Mediating pedagogical innovation via reflective practice: a comparison of pre-service and in-service teachers’ experiences

Recent school curriculum reform in New Zealand is promoting a shift from a teacher-led didactic pedagogical approach to a learner-centred and experiential model. However, facilitating changes to teachers’ practices in line with curriculum expectations is challenged by teachers’ existing beliefs and practices, which are often influenced by their own experiences as students in school. Focusing on one curriculum area, this article describes how one university has attempted to support curriculum innovation through two teacher education courses (one for pre-service and the other for in-service teachers) and presents data from an exploratory study into this attempt. The two courses contained a parallel scaffolded reflective written assignment (a reading log) designed to help teachers to reflect on their thinking and practice with regard to effective learner-centred and experiential pedagogy. Data from logs completed at the beginning and the end of the courses were used to determine and compare the extent to which shifts in thinking occurred for participants (pre-service n = 20; in-service n = 27). The article concludes by considering the implications for reflective practice as a means of supporting innovative practice.