#PSTEdFest Program
11:00 AM – Using the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers as a Beginning Teacher
Presenters: Nic Ridge and Clinton Milroy, AITSL
Session abstract: The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers are a resource developed by AITSL and endorsed by all Australian Education Ministers to support teaching quality and improvement. They articulate what teachers should know and be able to do at every stage of their careers. However, it can be difficult to see your own practice reflected in words on a page alone, especially for beginning teachers. That’s why AITSL provides a wide range of resources to help you reflect on, and gather evidence of your practice.At #PSTEdFest, we will introduce you to three of our key resources supporting implementation of the Standards: video Illustrations of Practice demonstrating the Standards in action; the My Standards app for gathering and tracking evidence of your practice for development and reflection; and the Classroom Practice Continuum, which provides a more detailed view of what great practice in Standards 3, 4 and 5 looks like in the classroom, and the increasing complexity of practice as teachers progress through the career stages.
About the presenters:
Nic Ridge is a Senior Project Officer in the Quality Teaching team at AITSL. He has a passion for learning, collaboration and development, and is currently working on a range of projects that support implementation of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Prior to AITSL Nic was a project manager on a national mental health project, overseeing operations in Victoria and Tasmania. In this role he had responsibility for strategic planning, engaging stakeholders and managing a team. Nic has taught in government and non-government schools, most recently working as an English Head of Department at a three campus Catholic college in Melbourne’s west.
Clinton Milroy is a Senior Project Officer in the Quality Teaching team at AITSL. Clinton’s current role is focused on working with systems and sectors to support the implementation of national certification, but he has also worked on the My Standards app and Illustrations of Practice. Prior to joining AITSL, Clinton led a number of languages education initiatives at the Victorian Department of Education and Training, and coordinated arts-education programs at Creative Victoria.
Clinton holds a Masters in Education and commenced his career in education as a secondary school teacher (Indonesian and EAL/D), primarily teaching refugee, migrant and international middle years students. Clinton has taught at primary, secondary and tertiary levels in Melbourne, Sydney, London and Tokyo.
11:30 AM – Teacher Registration: Purpose, Process and Timelines
Presenter: Fran Cosgrove, Victorian Institute of Teachers
Session Abstract: This presentation will look at the need for professional registration of Australia’s educators and the process to become provisionally and fully registered to teach. You’ll hear information that applies across the country and of the state and territory bodies you’ll need to work with to become accredited in your setting. The session will highlight the professional standards for teachers and discuss strategies to start collecting evidence of your enactment during your teaching practicum.
About the presenter:
Fran Cosgrove is the director of projects at the Victorian Institute of Teaching and is currently managing the implementation of registration for early childhood teachers. For many years Fran has been involved in the development of standards-based regulatory policy that describes the expected practice of registered teachers. She was part of the MCEECDYA working group to define the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and is involved in the implementation and development of national consistencies in registration.
Expectations for teacher professionalism and learning, leading to public recognition of the expertise of teachers is central to Fran’s understanding of the role of teacher regulators. Fran welcomes the challenge of developing registration policy that is consistent for all but recognises and accommodates the diversity of the teaching profession in Australia.
12:00 PM – Exploring and resourcing the Australian Curriculum:
Presenter: Joanna Mackie, Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
Session abstract:
Joanna’s session will provide an overview of the Australian Curriculum and discuss implementation across the country. You’ll also navigate the Australian Curriculum website and explore an effective workflow to help you quickly and easily find teaching and learning resources aligned to the content descriptions using Scootle, Australia’s national repository of digital teaching and learning content.
About the presenter:
Joanna Mackie is the Senior Project Officer – Curriculum has worked in schools in leadership roles for over 20 years. She has been involved in curriculum project management, policy and website development at ACARA for the last four years. Joanna has a digital technologies and science background.
