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3.2 Taking professional standards into practice

Description

This is a continuing cross-sectoral activity designed to support new scheme teachers and their supervisors in NSW schools to meet the Institute of Teachers professional teaching standards. Teachers engaging in this activity will systematically study their practice in a way that facilitates dialogue among colleagues about their beliefs, knowledge and skills. They will collaboratively engage in active experimentation, trialling of new ideas for classroom practice, including close examination of student work and student learning, and observation of classroom practice.

The activity will be managed by the AGQTP cross-sectoral team who will take responsibility for the activity meeting the professional needs of teachers who participate.

A team of academics invited from a range of NSW higher education institutions will support the project management team to develop resources and processes and support school project teams where appropriate.

Contacts

Outcomes

Through participation in an AGQTP project, teachers will have applied professional standards to make judgements about the success of their practice and areas for future development.
Through participation in an AGQTP project, teachers will, strengthened the currency and depth of their pedagogical knowledge and skills.

Access

Early career teachers and their supervisors

Design

The activity design takes account of the variety of needs and experiences of new scheme teachers and the diverse contexts in which they teach. Participating teachers will be required to collect documentary evidence to support their pathway to accreditation.

The professional learning strategy involves new scheme teachers and their supervisors engaging in:

• workplace learning that is based on a cycle of continuous improvement model


• workplace mentoring and coaching aligned to meeting the NSW Institute of Teachers' professional teaching standards


• online communication to connect new teachers and their mentors with teachers in all parts of the state.

• school-based collegial model designed as a strategy to engage teachers who participate in workplace or school network teams


• online forums where teachers can meet in virtual spaces to engage in systematically planned activities exploring a range of key issues, challenges and problem solving strategies that investigate practices required to meet the Professional Competence standards


• sharing conference/s designed to showcase teacher professional learning strategies, extending the professional dialogue about accreditation to the NSW professional teaching standards and celebrating the professional status of new teachers


• enhancement of a multi-media resource with materials and processes for sharing beyond the project timeline.

Implementation

The implementation of the activity will be supported by the following personnel: cross-sectoral project officers, academic partners, online mentors.

Delivery

workplace learning, online learning, mentoring, action learning project, workshops/course, conference, resource development

Timeline

By May 2007:

• distribute the interactive multi-media resource developed from 2006 school project resources


• create online facility for sharing resources from 2006 project schools


• form advisory group of key stakeholder to inform the development and implementation of the activity


• identify from up to 30 schools, teachers to participate in the school-based case studies


• develop online capacity to host forums and as a repository for resources


• conduct regional cross-sectoral orientation workshops for project schools


• submit progress report in May.

• collect artefacts from schools demonstrating collegial processes


• conduct sharing network opportunities including sharing conference/s


• progress the development of an enhanced multi-media resource for sharing with schools and via the AGQTP NSW website


• submit annual report in November.

Sectors