Excursions as an Immersion Pedagogy to Enhance Self-Directed Learning in Pre-Service Teacher Education

Abstract

Pre-service teacher education should be underpinned by pedagogies that would enhance self-directed learning. Future teachers need to create contexts in the classrooms that would enable learners to, as self-directed learners, identify individual learning goals for themselves, search for appropriate resources, and monitor and assess their own learning. Self-directed learning is essential to adequately prepare learners for a complex and changing world. This paper focuses on the affordances of a first-year student teacher excursion to scaffold learning and the development of a professional identity, and to address the ‘apprenticeship of observation’ that could prevent optimal learning. Pre-service teachers often enter the Bachelor of Education degree with a naïve understanding of the teaching profession. Furthermore, they come from school contexts that often do not enhance self-directed learning. The faculties of education from three different universities have engaged in excursions for first-year student teachers, where the student teachers, as Homo ludens (the playing human), engage in problem-based and cooperative learning activities, exploring the complexities of the teaching profession. Social constructivism underpins the excursion. Findings over 17 years (2007–2023) across three universities—the University of Johannesburg, North-West University and the University of the Western Cape—show that such immersion pedagogy is a high-impact educational practice, in which student teachers learn from practice. The findings show that the excursion provides pre-service teachers with a more nuanced understanding of the teaching profession, enhanced sensitivity to diversity, social justice and inclusivity, an understanding of the value of reflection, and a sense of belonging as a student in the higher education sector. The findings also highlight the affordances of excursions to enhance self-directed learning, an important attribute to ensure continued professional development. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions had to rethink teaching and learning, and this article also explores the transformation of face-to-face excursions to virtual online excursions.

1. Introduction

Student teachers often start their degree studies with a naïve understanding of the complexity of the teaching profession [1]. There are many reasons for this, one being the phenomenon that Lortie [2] coined: the ‘apprenticeship of observation’. Student teachers starting with their four-year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degrees have spent 12 years or more in school classrooms, observing teachers. Often, they observed poor teaching practices, such as transmission-mode teaching, that do not enhance self-directed learning [1]. Also, Rusznyak [3] observed that student teachers often “focus their efforts on planning fun-filled activities for the lessons they teach”, but that these lessons are often “marred by inaccurate, disjointed or incoherent content knowledge” (p. S107). Recent research [1] shows that a large percentage of first-year student teachers view themselves as prepared to start teaching immediately. In research from Petersen et al. [1], 7.3% of first-year student teachers felt completely prepared, 44.7% mostly prepared, 40.4% slightly prepared, and only 7.6% under-prepared to immediately teach. These naïve views of their knowledge and skills negatively impact self-directed learning, as student teachers might not see the need to set individual learning goals for themselves, amongst others, to develop their pedagogical content knowledge. It is important to sensitize student teachers to self-directed learning in the first year of study. If they develop or further enhance the attributes of self-directed learners, they would better cope with the demands of tertiary studies.

Lortie [2] alerts us to the fact that student teachers saw the ‘frontstage’ activities that their teachers engaged in, such as monitoring, correcting and lecturing, but did not necessarily see the ‘backstage’ activities that are a critical part of a teacher’s work: “Students do not obtain invitations to observe the teacher’s presentation from the wings; they are not aware of the teacher’s private goals and subjective considerations on classroom activities. Students seldom contribute to choosing goals, making arrangements, or post-teaching analyses. Therefore, they are not pushed to place the teacher’s activities in a pedagogically focused framework” (p. 62).

Another aspect that should be considered as part of higher education institutions’ first-year experience (FYE), is their integration into the faculty, and the development of a sense of belonging. Van Zyl [4] highlights that higher education institutions (HEIs) should provide effective interventions for first-year students, especially if they are first-generation university students, to adapt to the institutional climate and new ways of doing. Tinto’s model [5] makes it clear that academic success is dependent on the academic and social integration of students at the HEI. Such social integration encompasses meaningful relationships with faculty and other students [5].

