Brief for the Faculty of Education’s CPD Committee Christopher Bezzina, Joseph Giordmaina, Josephine Milton, Ronald Sultana 1. Several aspects of the Faculty’s vision point towards the need for continued professional development of staff in order to be in a better position to implement the aspirations expressed. This is true, for instance, if the Faculty truly wants to become a hub of innovative and cutting edge educational research and practice, and a leader in promoting sound educational practices. It is equally true when it comes to creating a community of learners and of practice that shares similar goals and has the knowledge, skills, competence, and dispositions to promote an educated public in a participatory democracy. 2. CPD is therefore of critical value and importance to the Faculty, and a responsibility that can be pursued individually, within departmental, disciplinary and research groups and committees, and by the faculty as a whole. It is a means to promote quality, as well as a sense of purpose and belonging. As such, staff should commit themselves to their own professional development, exploiting opportunities and resources meaningfully and strategically. Such opportunities should be made as transparent and visible as possible through a faculty calendar of events, which could include professional development sessions organised by other entities locally (e.g. by the education directorates) and overseas (e.g. international conferences). 3. The CPD committee sees its role as a facilitator of such professional development, particularly at a faculty-­‐wide level. It recognises that several CPD initiatives are available to staff,* whether as a result of individual initiative, through participation in local and international conferences, and through contributing as a team member in research projects. