Papers by Robyn Brandenburg
Australian educational researcher, Mar 11, 2024
Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Although the provision of initial teacher education has been the subject of more than 100 inquiri... more Although the provision of initial teacher education has been the subject of more than 100 inquiries and multiple reforms, the work of those in teacher education remains under-researched. This comparative research provides two snapshots of teacher educator surveys conducted seven years apart (2013 and 2020) in a regional university in Australia. The primary aim of the research was to examine how teacher educators describe their work and goals and to identify the barriers and enablers that are present in their practice. The data were thematically coded and categorised. The outcomes highlight that personal and professional experiences do shape the goals and motivations of teacher educators; that knowledge and skills impact the ways that they enact their work, and that professional development is essential. Issues pertaining to the discipline of teacher education and an increasingly casualised workforce need to be addressed by those within and external to the profession.
Self-Study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices, 2019
While Nash (2004) was writing about the ethics of scholarly personal narrative (SPN), his argumen... more While Nash (2004) was writing about the ethics of scholarly personal narrative (SPN), his argument that ethics is lived “mostly backward, not forward” (p. 135) highlights the inherent challenges when considering issues of ethics in self-study research. While we might seek to identify ethical tensions, issues and dilemmas in advance, as we see from the contributions in this volume, the consideration of ethics is a dynamic, emergent and reflective process. In this chapter, we frame ethics in self-study research as a “wicked problem” (Rittel & Webber, 1973), and we draw on the international perspectives in this book to present a thematic analysis of the contributions within the volume. In doing so, we identify the concepts and discourses associated with ethics in self-study that are dominant, present those that are silent or marginalised and offer suggestions for future research.
Studying Teacher Education
Frontiers in Education, Jan 18, 2023
The research presented in this article focuses on an international collaboration conducted by fou... more The research presented in this article focuses on an international collaboration conducted by four experienced teacher educators who used assumption identification and examination to advance pedagogical practice. It describes and examines how teacher educators deliberately undertook reflective practices to inform and enhance teaching. Four vignettes are described and analyzed-Practica woes and Modelling practice-and examined using the simple, complicated, and complex teaching framework. The key outcomes include the impact and role of assumption definition, identification, and examination as powerful reflective tools. Researching practice in teacher education is an effective way to advance pedagogical knowledge and practice and a disposition of inquiry is necessary to enhance knowledge at all stages of teacher educator experience. This international collaboration highlights the importance of problematizing teaching, continually inquiring into and interrogating practice and grasping the teachable moments.
The Australian Educational Researcher
This article examines the genesis, development and implementation of an interdisciplinary univers... more This article examines the genesis, development and implementation of an interdisciplinary university cross-school research group (three individual schools) at Federation University in Australia. This CSRG is a consequence of both local and national calls for interdisciplinarity in university research and a direct response to the revised Strategic Goals and Policy document at Federation University. Using a conceptual framework based on a treatise by Jürgen Habermas (The theory of communicative action, Beacon Press, 1987) incorporating three socio-political levels (Lifeworld, Steering Media and Systems), we examined the ideals, processes and challenges in setting up an interdisciplinary research group within a traditional disciplinary-based university environment. Drawing on multiple data sets composed of member survey responses and interviews, email communication, online meetings, policy documents and co-leader feedback, we identified key resonant themes focussing on academic aspirat...
The Australian Educational Researcher
Across the world, many university-based early career researchers (ECRs) are experiencing an unpre... more Across the world, many university-based early career researchers (ECRs) are experiencing an unprecedented intensification of research expectations on transition from doctoral research to academic life. Countries such as Australia have put into place national frameworks of research excellence to remain globally competitive. Pressure on universities to elevate global research rankings has soared, with many regional universities and disciplines such as education responding with a rapid escalation of research performance expectations for academics. Consequently, concerns have been raised for ECRs embroiled in intensified research agendas in these contexts. Framed by concepts of liminality and identity construction, we argue that intensified expectations do not take account of liminality experienced by ECRs during times of transition, compromising perceived academic progress. We report on the identity journeys of ECRs in a School of Education at one regional Australian university. Data w...
Australian primary mathematics classroom, 2020
Powerful Pedagogy, 2008
What does it mean to reconceptualise ourselves as co-learners? The preceding chapters have highli... more What does it mean to reconceptualise ourselves as co-learners? The preceding chapters have highlighted the ways in which my assumptions as a teacher educator have been both challenged and supported in my teaching and learning mathematics context. I now return to my initial impetus for interrupting our routine pedagogical practices; that being my desire to devolve my authority as teacher educator and encourage what I considered to be a shared power base in learning about teaching. I wanted to teach so that pre-service teachers learnt about teaching through their own experiences, and not mine. I wanted pre-service teachers to experience a democratic approach to determining their learning, and hence encourage a deeper sense of pre-service teacher ownership of their learning. This approach to power sharing required us to operate differently; to negotiate with one another; to consider our needs and wants and to identify ways to achieve these negotiated goals. In this chapter, I examine our collective learning about negotiation, power and the devel
Powerful Pedagogy, 2008
The discussion in this final chapter focuses on a key imperative associated with self-study of te... more The discussion in this final chapter focuses on a key imperative associated with self-study of teacher education practices: that of moving from personal, contextual and localised learning about the development of teacher educator pedagogy, to one which considers possible implications and recommendations for a broader educational/professional context. As such, this chapter represents possibilities for ways forward in teacher education. These possibilities have arisen from the close scrutiny and critical reflection of, and in my practice as, a mathematics teacher educator. I begin this chapter with a discussion of the key areas of connection to learning about teaching and conclude with six recommendations which emerged as a result of my self-study.
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 2021
It is a requirement for pre-service students in Initial Teacher Education programs in Australia t... more It is a requirement for pre-service students in Initial Teacher Education programs in Australia to successfully complete a teaching performance assessment (TPA) before they graduate. This follows similar requirements in other international contexts, particularly the United States, where standard-based assessment is also a focus. As members of the design team of a TPA, which was affirmed by a nationally appointed Expert Advisory Group in Australia, we examine the social processes contributing to the development of a high-stakes assessment task. Significant challenges emerged through the nature of the task and the responsibility developers had for ensuring validity and fairness, but also because the design team comprised of teacher educators from ten universities. Using collaborative self-study as a methodology we examine our reflexive narratives and find that collaborative leadership and key personal dispositions are at the heart of the design process. These enable us to identify, ex...
Proceedings of the Australian Association of Research in Education International Education Research Conference, Fremantle, December, 2001
This research poster introduces our research into the field of teacher education looking at visua... more This research poster introduces our research into the field of teacher education looking at visual and textual responses from Art Educators on the field of teacher education.
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Papers by Robyn Brandenburg
Call closes on 15 August, 2021