To address all the above matters—the apprenticeship of observation, naïve understandings amongst first-year students about the complexity of the teaching profession, and their integration into the HEI, the Faculty of Education of the University of Johannesburg initiated an excursion for student teachers in 2007 [6]. This was later extended to the North-West University (NWU) (2016)—and to the University of the Western Cape (2023). Schön [7] speaks of creating low-risk settings for novice learning, and such excursions could provide conducive learning opportunities for pre-service teachers.

The University of Johannesburg (UJ) was a pioneer in introducing the first-year student excursion as a component of their B.Ed degree in 2007. The value of excursions in enhancing learning is well researched. However, the majority of studies prior to 2007 focused on excursions in school contexts, and the role of such excursions in pre-service teacher education only started to gain momentum when UJ introduced it. De Beer, Petersen and Dunbar-Krige [8] highlight a number of affordances of student teacher excursions. These authors show that excursions provide unique learning environments for personal and professional development. Burke Da Silva’s [9] research shows that excursions provide authentic learning opportunities to enhance creative thinking and problem solving. Such excursions, furthermore, hold the potential to improve student–lecturer relationships [8], and to sensitize student teachers towards cultural diversity and social justice issues [8]. Research carried out on the first-year student excursion at the NWU had a strong focus on how it could enhance self-directed learning [1]. Becoming a teacher in a complex 21st century, characterised by rapid and constant change, asks for self-directed qualities. Petersen, De Beer and Mentz [10] show that student teachers might be aware of their own learning needs, but that they often expect the pre-service (B.Ed.) programme to address these needs. Student teachers need to take own responsibility (as self-directed learners) for addressing their individual learning needs, and the excursion holds affordances to create such awareness [1,10]. The excursion also provides student teachers with an appreciation for the value of engaging pedagogies and pedagogy of play [10].

The literature on such excursions (in a pre-service teacher education context) mainly highlights two aspects: (a) the affordances of such excursions, as summarised above, and (b) the design principles for such excursions. In order to enhance self-directed learning in student teachers, excursions should be grounded in engaging pedagogies such as problem-based learning and cooperative learning [1,8,10,11,12]. Sebotsa, Petersen and Vaughn [11] show how gamification could be used to create awareness among student teachers of social justice issues. For such excursions to be effective, the learning environment created should supplement the often ‘clinical’ lecture room [8]. Engaging student teachers as Homo ludens (the playing human) [13] in learning tasks, might enhance their pedagogical knowledge [8].

The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the main research findings on student teacher excursions over the past 17 years. In this paper, findings are disseminated across four specific perspectives: (a) excursions as a vehicle to sensitize student teachers towards the importance of environmental education in the age of environmental emergencies [14]; (b) designing such programmes on sound theoretical frameworks and teaching and learning philosophies; (c) its affordances in an online learning environment; and (d) addressing the affective domain, and specific student needs.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Research Paradigm and Design

A pragmatic paradigm underpinned this research, as the focus was on studying a real-world pluralistic issue: pre-service teacher education. This convergent parallel mixed methods research [15] spanned a period of 17 years (2007–2023) across three HEIs. The quantitative and qualitative components were conducted concurrently, the two components were analysed independently, and the results/findings were interpreted together [15].

2.2. Research Population and Sampling

The research participants were first-year B.Ed students, embarking on their pre-service teacher education, as well as teacher educators at the three institutions (UJ, NWU and UWC). As 15,800 student teachers participated over the 17 years in multi-institutional contexts in excursions it is not possible to provide detailed biographical data. However, all the student teachers were in their first year of studies, attending classes at an urban university. The student teachers were diverse in terms of race and home language spoken. Although there were also older students, 98% of the student teachers were in the age group of 17–19 years. The excursions took place in the first semester (February–May), and this varied between the three HEIs. As the excursion was a compulsory component of the curriculum, all registered students participated in the excursions. Despite the large population (15,800), only students who provided consent participated in the research itself (n = 10,740). All students who provided consent completed the questionnaires. Student artefacts (such as newspapers that they created) were analysed, but again only where consent was provided (n = 2030) (student teachers compiled the newspapers in cooperative learning groups of 4–6 students). For the focus group interviews, student teachers were randomly selected, and between eight and ten students participated in a particular focus group interview. The number of focus groups per excursion was guided by the principle of achieving saturation. Striving for data saturation makes data collection robust and valid [16]. On average, three to four focus group interviews were conducted per excursion. In total, 272 focus group interviews were conducted over 17 years. Cohen, Manion and Morrison [17] claim that a focus group interview often generates much more diverse responses compared to an individual interview, and this was proven during this extended period of excursion research. For example, during the NWU excursions, students from the three different campuses (Potchefstroom, Mahikeng and Vaal) met for the first time, and during the focus group interviews, student teachers honestly reflected on their preconceived perspectives and stereotypes that they held, and how they often “othered” students. This would probably not have happened in individual interviews.

