Excellence in teaching

Di Gardiner has taught in the Graduate School of Education for more than twelve years and has been awarded four Excellence in Teaching Awards, the most recent in 2002. She has been the Director of Teaching since 1997 where she is responsible for coordinating the Graduate Diploma in Education program in addition to teaching duties.

My passion for teaching hasn’t wavered in more than 25 years (well maybe once or twice) and I still unashamedly admit to getting a real buzz from interacting with my students. They have enquiring minds, are prepared to challenge and debate theories and practices, and often display an outrageous sense of humour. In fact, I consider myself very fortunate to be teaching in the Graduate Diploma in Education program in the Faculty of Education where I am able to interact with both talented and supportive colleagues, and keen and capable students, many of them graduates of UWA. However, while preparing pre service teachers for their professional role is immensely enjoyable, it also brings unique challenges. In particular the need to develop simultaneously in the students the relevant knowledge and understandings, the multiple skills and competencies, and the professional values and attributes, while at the same time demonstrating practices and processes, demands a carefully crafted approach to teaching.

One of the principles of my teaching philosophy has always been to model best practice and this is particularly important in dealing with pre service teachers. As the secondary teachers of tomorrow, the consequences of my teaching impacts not only on them, but in turn on their students. So while it is important for them to be well educated teachers they also need to be enthusiastic, inspiring, supportive, nurturing professionals with excellent interpersonal and communication skills. A tall order for one short year! In planning learning experiences for my students, regardless of whether they are lectures to 200 students or workshops for 40, I am acutely aware that how I teach them must inform their own classroom practice as much as what I teach them. While this demands time, and creativity (which is not always spontaneous!) in preparation, I believe it has resulted in much better learning outcomes for my students.

One of the legacies of having had a long teaching career is that I have a vast array of pertinent anecdotes and stories to share, some of them based on my own spectacular failures, and many of them the diverse histories of their predecessors. I find my students appreciate the authenticity that the integration of these brings to their learning. I also use scenarios, problem solving, simulations, relevant research findings and video clips to make connections between their learning and their professional responsibilities. As tools of problem based learning these are very effective in helping the students develop as independent, critical thinkers. They reflect on how they might respond in similar circumstances, anticipate likely consequences and evaluate the possible outcomes. The development of these reflective, problem-solving skills provides them with the confidence and resilience to cope with the challenges of teaching. These strategies have been particularly useful when focusing on issues of ethical and professional behaviour in preparation for their work in schools. The profession demands the highest standards of pre service teachers, despite their lack of experience and little or no opportunity for socialization into the profession.

To incorporate all of the practical and professional needs of my students requires that the layers of knowledge, skills, strategies and approaches be woven together. While this is the challenging aspect of my teaching, the rewards are high. My students are prepared to take risks in their learning, they develop and share a wonderful enthusiasm for teaching and after one short year they are competent practitioners, designing and implementing learning experiences for their own students.