Working under the auspices of JET's #OPENUPYOURTHINKING Researchers Bootcamp, a group of teacher educators from various universities across the country, under the leadership of Ass Prof Lee Ruszynak from Wits, developed a practice-focused learning module for student teachers that can be used towards partial fulfilment of Teaching Practice requirements under conditions that hinder school-based TP for students in pre-service teacher education programmes.
The module is based on the idea of pre-service teachers engaging with sets of choices that teachers need to make in every lesson they design and teach. The module requires students to observe and analyse classroom teaching - in classrooms ranging from rural to suburban - as well as materials and replaces the mentoring and coaching that ideally should take place during school-based TP.
The module is freely available to any HEI that needs to supplement TP requirements. It has the support of the Department of Basic Education (DBE), the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and the South African Council for Educators (SACE).