12:30 PM – Implementing the Digital Technologies Curriculum
Presenter: Mark Richardson, Digital Learning and Teaching Victoria
Session abstract:
Digital Technologies is a new subject that will be taught to all students from Prep to Year 10 in the very near future. DigiTech is about looking into what makes computers and devices work. It’s all about programming, coding and computational thinking. So how are you going to teach this in the classroom? Mark will outline the curriculum and give you some starting points for classroom projects. He will break down some of the terminology and point you in the direction of some great resources and professional learning.
About the presenter:
Mark Richardson is Professional Learning Manager at Digital Learning & Teaching Victoria. He is also a consultant, writer and presenter on 21st century teaching and learning. He presents widely on topics such iPads in the classroom, cybersafety, implementing the new Digital Technologies curriculum and incorporating digital pedagogies into classroom practice.
1:00PM – Global Connections
Presenter: Lottie Dowling, Asia Education Foundation
Session Abstract:
In a world that is rapidly changing due to globalisation and a digital technologies revolution, educators around the world are seeking to understand how and why global collaboration is a necessary part of education and an essential skill students need to develop. When global collaboration occurs across classrooms and countries it can become a powerful tool for skill development and knowledge building for all involved.
Global collaboration can be both one of the major reasons for using and developing skills in digital technologies and the outcomes of it. When designed well, it can support global awareness and develop intercultural understanding.
This session will look at:
- Why global collaboration is important & the factors that drive it
- Tools that can facilitate and support global collaboration
- How to design sustainable global collaboration projects
- Issues around digital citizenship
About the presenter:
Lottie Dowling works as a Manager in Professional Learning at the Asia Education Foundation. She designs and delivers professional learning online and face-to-face across all states and territories across a range of topics including global competencies, leadership skills, practical pedagogies and developing intercultural understanding. She has previously worked in Education as an educator, professional learning designer and deliverer, teacher trainer, curriculum developer, programme content developer and in education management. She spent 10 rewarding years working in education start ups in both the public and private sectors in Beijing, China and has worked in education in 6 countries around the globe.
1:30 – 2:00 PM – What School Leaders Want: Applying for Graduate Teaching Positions
Panel: Laraine Lucas, Don Collins, Michael Green
Session Abstract:A 30 minute Q&A panel with a group of distinguished principals will round out the event. The session will seek the thoughts and opinions of a group experienced school leaders who’ll discuss key selection criteria responses, professional portfolios and the characteristics principals are commonly looking for in applicants.
If you have a question you would really like to ask our expert panel, please add in the comments field below.
About the panel:
Laraine Lucas has lead and supported schools in a number of leading roles in an career spanning numerous education systems and settings. She has lead state professional learning for principals and teachers, served on the secretariat of the Australian Primary Principals Association, as Executive and President of Independent Primary School Heads of Australia, consulted for the NSW Department of Education and worked at Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority as the Primary Curriculum-Lead.
Prior to commencing his position as Principal of Coburg Senior in April 2006, Don Collins spent the previous six years in the role of Principal of Monterey Secondary College. He has experience in two schools as an Assistant Principal at Lakes Entrance Secondary College and at Westall Secondary College in Clayton South. Don’s teaching experience includes remote, rural and metropolitan schools.
Important to Don are high quality teaching and learning practices which foster excellence. Passionate teaching that is linked to deep knowledge of a subject is essential. Teachers must develop a learning environment that allows for differentiation where tasks are scaffolded in increasing complexity. He values learning environments that allow students must become discerning and discriminating thinkers, able to address complex and ethical issues and the problems and questions associated with each. Don has developed online environments in his previous schools and found ways to assist students and staff to make the transition to using online resources in highly effective ways.
Michael Green is the Principal of Ringwood North Primary School in Melbourne’s Eastern Suburbs. Ringwood North were part of the Victorian iPad trial which saw the school roll out a 1:1 iPad program in 2010. Since that time the school has continued to focus on using digital learning as medium to broaden and broadcast their deep and social learning projects and practices with local and global audiences.
Have you got a question for a presenter or our Principal Panel? We’d love you to email them to leigh.murphy@esa.edu.au provide them here in the comments field or tweet them to #PSTEdFest.