Individual interviews were conducted with teacher educators involved in the excursion programme. Purposive sampling was used to select teacher educators to participate in individual interviews. In total, 43 individual interviews with teacher educators were conducted.

2.3. Research Instruments and Data Analysis

The Self-directed Learning Instrument (SLDI) of Cheng et al. [18] informs the quantitative research, measuring the impact of such excursions on students’ self-directed learning. This SDLI instrument, applied as a pre-intervention and post-intervention questionnaire, was used during the North-West University excursions. Cronbach’s alpha values ranging between 0.7 and 0.85 over the years indicate the internal consistency of the SDLI. In order to establish whether the pre- and post-intervention tests highlighted practical significant differences, a paired sample test was done [1]. The differences were interpreted using Cohen’s d-value and Hedges’ correction. The SDLI measures self-directed learning across four domains: learning motivation, planning and implementing, self-monitoring and interpersonal communication [18].

Qualitative methods and instruments in this QUAL-quan research included focus group interviews with student teachers, individual interviews with teacher educators, open-ended questionnaires, observation, and the studying of artefacts such as student teachers’ newspaper reflections, as is shown in Figure 1. (At all three HEIs, students on the last day of the excursion reflected on their learning by compiling newspapers.) The interviews were transcribed and coded. Saldaña’s [19] coding technique was used to analyse the qualitative data, and codes assigned were grouped into categories, and then from the categories emerging themes were distilled. A rubric was used to analyse the artefacts (newspapers), and the instrument used criteria such as nuanced understanding of the complexity of the teaching profession, clear communication, logical argumentation, awareness of inclusivity, social justice, critical reflection, and setting professional development goals.

2.4. Validity and Reliability

Triangulation, member checks, an audit trail and providing rich, thick descriptions, were all used to promote the validity and reliability of the research [20]. Denzin [21] proposed four types of triangulation, namely the use of multiple methods, multiple sources of data, multiple investigators, and multiple theories to confirm emerging findings. These were all utilised in this research.

2.5. Ethical Considerations

The research adheres to ethical principles: all participants provided consent to participate in the research. Ethics approval was obtained from the relevant research ethics committees at the respective universities, as well as from the relevant gatekeeper authority at NWU (the Registrar). All student teachers were briefed on what their participation would entail, that they may withdraw from the research at any stage, and that anonymity would be ensured.

3. Results and Findings

The extensive findings over the 17-year period are presented in this paper under four subsections, as indicated earlier.

3.1. Excursions as a Vehicle to Sensitize Student Teachers towards the Importance of Environmental Education in the Age of Environmental Emergencies

The first (UJ) excursion in 2007 was hosted in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park in the eastern Free State Province of South Africa [6]. The three-day programme mainly focused on environmental education. For three years (2007–2009) student teachers engaged in cross-curricular activities in the national park, sensitising them to the role of the teacher in scaffolding learning to become environmentally literate citizens [6]. As of 2010, UJ’s Faculty of Education changed the focus to better align with its conceptual framework for teaching and learning, and to scaffold learning of student teachers as reflective practitioners. The site of the excursion also changed to the Achterbergh campsite on the West Rand of Johannesburg. As of 2010, the excursion programme focused on the development of a professional identity of the student teacher, and environmental education was removed from the programme. Teacher educators reflected positively on this change. One of the research participants stated, “The shift to an excursion programme highlighting the responsibilities of the teacher as a caring professional and reflective practitioner, aligns so much better with the B.Ed curriculum. I did not like the strong focus on environmental education” (UJ teacher educator, 2011).

