Partnership for authentic training for the profession: Collaborative and interdisciplinary teaching approach

This presentation reports on an evidence-based outcome approach adopted to enhance student engagement in Scripture and Church which all Education students at Notre Dame (Fremantle) seeking accreditation to teach in Catholic Schools must undertake. Although the course content was considered highly relevant by the accreditation body (Catholic Education, Western Australia) course evaluation reports persistently indicated that students were not fully satisfied with their learning opportunities. It appeared that a contributing factor for the lower scores was the lack of pedagogical guidance included in the course content to allow students to gainfully employ it in their future profession. The amalgamation of the Schools of Education and Philosophy and Theology into a faculty provided an opportunity for a new collaborative and interdisciplinary teaching approach involving subject matter experts of both schools namely theologians and educators3. The teaching approach could be summarised in the formula: Suitable Content + Relevant Pedagogy + Experiential Learning = Authentic Teaching1,2. Initial observations show an increase in student satisfaction which affirm the contribution of authentic teaching and learning towards the job-readiness of Education students especially those aspiring to be religious education teachers4. Plans are underway to include an experiential learning component for this group of students which hopes to show further improvement towards authentic teaching and learning to promote the employability of Notre Dame graduates. References 1Christian, B. (2020). In P. Kilgour & B. Christian (Eds.), Revealing Jesus in the learning environment: Making a world of difference (pp. 181-205). Cooranbong, Australia: Avondale Academic Press. 2Ashby, I., & Exter, M. (2018). Designing for Interdisciplinarity in Higher Education: Considerations for Instructional Designers. TechTrends, 63(2), 202–208. 3Gleeson, J. (2015). Critical challenges and dilemmas for Catholic Education Leadership internationally, International Studies in Catholic Education, 7:2, 145-161. 4Law-Davis, S. & Topliss, J. (2022). Perceptions of pre-service and graduate early childhood and primary teachers regarding their confidence in teaching Religious Education in Catholic primary schools. British Journal of Religious Education, articles in press