What can bush regeneration teach us about out-of-field teaching? In this episode, we explore how so-called “weeds”can be ecosystem transformers—reshaping landscapes in surprising ways. Drawing on Australian example weeds like lantana and African lovegrass, wI connect the dots between ecology and education, challenging assumptions about growth, adaptation, and success in unexpected environments.
Scholarly Citations
Akkerman, S. F., & Bakker, A. (2011). Boundary Crossing and Boundary Objects. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3102/0034654311404435
Barker, M., Goos, M. & Coupland, M. (2024). Relieving Out of Field Teaching in Australian Secondary Mathematics: Analysis of out-of-field secondary mathematics teaching upskilling initiatives in Australia. AMSI, AustMS, MERGA, Statistical Society of Australia, Actuaries Institute. https://amsi.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/maths-ooft-report.pdf
Blake, D. (2013) Applied learning as a boundary-crossing pedagogy. https://mail.aare.net.au/publications/aare-conference-papers/show/8090/applied-learning-as-a-boundary-crossing-pedagogy-to-support-innovative-youth-education
Hobbs, L. & Porsche, R. (Eds.) (2022). Out-of-field Teaching Across Teaching Disciplines and Contexts. Springer. https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030944771
Otrel-Cass, K. (2024) — https://educationaltechnologyjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41239-024-00463-4
Other links:
AABR: Bradley Method — https://www.aabr.org.au/learn/what-i-bush-regeneration/general-principles/the-bradley-method/
Gillies, C. & Compton, M. (2025) “Rewilding the University” — https://mcompton.uk/2025/04/02/rewilding/
Kuchta, E. C. (2025). Growing Grass Between Concrete — https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/australian-journal-of-environmental-education/article/growing-grass-between-concrete-a-chooseyourownadventure-game-for-rewilding-literature-pedagogies/6E278EB4A3B723ADFECC09BF23E208B0
Vicphysics SPP PD — https://www.vicphysics.org/events/spp/
Wikipedia: Bush regeneration — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_regeneration