Researcher Highlights
Passions, and pedagogies: Teaching and learning in the 21st century

Facilitating the acquisition of globally relevant knowledge, beliefs and skills, Associate Professor Ruth Reynolds is seeking to refine the focus of Australian primary school education.

A classroom teacher for 20 years, Associate Professor Ruth Reynolds from the Central Coast campus, is an expert on educating children.

"My research is around my teaching and my teaching is in the area of Humanities and Social Sciences in primary school," the esteemed teacher-educator explains.

Yet Ruth's PhD studies also investigated the links across the various Humanities and Social Science discipline and interdisciplinary studies, to clarify the key facets of this Australian Curriculum learning area in secondary schools. In short, her academic experience stretches from Kindergarten to Senior Secondary School.

"I explore and evaluate the best ways to teach geography, history, civics and citizenship, economics and business studies, cultural studies and other subjects in the field," she conveys.

"And I do this with a global perspective."

"The focus of this area is active citizenship, learning the skills and values to be 21^st century global citizens."

Ruth's expertise in this area has resulted in her consultancy in NSW primary curriculum development. This has extended to national curriculum initiatives in History education, Geography education, Civics and Citizenship education, Sustainability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studies. Author of 17 books for children, teachers, teacher educators and academics, her influence is world-wide.

Pictures worth a thousand words

A key area of interest that developed from her PhD and consultancy work has been the use of maps and pictures with children to explore and develop intercultural understanding.

"For 21^st century living, we need to learn with other people and about other people," the social science researcher insists.

"Maps can help with this."

Ruth worked with colleagues at the University of Umea in Sweden throughout the exercise, simultaneously endeavouring to change stereotyped perceptions of various ethnicities and places. The creative collaborator "compared and contrasted" the skewed perceptions of children in Sweden with the skewed perceptions of children in Australia, unearthing some "very interesting" similarities and differences.

"The former knew about Denmark and other Nordic countries," she reveals.

"They were aware of Australia too."

"Ours, on the other hand, knew very little about close neighbours, such as New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, and were uninformed about Scandinavia."

"Both had particular views of the US, and these weren't always positive."

With the East and Africa "off their radar completely," Ruth subsequently sought to devise a creative arts program and encourage intercultural associations between continents. To this end she worked with the local African community.

"It's a really important undertaking…I want to develop curriculum that leads to improvements in problematic prejudicial behaviours."

A whole new world

Ruth is involved with the University of Newcastle's impressive Global Education Research and Training Group. Passionate and pioneering as its proud director, she is determined to move teaching efforts "out of the classroom" and into a more "authentic" environment – the real world.

"We're building the global awareness and ability to implement 21^stcentury globally relevant curriculum of pre-service teachers," she asserts.

"We're experimenting with new pedagogies, such as ICT and social media."

"It's all about giving primary school-aged children a chance to collaborate and participate and engage with the world."

Members of this research group present their work in multiple venues around the world and have recently published an edited volume including 11 international authors.

As editor of US-based National Council of Social Studies' Journal of International Social Studies, Ruth provides a platform for international researchers to address curriculum and pedagogy across the globe.

Taking her leadership role even further, Ruth has recently completed a school internship Study Abroad trip to China. Together with a fellow academic, the prolific publisher and her group of eager student teachers travelled to Shanghai and Beijing in October 2015, engaging with children from the cities' multiple different schools through a handful of carefully planned interactive sessions.

"It was very interesting to teach those from another culture," she muses.

"We'll definitely be seeking to incorporate some of what they do into our Australian curriculum, and they learned from us too."

"It is an exciting time for teaching," Ruth exclaims passionately.

"Our well educated teachers from the University of Newcastle are at the forefront of globally connected excellent teaching."

"Research into how to do it even better is much needed."