In hindsight, the excursion programme lost a valuable component with this change. It is said that the next World War will be fought over water, and it is becoming critical to infuse environmental education into all school subjects, to address environmental literacy in young people. It is therefore important to also address environmental education in pre-service teacher education programmes. Teachers need to develop the knowledge and skills to scaffold learners’ cross-disciplinary and complex thinking. Gandolfi [14] shows that in an age of environmental emergencies (if one considers all the environmental catastrophes that faced humankind in the last decade), a more meaningful engagement with environmental issues is needed. One could argue that this could be done in the lecture hall, but as Dunlop and Rushton [22] indicate, content-based approaches often lead to the inability to engage with complex socio-political, moral and ethical aspects related to the environment. Therefore, the excursion as immersion pedagogy holds many affordances to address environmental education effectively in pre-service teacher education (and also address the affective domain of learning). The UJ findings (2007–2009) highlight this. Students indicated that the excursion assisted them in developing the knowledge and skills to infuse environmental education into different school subjects. A few student teacher responses were: “I never thought that I, as a language teacher, have to teach about environmental issues. I now know how I can give my learners comprehension tests about important environmental issues” (UJ student, 2008). Another student commented, “The excursion made me realize what an important responsibility we have as teachers to make learners aware of environmental issues, and caring for our fragile planet” (UJ student, 2008).

3.2. Designing Excursion Programmes on Sound Theoretical Frameworks and Teaching and Learning Philosophies

The University of Johannesburg’s Faculty of Education adopted a framework for teaching and learning in 2008 which included aspects such as becoming a caring teacher, managing learner diversity, and being a reflective teacher [6]. It was underpinned by critical education theory, and how a teacher’s beliefs about children, authority, teaching and learning influence the practice in the classroom [23]. Critical theory and Giroux’s [24] view that critical education is moved by the passion to create a just society that ‘links struggle to a new set of human possibilities’ (p. 242), therefore, also infiltrated the excursion curriculum from 2010. In line with the framework for teaching and learning, emphasis was placed on Nodding’s relational ethic and care [25] and on critical reflection [7]. This signalled a departure from the original focus on environmental education, and the excursion became an extension of the formal B.Ed curriculum.

When the excursion migrated to the North-West University in 2016, the UJ conceptual framework for the excursion was maintained, but a stronger focus was placed on self-directed learning (SDL). The classic definition of Knowles [26] was used as a design principle in customising the excursion for NWU students: SDL is ‘the process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the assistance of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating outcomes’ (p. 19). Student teachers were asked to critically reflect and set professional learning goals for themselves, based on their experiences of participating in the excursion learning activities.

In 2023 the University of the Western Cape also started to engage in first-year excursions for student teachers. A pilot project was done with the first-year B.Ed. Foundation Phase students. The NWU excursion curriculum was followed in an adapted form.

3.2.1. The Excursion Developed Sensitivity to Cultural Diversity

The first UJ excursion took place 13 years after South Africa became a democracy. It would be naïve to think that, in such a young democracy, where so many people still carried the scars caused by an oppressive apartheid regime, all student teachers would demonstrate the necessary relational ethic, care and understanding of the task of improving the status of marginalised groups [8,27,28]. Student teachers had to, through the excursion programme, be made aware of the practices, attitudes and beliefs that limit the status and potential of marginalised groups [28]. Student teachers also had to reflect on their own beliefs in terms of cultural diversity, and had to ask those difficult questions, such as, “Am I racist?” and “Am I homophobic?”. The excursion over the years had been characterised by ‘dramatical collisions’, as explained by De Beer and Henning [28]. These authors refer to Veresov [29], who states that conflict often results in enhanced learning.

This is an opportune moment to discuss the theoretical framework, and social constructivism, underpinning the excursion. Veresov, a leading scholar in social constructivism, argues that Western scholars do not fully understand the richness of Vygotsky’s [30] theory of the zone of proximal development (ZPD). During the excursion, student teacher learning is scaffolded across the ZPD (from actual to potential development), using different semiotic tools (see Section 3.2.2). Students first (in a cooperative learning fashion) construct knowledge in social groups, and then later this is internalised (individualised). Vygotsky used the word ‘category’ when he referred to the interpsychological- and intrapsychological levels on which learning takes place. The category should be traced back to the context of pre-revolutionary Russian theatre [29] where the word meant a ‘dramatic event’, or the ‘collision of characters on the stage’. This ‘hidden meaning’ of Vygotsky’s work escaped many Western scholars [29]. The excursion, where students for three days had to share dormitories, and had to engage with people with different cultures, religions and sexual orientations, often lead to conflict. De Beer and Henning [28] refer to student teachers ‘playing out social dramatical collisions’ (p. 203). One such ‘dramatical collision’ is described below.

