A significant goal of teacher education is to support the development of reflective practitioners.
This intention, however, is not easily achieved when after-the-fact recall and reporting are key features of pre-service teacher learning rather than critique and contemplation.
This research reports on a small-scale pilot study evaluating a novel approach to help pre-service teachers develop reflective skills in order to both understand and address the requirements of the profession.
The approach involved a set of Conversation Cards with a series of question-based prompts directly linked to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APSTs) and designed to enhance reflective conversations.
Focus group interview discussions unveiled the surprising ways in which the pre-service teachers used the question prompts, not only as tools for reflection but for planning lessons and preparing for professional discussions with mentors.
This research provides insight into a creative and meaningful approach for integrating reflection, professional standards and classroom practice through professional experience.