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Learning from experience
As part of our conversation about Professional Update, we speak to Melanie Saba, the CEO of the Institute of Teaching in Victoria, Australia, about how they use their own system of Professional Development to ensure teachers keep their skills and practices up to date throughout their careers
Please can you explain the background behind the Professional Development Requirements that exist in Victoria? When and why were these introduced?
Melanie Saba (MS): The Professional Development (PD) requirements for teachers are part of the renewal of registration requirements, which all teachers with full registration must meet, according to legislation. Teachers are required to show they maintain their professional practice on a regular basis, and one of the best ways to determine this is for teachers to undertake a defined quantity of PD that references the standards of professional practice.
This was introduced at the end of 2007 when teachers had held full registration for five years. There were about 77,000 teachers who had been deemed into the Institute at the end of 2002, at the commencement of the regulation of teachers in Victoria who were required to renew their registration at this time.
There are now around 116,000 teachers in Victoria who meet these requirements.
What was the reaction of the teaching profession to their introduction?
MS: The renewal process had been preceded by an extensive consultation so there was general acceptance of the PD requirement. The consultation included an online survey seeking feedback on the draft policy and teachers' perceptions about what supported and impeded their professional development. Key stakeholders such as school sector authorities, principal groups and education unions were also consulted.
Central to the introduction of renewal requirements has been the provision of support for teachers to meet this. The Institute has invested in an online PD activities search facility that is quality assured against the professional standards. Support is also provided for teachers who are working in casual relief teaching, replacing teachers who are absent, and teachers who are working on short-term contracts, as these teachers were identified as having less information about and access to relevant PD.
Can you explain how the system works? What do teachers need to do and how is this administered?
MS: Currently teachers are required to maintain their suitability to teach and their professional practice, and they do this through an online application for renewal of registration.
Teachers require a current and satisfactory National Criminal History Record Check (NCHRC) at the time of renewal to meet the suitability to teach requirement.
The professional practice requirement for annual renewal of registration is at least:
- 10 days teaching, equivalent practice or educational leadership
- 20 hours of standards referenced professional development activities that update knowledge about pedagogy, content and/or practice
The online form requires teachers to make a self-declaration, which is submitted to the Institute. A random sample of teachers is then required to validate the declarations pertaining to their PD hours and days teaching.
A legislative change from the original five year renewal period to annual renewal was implemented from 1 January 2011. This was brought about through a review of the Institute functions and the rationale that the renewal requirements for teachers comply with those in other professions.
What has been the feedback from the profession since the requirements were introduced?
MS: The profession has been generally accepting of this requirement. Staff in the Standards and Professional Learning Branch work with teachers to ensure they understand their obligations. This is most focused on work with teachers who are in casual relief teaching (CRTs). The Institute has run PD seminars and established CRT networks that provide a learning community for these teachers, who often work in isolation. The networks usually interact with a host school. This model of support for PD for these teachers has proven to be self-supporting, cost-effective and very well received by CRTs.
Has the system changed or evolved as a result of feedback and/or your experiences?
MS: Teachers have taken some time to understand that they need to identify PD activities that relate to the standards and that there is no list of approved activities. By the same token, the Institute has issued some guidelines to assist teachers to understand the parameters around activities that are commonly undertaken.
In developing the policy on PD, the Institute recognises activities that are teacher directed, collegial and less formally structured. This is important because teachers have identified that they often learn from their colleagues and in ways that cannot easily be evidenced, such as through professional reading. In asking teachers to assess the relevance of an activity for renewal of registration and to validate them, the Institute asks teachers to document a reflection on the PD activities they undertake. In essence, this asks them to comment on what knowledge they have gained by engaging in the activity and how they have, or will, apply it to their practice to improve the learning of their students.
Teachers who access PD activities from pdi, the Institute professional search engine www.pdi.vic.edu.au, can undertake an online evaluation of an activity against the standards. Once they do this their hours of PD are automatically accrued against their renewal requirement. This evaluation provides feedback on providers who subscribe to pdi and strengthens quality assurance processes.
Has there been any tangible effect on standards since the introduction?
MS: The effect of this policy is hard to measure in quantitative terms.
What is now assured is that all registered teachers, whether employed in a school which has the expectation of professional development or not, are now required to update their professional knowledge and practice on a regular basis.
Currently it is estimated there are at least 14,000 teachers working in casual relief teaching positions so the requirement for these teachers to meet these PD requirements is a significant change as there has been no such expectation of them previously.