De Beer, Petersen and Dunbar-Krige [8] refer to an incident that took place during the Golden Gate UJ excursion. As part of a hike in the national park, students were allowed to swim across a very deep cave pool. A black female student swam across the pool, but when she reached the other side, she lost her nerve, and could not swim back. A white female student, who had provincial colours in swimming, went to her rescue and helped her to swim back to the other side. This was captured in a cellphone video by one of the other students (p. 105). The white heroine was extremely upset and demanded that the video be deleted immediately. That evening the author spoke to her. She had the following to say about this incident: “I am so ashamed of my behaviour. However, it made me realise that I have to deal with deep-rooted issues, that will affect my job as a teacher one day. When I saw the video, I immediately thought of my father disapproving that I risked my own life saving that of a black student. I grew up in a very racist family, and I realized today that I will have to stand up to my own beliefs” (UJ student, 2009). This narrative gives testimony to the student teacher’s confusion about her own racialised self. The excursion with such a ‘dramatical collision’ prompted reflection in the student, that she needed to address this aspect if she want to be an inclusive teacher in a multicultural classroom.

Both at UJ and at NWU, the data revealed that the excursion was seen by students as an effective vehicle to sensitize them about diversity and social justice. These tensions often arose due to differences in religious beliefs and sexual orientation. A concurrent theme emerging from the data through the 17 years is that student teachers realize not to ‘other’ (label) people, and to be aware of personal biases, as can be seen in the following student comments: “I have learned to treat people the same way because I have issues or treating other people like gays, lesbians like…I had a problem with them but I am okay because we are one, you know, we are one” (NWU student, 2018). Another student commented, “We learned that although each culture is unique, they do have something in common- proudly South African. This also made us aware of the number of different cultures we will have in our classrooms one day. Every unique culture must be treated with respect. Ubuntu!” (NWU student, 2019). Many student teachers reflected on the fact that a teacher should be inclusive, respecting different religious views: “It was difficult at first for me to connect with some of the Muslim students. One of them was upset with me, when I helped myself to food at the Muslim food station. I should have handled the situation better. I now understand that I did not show the necessary respect and courtesy towards the student, due to my ignorance of the Islam faith. The conflict made me reflect on my own status as an inclusive teacher” (NWU student, interview, 2018).

As the main facilitator during the past 17 years of excursions (at all three HEIs), the author made a mind shift in terms of these ‘dramatical collisions’. In the first few years, he wanted these excursions to be harmonious and ‘perfect’. When conflict between students (which mainly arose along three strands: race, religion and sexual orientation) emerged, he in the beginning years was most upset and tried to resolve it immediately, without thinking of it as a learning opportunity. In later years he realised that these conflicts should be welcomed, as they resulted in embodied cognition and powerful learning. The excursion as an immersion pedagogy provides student teachers the opportunity to critically reflect on their worldviews and biases, and to juxtapose this to the leitmotif of the excursion, namely being a “super teacher”.

3.2.2. The Excursion Exposed Student Teachers to Different Semiotic Tools for Teaching and Learning

Research shows that many student teachers enter the B.Ed degree with limited exposure to engaging pedagogies that would foster SDL [1]. A major reason for this is the dominance of transmission-mode (‘chalk and talk’) approaches that characterise many classrooms [1,8]. During the excursion programme, student teachers engage with learning as Homo ludens [13], the ‘playing human’, and come to understand the affordances of a pedagogy of play. All of the excursion learning activities are underpinned by engaging pedagogies such as cooperative- and problem-based learning, and when HEIs started to experiment with virtual online excursions due to the COVID-19 pandemic (see Section 3.3), this pedagogy of play was refined into gamification. Simulation games and drama activities (dramatizing case studies) have become the backbone of the excursion programme. Students responded very positively to such a pedagogy of play, as can be seen in some of the student responses. (One of the learning activities is the Famine and Abundance Game [11], where every student is (randomly) issued a passport of a country. Based on the Human Development Index of that country, the student receives an amount of money that can be used to purchase food at the ‘shop’ (items such as potato chips, chocolate, etc.). The game has been contextualised to show the inequality between developing and highly industrialised countries [11]. A student from a Scandinavian country will be able to buy at her heart’s desire, whereas a war-ridden African country passport holder will not be able to afford anything. The game has been designed to result in a flair-up of emotions, or ‘dramatical collisions’).

