Koh, Eugenia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4562-7152, Hannan, Siobhan and Bao, Rachel Reimagining Praxis in Online Teacher Education: A Block Model Study on Embodied Learning in Digital Spaces. In: Reimagining Online Teacher Education: Presence, Praxis, and Possibility, 21 Jul 2026 - 21 Jul 2026, University of Southern Queensland.

Abstract

This presentation examines how embodied learning can be meaningfully enacted within online teacher education, where relational, interpersonal, and situated forms of knowing are often perceived as diminished. Drawing on theories of embodied learning (Wilson, 2002; Gibbs, 2006), the study argues that interactions supporting embodied learning need not be limited to shared physical spaces and can be intentionally designed within digital learning environments. While online contexts are frequently critiqued for their limitations in practice‑rich disciplines (Xu et al., 2022; Zhong et al., 2023),, this research demonstrates how embodied learning can be reconfigured through thoughtful curriculum design. Situated within the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, this design‑informed case study explores the redesign of two core units in an early childhood teacher education program delivered through an intensive four‑week online block model. The redesign addressed ongoing challenges related to theory–practice integration, student engagement, and compressed learning timelines. Guided by principles of constructive alignment (Biggs, 1996) and Universal Design for Learning (CAST, 2026), the units were redesigned to strengthen relational engagement, workplace‑contextualised learning, and practice‑simulated assessment. Data sources include unit design artefacts, assessment tasks, and teaching team reflections across two teaching blocks. Inductive analysis reveals how intentionally designed online dialogic spaces, dialogic assessments, and practice‑based tasks can enable students to enact, articulate, and justify professional decision‑making. The study contributes practical insights into how embodied, relational, and practice‑rich pedagogies can be sustained within online and intensive teacher education contexts.

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