Standard Six:
Engage in Professional Learning
6.1 Identify and plan professional learning needs
Use the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and advice from colleagues to identify and plan professional learning needs.
As teachers it is important to acknowledge that our own eduction does not stop upon our graduation from university. The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership have implemented 7 standards that teachers must meet at four different stages of their career - Graduate, Proficient, Highly Accomplished and Lead. The diagram below shows how these standards feed into personal professional development in order to
All teachers must provide a portfolio of evidence demonstrating their ability to meet these standards at the relevant stage and this portfolio is one such example at the Proficient level. These standards, and especially the act of putting the portfolio together assists teachers in identifying professional learning needs because it becomes easy to see where the gaps are in their personal professional practice as these are the areas where it is difficult to find evidence.
Use the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and advice from colleagues to identify and plan professional learning needs.
As teachers it is important to acknowledge that our own eduction does not stop upon our graduation from university. The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership have implemented 7 standards that teachers must meet at four different stages of their career - Graduate, Proficient, Highly Accomplished and Lead. The diagram below shows how these standards feed into personal professional development in order to
All teachers must provide a portfolio of evidence demonstrating their ability to meet these standards at the relevant stage and this portfolio is one such example at the Proficient level. These standards, and especially the act of putting the portfolio together assists teachers in identifying professional learning needs because it becomes easy to see where the gaps are in their personal professional practice as these are the areas where it is difficult to find evidence.
![Picture](/uploads/2/4/2/7/24274892/6835225.png?634)
Diagram from the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership atL http://www.teacherstandards.aitsl.edu.au/static/docs/6%20AIT%20ATPDFAustralian%20Teacher%20Performance%20And%20Development%20Framework%20ONLINE.pdf.
![Picture](/uploads/2/4/2/7/24274892/9481873.jpeg?300)
6.2 Engage in professional learning and improve practice
Participate in learning to update knowledge and practice, targeted to professional needs and school and/or system priorities.
Teachers need to engage in continual professional learning that is high quality, up-to-date and relevant to the context in which they are teaching. Such training often comes from four key bodies:
SAETA Stage 1 and Two Refresher Course (7 February 2015)
IB Training: South Australian Middle Years Program Coordinators' Group ( 19 February 2015)
Participate in learning to update knowledge and practice, targeted to professional needs and school and/or system priorities.
Teachers need to engage in continual professional learning that is high quality, up-to-date and relevant to the context in which they are teaching. Such training often comes from four key bodies:
- Tertiary Institutions
- Education Departments (State and Federal)
- Professional Organisations and Associations
- Schools
SAETA Stage 1 and Two Refresher Course (7 February 2015)
IB Training: South Australian Middle Years Program Coordinators' Group ( 19 February 2015)
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![Picture](/uploads/2/4/2/7/24274892/4571642.jpg?630)
6.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice
Contribute to collegial discussions and apply constructive feedback from colleagues to improve professional knowledge and practice.
Focused and constructive feedback on performance is essential for growth and improvement in any teacher. It can be difficult to objectively critique your own pedagogical abilities and gaining insight from more experienced colleagues allows you not only to identify areas that warrant improvement but also provides strategies and pointers to make that improvement.
In addition to my practicum reports, my final mentor teacher kept an observation log for every single class I taught with her, allowing me to reflect on my performance and identify areas that I needed to work on, as well as providing encouragement by showing my strengths. This was an enormously helpful tool and one that I was able to fully utilise as evidenced by my mentor commending me on my ability to quickly take feedback on board and alter my practice accordingly.
I also believe that it is incredibly important to seek feedback on teaching practices from student as these are the people we as teachers are there for. I had my students review me by answering three question (anonymously if they wished) on my last day of practicum:
I found the students's feedback on the whole to be well thought out, honest, constructive and incredibly useful and I will be implementing this feedback strategy with any future classes I have.
Professional Learning relating to this standard:
IB Training: South Australian Middle Years Program Coordinators' Group ( 19 February 2015)
One Plus Campus Learning Area Meeting (22 February 2015)
Contribute to collegial discussions and apply constructive feedback from colleagues to improve professional knowledge and practice.
Focused and constructive feedback on performance is essential for growth and improvement in any teacher. It can be difficult to objectively critique your own pedagogical abilities and gaining insight from more experienced colleagues allows you not only to identify areas that warrant improvement but also provides strategies and pointers to make that improvement.
In addition to my practicum reports, my final mentor teacher kept an observation log for every single class I taught with her, allowing me to reflect on my performance and identify areas that I needed to work on, as well as providing encouragement by showing my strengths. This was an enormously helpful tool and one that I was able to fully utilise as evidenced by my mentor commending me on my ability to quickly take feedback on board and alter my practice accordingly.
I also believe that it is incredibly important to seek feedback on teaching practices from student as these are the people we as teachers are there for. I had my students review me by answering three question (anonymously if they wished) on my last day of practicum:
- What do you think I have done well or that you have liked?
- What haven't I done yet that I could?
- Is there anything I need to change?
I found the students's feedback on the whole to be well thought out, honest, constructive and incredibly useful and I will be implementing this feedback strategy with any future classes I have.
Professional Learning relating to this standard:
IB Training: South Australian Middle Years Program Coordinators' Group ( 19 February 2015)
One Plus Campus Learning Area Meeting (22 February 2015)
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6.4 Apply professional learning and improve student learning
Undertake professional learning programs designed to address identified student learning needs.
As this standard implies, professional learning is only valuable when it is adopted into one's teaching practice and used to improve student learning. At Gleeson College this was done in a communal setting with each teacher working on an individual project for the duration of the year and coming together in team meetings to report on their projects and discuss with other teachers how what they had found or developed could be implemented in the classroom. I was present in one of these sessions and was able to participate in discussions about putting differentiation into practice, using meditation as a positive psychology tool in the classroom, developing curriculum that incorporated a range of IT tools as well as a variety of other topics.
Professional Learning relating to this standard:
SAETA Stage 1 and Two Refresher Course (7 February 2015)
One Plus Campus Learning Area Meeting (22 February 2015)
IB Training: South Australian Middle Years Program Coordinators' Group ( 19 February 2015)
Undertake professional learning programs designed to address identified student learning needs.
As this standard implies, professional learning is only valuable when it is adopted into one's teaching practice and used to improve student learning. At Gleeson College this was done in a communal setting with each teacher working on an individual project for the duration of the year and coming together in team meetings to report on their projects and discuss with other teachers how what they had found or developed could be implemented in the classroom. I was present in one of these sessions and was able to participate in discussions about putting differentiation into practice, using meditation as a positive psychology tool in the classroom, developing curriculum that incorporated a range of IT tools as well as a variety of other topics.
Professional Learning relating to this standard:
SAETA Stage 1 and Two Refresher Course (7 February 2015)
One Plus Campus Learning Area Meeting (22 February 2015)
IB Training: South Australian Middle Years Program Coordinators' Group ( 19 February 2015)
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