based on an Enhanced Action Learning process with three interrelated principles of reflection, community, and action. Teacher learning was also enhanced by feedback from students. Presents personal accounts from three teachers. (AIM)