One student commented, “After I reflected on the activity, I saw the relevance of the Famine and Abundance game that we played. It alerted us to the “haves” and “have-nots” in an unequal society, and that we as teachers should be aware of this, and that we should also be change agents”. (NWU student, 2021). Another student reflected that “I realised that I, coming from a privileged background, should not be blind to the suffering of many learners, who live under challenging conditions” (NWU student, 2021).

3.2.3. The Excursion Sensitised Students to Self-Directed Learning

A strong theme that emerged from the data, is that the excursion holds affordances to enhance self-directed learning. This is the case for both face-to-face excursions and virtual online excursions. In

Table 1. The affordances of excursions to enhance self-directed learning.

Category	Mean (Pre)	Mean (Post)	STD (Pre)	STD (Post)	p-Value	Cohen d-Value	Hedges Correction
LM	4.43	4.75	0.54	0.32	<0.001	0.53	0.54
PI	4.13	4.37	0.66	0.58	0.001	0.61	0.62
SM	4.16	4.43	0.63	0.60	<0.001	0.62	0.62
IC	4.14	4.46	0.72	0.52	<0.001	0.73	0.73

Key: LM: learning motivation; PI: planning and implementing; SM: self-monitoring; IC: interpersonal communication (acknowledgment: Petersen, Mentz and De Beer [1] (p. 91)).

the difference in pre-excursion and post-excursion tests are shown for a cohort of 828 NWU students in 2021. Students answered the SDLI of Cheng et al. [18] prior to the excursion, and then again after the excursion. There was a practical significant difference of medium effect in all four categories in the SDLI, namely learning motivation (LM), planning and implementing (PI), self-monitoring (SM) and interpersonal communication (IC) [1].

The SDLI focuses on SDL in four categories, namely learning motivation, planning and implementing, self-monitoring, and interpersonal communication. The data shows practical significant differences in all four categories, with the biggest difference in interpersonal communication, arguably because of the strong emphasis on cooperative learning [1].

3.2.4. The Excursion Sensitised Students to the Importance of Reflection

The theoretical framework for pre-service teacher education at all three HEIs places a big emphasis on reflection, and this is centre-stage during the excursion. Students (in cooperative learning groups) reflected on the excursion programme by producing newspapers. At UJ students also had to submit personal portfolios after the excursion. The UWC introduced a ‘walk and share’ activity, where two students walked in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve near Grabouw (the site of the excursion), sharing their reflections with each other. From the data, it is clear that students came to understand the value of reflection in professional development. A UJ student commented ”When I heard that we need to submit a portfolio, I was rather upset, as I saw it as a waste of time. However, I so enjoyed compiling the portfolio, and I realised that I have learned so much during the three days. The making of the clay symbols made me reflect on my own teaching philosophy, and I realised that I do not want to be a boring teacher such as many of the teachers I had in school. I also want to use games and play, as I saw how effective it can be the last few days”. The newspapers that students created also provided rich data. One group of student teachers reflected on the fact that ignorance often leads to marginalisation: “On the bus to the camp, we were talking about the Mafikeng campus students. We spoke about the fact that they burned down a building on campus, and that we should rather avoid them during the camp. During the three days, we realised how wrong we were. Like us, they were keen to become super teachers, and we could see how dedicated and passionate they are. We realised that we were biased. We made many new friends” (Group of Potchefstroom student teachers reflecting in their newspaper, 2019). Such reflection assists student teachers in envisaging a professional trajectory for themselves.

