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Friendly pirates invaded the UWA Early Learning Centre recently - only to be identified as pre-service teachers enrolled in one of the Faculty of Education's Master of Teaching programs.

The pre-service teachers are specialising in early childhood education, and as part of their course, developed pirate-themed learning centres designed for three to five-year-old children. The centres involved dress-ups, treasure hunts and music-making.

The pre-service teachers were thrilled to see their carefully crafted resources being used by the very people they were designed for, sometimes in ways they had not expected.  "One of the children started dismantling costume pieces to ensure he understood how they were made.  To understand that these items were hand-made using household items he could replicate - with some help from Mummy, as he said - is quite an achievement," said Amy Moeen, one of the pre-service teachers.

Associate Professor Christine Howitt of the Faculty of Education, emphasised the importance of learning centres that allow for creativity: "Seeing how children actually play with the provided materials and how they extend them in ways adults cannot imagine is a very powerful mechanism for reflection."

Richelle Shortall, a teacher at the UWA Early Learning Centre, said the activities had had such an impact on the children that they had continued working on the pirate theme throughout the week, making pirate hats and going on outdoor pirate adventures.

Think life on the pedagogical high seas might be for you? Applications are now open for the UWA Faculty of Education's initial teacher education courses: Click here for more details.