Signing on to take part in Bush Blitz TeachLive (BBTL) is an easy decision for many teacher applicants. The opportunity to be a scientist's field-assistant and to beam the experience back to students in the classroom is an enticing one. Yet the reality of an expedition often far exceeds the initial expectation. This article describes the…

When most people think "King Island," they think of a place synonymous with premium Australian dairy products. But hidden away from the lush, green pastures of grazing cows is an island teeming with invertebrate and plant species. You could probably eat some of those too, but that wasn't the intent of the Bush Blitzers who set off to…

This paper applies a conceptual model for work-integrated learning (WIL) in a multidisciplinary sports degree program. Two examples of WIL in sport will be used to illustrate how the conceptual WIL model is being operationalized. The implications for practice are that curriculum design must recognize a highly flexible approach to the nature of…

International fieldschools to developing countries have become an important component of the university curriculum because they provide experiential learning and research skills, while also contributing a range of soft skills such as resilience, empathy, resourcefulness, critical thinking, and cross-cultural communication. Yet, with the increasing…

There have been persistent concerns over teacher pre-service education for decades. The basic model of university or college coursework plus practice teaching has been found wanting. Despite attempts to rectify this, beginning teachers in Australia rate themselves as not being well prepared when they begin full-time teaching. This article examines…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is one of a suite of strategies based on the premise that placing students at the centre of the learning process ultimately improves skills, knowledge and understanding. To date, however, there remain relatively few reports on the application of PBL within geography curricula. This paper traces the evolution of a PBL…

Students undertaking field-based learning, in which they work with Indigenous people in Northern Australia, describe a profound learning experience redolent with emotion. Inspired, challenged and transformed, the students are compelled in ways that require them to interrogate their own selves and taken-for-granted beliefs. In this paper, we draw…

In June 2008, 10 pre-service teachers and 2 teacher educators from Edith Cowan University (ECU) participated in an existing community education program in rural and remote Indigenous communities in central Australia. From an intrepid start with a mountain of overloaded baggage and camping cutlery setting off the scanning machine at the airport,…

The conduct of fieldwork is an adventure, a voyage into the unknown. The author has several times had the opportunity to reflect on his fieldwork, which was most often conducted among remote Indigenous groups, initially in Australia and then wider afield in Thailand, the Philippines, and Africa. He is struck by the significant amount of time,…

Discusses the state of library education in Australia and refutes a previous article that suggested a loss of quality. Topics include faculty staffing questions; information science education versus library education; theoretical versus practical knowledge; and offering opportunities for fieldwork. (LRW)

Though education for librarianship is contentious, the literature reveals a renewed emphasis on the value of practicum components. This article examines fieldwork in library education at Queensland University of Technology in Australia, highlighting the rationale for fieldwork, its aims and objectives, problems of implementation, benefits, and…

Discusses fieldwork in library and information science education and reviews some of the current issues influencing employers' support for fieldwork placement, with specific reference to the Queensland Institute of Technology library's approach to fieldwork placement and management. Topics include time investment, organizational issues, and…

Edited by three authorities in the field, this "Handbook" presents contributions from experts across the world who report the cutting-edge of international research. It is ground-breaking in its holistic, evidence-informed account that aims to synthesize key messages for policy and practice in English, language and literacy teaching. A…

The Work-Study Innovative Teaching Programme (WSITP) developed during 1975-1977 at Churchlands College in Western Australia proposes a developmental approach to continuous long-term practice teaching and concurrent related lecture experiences as a means of assisting student teachers in their search for personal meaning about teaching and about…

An interdisciplinary sustainable design project that combines membrane technology with renewable energy to provide water for remote communities and developing countries was offered to students for voluntary participation. Through continuous design stages and improvements on several prototypes, laboratory testing and several field trials in…