3.3. Excursions Hold Affordances in Pre-Service Teacher Education in Both Face-to-Face and Online (Virtual) Learning Environments

Since 2007 the first-year excursions were held in face-to-face (f2f) mode. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the NWU had to rethink the mode of delivery, as contact tuition was not possible. The NWU decided in 2021 to present a two-day virtual online excursion. One of the design principles of these virtual online excursions was to stay true to the f2f design: utilising a pedagogy of play, and emphasising cooperative- and problem-based learning, to promote self-directed learning. Using a Zoom platform, a synchronous virtual excursion programme was developed. The two-day programme started with showing a 20 min video, in which the principal of a dysfunctional school portrayed (through a video diary) her concerns. An ill-structured problem was therefore presented to the students. Using the breakaway group function on the Zoom platform, students then met (in groups of four) with fellow students, and discussed the problems in this fictitious school, and possible solutions. The five essential elements of cooperative learning as identified by Johnson and Johnson [31] underpinned this cooperative learning. These elements are (a) positive interdependence, (b) individual accountability, (c) face-to-face promotive interaction, (d) interpersonal and small-group skills, and (e) group processing. After such a cooperative learning session, students would provide (live) feedback to the facilitators, who were in a studio (“green room”) in Potchefstroom. The facilitators (teacher educators) engaged with the student feedback, and this often resulted in very engaging discussions.

De Beer, Petersen and Conley [12] emphasise that ‘withitness’, the construct of Kounin [32], is of the utmost importance in such virtual online learning spaces. ‘Withitness’ refers to the ability of a teacher/facilitator to be aware of what is going on in the classroom, and being aware of the dynamics underpinning teaching and learning in a particular context. Such ‘withitness’ becomes tricky in an online environment, but the data showed that it was achieved [12]. There are three core elements in the community of inquiry framework [33] for online learning, namely cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence, and the NWU data has shown that such compliance could ensure sufficient ‘withitness’ in an online learning environment.

The data obtained indicated that online virtual excursions hold similar affordances as f2f excursions. One student commented, “The virtual excursion was a life-changing excursion, I learnt more about the teacher I am becoming. As much as I wished and prayed that it could have been a face-to-face excursion, I enjoyed every little bit of the excursion” (NWU student, 2021) [12]. Another student commented on the affective outcomes of the excursion: “…it showed me that there is more to a teacher than what I thought. I now know that a teacher is not only the person who just write on the chalkboard and explains but rather the person that goes an extra mile in order to ensure the success of the learners. The excursion was an eye-opener and it made the love of teaching to really escalate and to be more eager than never before” (NWU student, 2021) [12]. Just like f2f excursions, virtual online excursions also provide student teachers with a more nuanced understanding of the teaching profession.

3.4. Addressing the Affective Domain, and Specific Student Needs

As this is an overview article on the rhizomic development of the excursion over a period of 17 years, it is not possible to provide a comprehensive discussion of all the findings related to the affordances of excursions in pre-service teacher education. One major theme, however, is the affective gains, and confirming to students that they have made the right career choice. It is important to note that a very personalised learning space is created by the excursion, which is characterised by more informal and collegial relationships between students and staff (teacher educators) [8]. This often provides a platform for student teachers to ‘open up’, and discuss personal problems or concerns with the teacher educators. One example is the UWC 2023 f2f excursion, in which B.Ed Foundation Phase students participated. The 2023 cohort of Foundation Phase students included a healthy number of male students (for a specialisation that predominantly attracts female students). In informal discussions with the male students afterward, they indicated that they were unsure whether they made the right career choice, but that the excursion gave them the peace of mind that they chose well, and that they were looking forward to teaching in the Foundation Phase. One particular student shared his anxiety with staff members during the excursion on becoming a teacher, since he gets epileptic seizures. This sharing of insecurities assisted the staff to refer him to receive professional help. The excursion provides a learning environment that vastly differs from the more sterile lecture hall on campus [8]. Students often view the lecture hall as ‘sterile’, characterised by ‘hierarchical structures of authority’ and abstract discourse [8]. In contrast, the excursion is characterised by more informal relationships and pedagogy of play. A student commented, “I really enjoyed the excursion. The professors were informative, clearly communicated all information and tasks, and were extremely kind” (NWU student, 2021). Another student commented “I enjoyed the professors. They had a good sense of humour and communicated with us in a manner which made us feel like their equals” (NWU student, 2021) [12].

