Again it has been quite a while since my last post. The focus of this post will be on the professional development I have completed this year.
In-house
The school offers regular professional development opportunities to staff; both internally during staff meetings, and externally by giving cover so staff can attend other sessions. This year my role as an ICT coach has both amped up and dwindled simultaneously. An increased workload and participation in extra-curricular activities has meant that the PD sessions I've offered have dropped, but the amount of PD I give during staff meetings has dramatically increased. This year our school has changed learner management systems, and I'm one of the coaches designated to help teach others to use it efficiently.
We have also spent a lot of time learning about the IB Middle Years Program. This is new to most of us and has taken quite a lot of time to get our heads around. It is all finally starting to make sense and I am now in the position of showing staff how to put the unit plans and assessment tasks into the new system. So far this year, much of my PD has been self-directed.
External
We recently had a PD day and joined with other secondary schools in our region. This is the second time this has happened. It allows us to network and share ideas with colleagues we don't see very often. This was a time to share work and assessment examples and compare the outcomes being achieved by each school. This allows the region to have better consistency across the schools for each subject area. It also allows us to grab new ideas and resources, and share our own.
The most exciting upcoming PD will be the National German Teacher's Conference, to be held in Adelaide this year. I am excited at the prospect of attending such a huge event and meeting teachers from around the country.
In-house
The school offers regular professional development opportunities to staff; both internally during staff meetings, and externally by giving cover so staff can attend other sessions. This year my role as an ICT coach has both amped up and dwindled simultaneously. An increased workload and participation in extra-curricular activities has meant that the PD sessions I've offered have dropped, but the amount of PD I give during staff meetings has dramatically increased. This year our school has changed learner management systems, and I'm one of the coaches designated to help teach others to use it efficiently.
We have also spent a lot of time learning about the IB Middle Years Program. This is new to most of us and has taken quite a lot of time to get our heads around. It is all finally starting to make sense and I am now in the position of showing staff how to put the unit plans and assessment tasks into the new system. So far this year, much of my PD has been self-directed.
External
We recently had a PD day and joined with other secondary schools in our region. This is the second time this has happened. It allows us to network and share ideas with colleagues we don't see very often. This was a time to share work and assessment examples and compare the outcomes being achieved by each school. This allows the region to have better consistency across the schools for each subject area. It also allows us to grab new ideas and resources, and share our own.
The most exciting upcoming PD will be the National German Teacher's Conference, to be held in Adelaide this year. I am excited at the prospect of attending such a huge event and meeting teachers from around the country.