Preservice teachers' community experience

The SWiRL program offers preservice teachers an immersive professional experience in remote Northern Territory schools.

Over four weeks, participants collaborate with students, educators, and community members to build literacy through storytelling, cultural exchange, and two-way learning.

Life in the SWiRL Program

A group of SWiRL school students greeting the bus in Urapunga a remote community in the NT
VU in the Northern Territory
Each year, preservice teachers from Victoria University travel to remote Northern Territory communities to participate in a teaching and learning experience designed to strengthen connections between education, culture, and community. The SWiRL program fosters collaboration between preservice teachers, school staff, and local communities through storytelling, language, and shared learning.

What preservice teachers do

Central to SWiRL is the creation of storybooks with school students. Preservice teachers work alongside students to document contemporary and traditional stories that reflect community life and culture. These stories are published locally for children to use in their reading and classroom learning.

Preservice teachers support school students to take photographs of culturally appropriate artefacts and activities such as fishing, football, basket weaving or spear making and to develop written narratives around them. Acting as editors, preservice teachers assist with spelling, expression and structure while ensuring students maintain ownership of their stories. Some stories may incorporate artwork, video, or local languages in collaboration with native speakers.

The 5 Pics approach is often used to guide story development. School students take five photographs: four showing activities or people that are meaningful to them, and one representing something they would like to see change in their school or community. These images become the basis for short written reflections and a final ‘call to action’. Each completed story is printed, laminated, and bound as a book for the student, their family, and the school library.

Teaching & community engagement

Each week combines classroom teaching, small-group learning, and storybook development. Preservice teachers plan and deliver lessons with mentor teachers, support curriculum activities, and visit local sites that inspire story ideas. Engagement extends beyond the classroom, with opportunities to participate in community events and activities that promote mutual learning and cultural understanding.

Reflection & celebration

Throughout the program, preservice teachers are supported by mentor teachers, school leaders, and SWiRL academics. The placement concludes with a school celebration showcasing the storybooks created during the program a reflection of the relationships, learning, and shared experiences developed across the four weeks.