4. Discussion

As illustrated in this paper, the excursion over the past 17 years was characterised by a rhizomic development to address some of the perennial problems facing pre-service teacher education. Research done over an extensive period, indicates that the excursion fosters good relationships between students and lecturers, provides students with the tools to negotiate rules of interaction in culturally diverse groupings, develops sensitivity for cultural diversity, exposes student teachers to diverse semiotic tools for teaching and learning [8], and enhances self-directed learning [1,10]. The fact that the excursion migrated from UJ to two other HEIs (NWU and UWC) speaks of its value in providing student teachers with a unique learning experience. Huber and Hutchings [34] state that HEIs should guard that their qualifications are not just defined in terms of modules and credits, but most importantly by a vision of what the degree should mean. So often, teacher education institutions are criticised for being too theoretical, and not adequately preparing student teachers for practice- the so-called ‘theory–practice divide’ [35]. This theory–practice divide leads to many novice teachers experiencing a ‘practice shock’ when faced with the reality of teaching. The excursion, building on immersion pedagogy, requires student teachers to not only think like teachers but also act like teachers [36]. The excursion, building on engaging pedagogies, confront student teachers with the unknown and the unfamiliar, set the table for self-directed learning, and assists them in finding their own voice and ‘footing’ as future teachers.

It became clear over the years that such excursions should be embedded in sound frameworks. Social constructivism provides a good theoretical framework, and the excursion provides semiotic tools for scaffolding learning across the zone of proximal development [30]. A unique feature of excursions is the fact that it often takes students out of their comfort zone and immerses them in contexts conducive to ‘dramatical collisions’ [29].

One could ask why excursions are not more common in the sector. One reason is that such professional development excursions ask for creative engineering of learning programmes, as it often ‘goes against the grain of many structural features of campus life’ [34] (p. 4). Often such excursions are disruptive in terms of the official timetable and university calendar. Face-to-face excursions come at a huge financial cost (student transport to the venue, accommodation, food, and teaching and learning resources). There is also the danger of accidents, both when travelling to the excursion site, and while engaging in activities outdoors. Likewise, virtual online excursions also present challenges, amongst others, the cost of data for students, and the impact of load shedding on connectivity.

HEIs are often viewed as ‘aloof within the ivory tower, espousing ideals and the principles that govern them’ [37] (p. 1400). The excursion discussed in this paper, as a learning from practice initiative, is a high-impact intervention that holds affordances to address the theory–practice divide. Finding solutions to the challenges experienced when implementing excursions might therefore be worth our while.

One of the limitations of this research is that it only focuses on the first-year B.Ed student experience. Such excursions might hold significant affordances in the senior years, as third- and fourth-year student teachers would have gained much experience during their school practicums/work-integrated learning. This is an avenue for future research.

5. Conclusions

In 2007 UJ started with nascent research on the affordances of excursions in pre-service teacher education [6]. Research during the past 17 years provided rich data on how the excursion provides a different learning space, which could supplement the more formal (and clinical) university classroom [1,6,8,12,28]. The excursion, with its ‘dramatical collisions’ [29], provides a fertile learning space for student teachers to reflect on their own biases and professional development. The student excursion greatly enhances the first-year experience of student teachers. Not only does it provide a sense of belonging amongst first-year student teachers, but it also scaffolds learning that results in a more nuanced understanding of the complexity of the teaching profession [1,8,10]. Data over the past 17 years have shown that the excursion could address the ‘apprenticeship of observation’ [2], and better equip the neophyte teacher for the ‘coalface of practice’. As an immersion pedagogy, the excursion holds affordances to bridge the theory–practice divide. The excursion also holds much potential to sensitize student teachers toward the significance of environmental education in the age of environmental emergencies. The findings over the 17 years highlight the importance of sound theoretical frameworks and teaching and learning philosophies that should underpin the excursion programme. Nascent research on redesigning the excursion for an online and virtual platform shows much promise [12]. When reimagining the excursion as a virtual and online programme, aspects such as cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence should be ensured.