One year on : reflecting on 'focus days' : a teacher education developmental learning professional experience model : an initiative of the Bachelor of Teaching secondary professional experience program

A previous paper (Clarke, 2005) reported several critical issues related to the preparation of student teachers for their professional experience in schools. It reported on the need for teacher education programs to focus student teacher learning in the field in the early days of their school/university experience. Focus days were initially introduced in the secondary program at the University of Western Sydney to focus student teacher learning in the secondary school setting in specific areas such as concentrating on routine procedures in the initial stages of teaching practice, management of classrooms and behaviour management techniques. As well, the focus days emphasised the need to monitor student teacher progress and learning in relation to the sequence in which learning occurs, that is, from the routine procedures to the more complex tasks and skills associated with teaching. The introduction in 2004 of 'focus days' as a component of the Bachelor of Teaching secondary program at the University of Western Sydney saw changes introduced into the program in 2006 as a result of feedback received from academics, teachers and student teachers. This paper discusses the changes made to the initiative and reports on data gathered in relation to the effectiveness of the initiative and its impact on student teacher professional learning.