Reflective practice plays a significant role in effective teaching. However, for pre-service teachers (PSTs), it can be a difficult process to not only think reflectively but to understand its importance in their teaching practice. This research focused on the development of a framework for written reflective practice embedded within professional experience (PEx) units. In tutorials, PSTs were provided with video technology to film themselves performing teaching tasks. A reflective framework provided a structure to assist in reflecting on the teaching task. Dialogical teaching and coaching by tutors as well as peer discussion scaffolded the reflective process. At the end of the semester, PSTs and tutors were invited to complete a survey on the reflective processes they had used. This paper focuses on the development of the reflective framework and the feedback received on the use of the framework as a reflective tool. The findings reveal that the PSTs and most tutors found the format useful in structuring reflective practice. The framework and its repeated use over time has potential to build professional knowledge and skills and sustain ongoing reflective practice into the PSTs professional careers.

This article discusses the implementation of an ePortfolio-based learning environment with Bachelor of Education students. The intention was for the platform to be an agency for the development of reflection. The environment scaffolded reflection through (1) exemplars of good practice, (2) the opportunity for discussions and (3) activities to support the development of reflection. There were issues within the research around the introduction of the platform at the particular stage of the students’ degrees but the environment was successful in the provision of a teaching and learning platform. The findings provided design principles for a model to guide the development of similar learning environments including (1) the need for the ePortfolio platform to be embedded across the degree programme with (2) regular tasks for the students to complete that (3) have a clear purpose that the students are aware of and (4) utilise interaction patterns that mimic the structures of social media.

Science education in the early years has been found to be lacking when compared to other content areas, specifically numeracy and literacy. It has been suggested that this lack of opportunity for young children to learn science is due to educator’s lack of confidence to teach science, fuelled by concerns regarding a reduced understanding of science concepts. For young children, however, science is everywhere and is embedded in all aspects of their lives as they explore and interact to make sense of the world around them. Given this natural connection to science, it is important for educators to notice and respond to children’s interest to encourage science learning to occur. This paper reports on an exploratory research study in which children took the leading role in inquiry-based interactions during off-site school days that took place within a metropolitan city zoo. Through the collection of observations and interactions with the research, several inquiries were documented. The children challenged the educators within the program to follow up on questions posed by them and engage the children across a broad age range in an inquiry to answer these questions.

An increased focus on research with rather than on or of participants provides challenges with the implementation of such research with children. This extends to participatory practices in which co-design is implemented towards developing a technology-based product or solving a problem particularly in the domain of health literacy. This systematic scoping review aimed to examine the practices of co-design with children to inform an interdisciplinary research team as they embarked on the development of a digital health literacy tool for young learners. While there were limited sources identified in the review (n = 11), it was ascertained the process of co-design is not clearly understood by all, and most research described implementation with older children or youth. A range of methods for co-design were identified, and the importance of an interdisciplinary approach was highlighted. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for successful co-design with young children towards digital products or solutions to problems that can be applied in health and other fields.

EPortfolios are gaining momentum as a preferred way for graduates to demonstrate current and developing capabilities against industry standards. Effective training is essential for new graduates to produce quality and competitive ePortfolios. This research focused on the perspective of pre-service teachers on the effectiveness of learning opportunities provided to increase confidence and skills in developing an ePortfolio in an Australian four-year undergraduate degree. The initial phase of this research employed a survey to examine the perspective of 132 second-year and 105 third-year pre-service teachers. Results indicated that for the second-year cohort there was a minimal increase in the levels of confidence across all areas. In contrast, the third-year pre-service teachers showed some increase in confidence in developing an ePortfolio and understanding its purpose. While the findings from this study emphasised the pre-service teachers’ need for ongoing hands-on support, it also highlighted their reluctance to seek support at an independent level.

Standardized testing of academic knowledge is common in many developed countries. In Australia, the process implemented is the National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). The stand-alone tests were introduced in 2008 for several educational and political reasons, and since that time, the results of this assessment have been used beyond their initial purpose and brought about an unintended consequence of making the tests high-stakes. The pressure of these assessments has the potential to impact student’s wellbeing, but little research has been done in this area and even less where the student’s perspectives are considered. This research examined the impact of NAPLAN testing on the wellbeing of 1,015 students in Years 3 and 5 across 23 school sites within metropolitan Perth in Western Australia through three iterations. This research gave students the opportunity to draw or write how they felt about NAPLAN as a participatory approach to hearing children’s voices in research. This paper reports on the two-stage analysis of the 917 drawn images provided. Stage 1 analysis by two researchers categorized the images as initially positive, negative, or mixed/neutral and identified the impact across the cohorts of students was not significantly negative with an average of 22.5% of the images coded as negative. Stage 2 involved detailed systematic content analysis examining the actors, locations, and emotions of the drawings, which indicated high levels of stress and anxiety for a small number of these students. It was evident that the tests can have a negative impact on the wellbeing of some students and this finding requires consideration by policymakers and curriculum teams engaged with writing, implementing, and assessing NAPLAN as well as those using the results for both intended and unintended purposes.