AERA Annual Meeting, Philadelphia April 3 – 7 2014

Enhancing Teacher Quality: Developing and Implementing Nationally Consistent Professional Standards for Teachers in Australia

Piloting Implementation of National Standards – Preparation, Process and Product

Greg McPhan Principal Research Manager – Teacher Quality SiMERR National Research Centre University of New England, Armidale, Australia [email protected]

Presentation Organisation Pilot Projects Phase 1 and Phase 2:

 Background and context  Pilot project themes  Process  Outcomes

Overarching question:

How do school personnel and key stakeholders engage with a set of professional teaching standards that are; 1. Generic 2. Developmental

Phase 1: Who contributed?

Groups : • Regulatory authorities (6) • Associations (5) • Educational jurisdictions (3) • Universities (2) • Schools (1) Representation : • States/Territories • Educational jurisdictions • Location

Phase 1: What informed the project themes?

National Agenda Research Perspectives Validation Study Pilot Projects Themes

Phase 1: What informed the project themes?

A framework to guide professional learning for principals, teachers and school leaders

• • • •

Conducting pilot studies Participatory Action Research Adult professional learning Teacher quality literature

• • •

Support for career stages Collaboration with colleagues Parents and the community 1. Professional Development 2. Teacher self-reflection 3. Initial teacher education 4. Parents, community and students

Phase 1: What did the pilot groups ask?

• 44 investigation questions:     Professional development (22) Teacher self reflection (8) Initial teacher education and registration (3) Parents, communities and schools (11)

• • • • How useful are the Standards in establishing priorities and planning for the professional development of teachers throughout their career? How does teachers' engagement with National Professional Standards for Teachers impact on their:   confidence to meet the school goals and preparedness to engage in self-evaluation as part of the appraisal process?

In their daily work, in what ways can graduate teachers demonstrate their engagement with the Standards at the transition from Graduate to the Proficient career levels, and in their movement from Provisional to Full Registration?

What summative and formative strategies can be used to engage the community and to monitor student feedback?

Phase 1: What characterised the process?

• • Participatory and formative; Questions were examined using multiple methods (Surveys; Interviews; Focus Groups; Lesson Observation Tool; Self-reflection Tool); • • A strong sense of ownership through collaboration; and Continuous and ongoing monitoring of progress.

Phase 1: What did the pilot groups find out?

Phase 1: What did the pilot groups find out?

Research Question Sample Commentary In their daily work, in what ways can graduate teachers demonstrate their engagement with the Standards at the transition from Graduate to the Proficient career levels, and in their movement from Provisional to Full Registration?

All participants reported that they valued the their probation requirements.

mentoring opportunities as they felt that such opportunities were necessary to enable them to meet the requirements of both moving from provisional to full registration; and for meeting How can observation and reflection be used to promote learning about the Standards in practice?

Teachers and leaders considered the observation of teacher practice as a powerful professional learning activity . Despite some trepidation regarding the observation of colleagues, the overwhelming conclusion was that the observation tool was effective in both providing a platform for deep professional conversations Standards .

and was an effective way of engaging with the How useful are the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers for informing and guiding action research and inquiry?

In many cases the Standards have brought a degree of rigour to the action based research and a sense of authenticity around the foci and research questions. In this context, the Standards sit well alongside teacher’s own thinking about what is important to develop in their practice and the established directions and goals of their school or workplace.

Phase 1: What did the pilot groups find out?

1. Alignment: • • • school/system priorities and individual teacher needs; existing processes, policies, priorities and professional practice; and local and network practices.

2. Data sources for improvement (Working with feedback): • • • • school and/or system; student voice; community; and universities and initial teacher education students.

Phase 1: What did the pilot groups find out?

3. Growth and learning within the profession: • • • • self-reflection; strategies/evidence; professional conversations; and support structures.

4. Improved outcomes: • • • • Schools; Teachers; Students; and The wider community.

Professional conversations , conducted in a non threatening, supportive and trusting environment can provide a great conduit for honest reflection & goal setting . These conversations have been effective in previous years, but had been undertaken with a set of structured questions that reflected school goals, without a strong emphasis on the individual practitioner . Adding the Australian Professional Standards to this process was both productive and educational as it allowed staff to gauge within a national context their current level of work . It allowed for a more specific set of individual goals that had a developmental layer wrapped around them.

Pilot Projects Phase 2

Phase 2: Who contributed?

• Regulatory authorities (3) • Educational jurisdictions (1) • Universities (1) • Schools (1)

Phase 2: What informed the project themes?

National Agenda Research Perspectives Validation Study Pilots Phase 1 Pilot Projects Themes

Phase 2: What informed the project themes?

• • •

Teacher registration Professional learning for teachers Accreditation and certification

• • • •

Conducting pilot studies Participatory Action Research Teacher life-long learning Teacher quality literature

• • •

Support for career stages Collaboration with colleagues Teacher self-reflection 1. Transition to full registration 2. Teacher self-reflection 3. Certification of Highly Accomplished and Lead teachers

Phase 2 Themes aligned to career stages:

Phase 2: What did the pilot groups ask?

1. What support is required for the transition from provisional to full registration, i.e., attaining the Proficient Career Stage? 2. How does teachers’ application of the AITSL Self Reflection Tool inform strategies for improved performance? 3. What are the evidencing requirements for attaining certification at the higher-level Career Stages of Highly Accomplished and Lead, including Assessor training needs?

Phase 2: What characterised the process?

• • • • Participatory and formative; Questions were examined using multiple methods; A strong sense of ownership through collaboration; and Continuous and ongoing monitoring of progress.

Phase 2: What did the pilot groups find out?

Theme 1: • Value: The graduate teachers reported that their involvement had been useful to them, and had generated positive experiences; • Planning: The collection and annotation of evidence of teaching is achievable with a plan; • Mentoring: Mentors are important to assist graduate teachers build their portfolios of evidence; and • Organisational Strategies: School Principals and mentors require organisational strategies to meet their responsibilities for supporting, and/or assessing graduate teachers’ portfolios of evidence of professional practice.

Phase 2: What did the pilot groups find out?

Theme 2: • Obtaining and analysing feedback about professional practice is a crucial first step in the overall cyclic performance and development process within a school. • The Self-assessment Tool sought responses that legitimately assessed Career Stage and professional learning needs, as well as providing insights into future career development and professional learning. • The Self-Assessment Tool has provided an additional data source that can be used to triangulate teacher practice, thereby providing a sound basis upon which to inform future professional learning.

Phase 2: What did the pilot groups find out?

Theme 3:

Phase 2: What did the pilot groups find out?

Theme 3: • Support for participants; • Annotations; • Evidence; • Lead Initiative; • Differentiation of Focus Areas; • Format for Collection of Evidence; • School structures and processes; • Resources; • Correspondence; • Bias awareness; • Professional conversations • Resources; and • Evaluative language.

How can the pilot projects be summed up?

• Preparation :  Informed  Participatory • Process :  Collaborative  Formative • Product :  Recognition of quality teaching  Guidance for professional learning  Support for teacher registration  Support for teacher certification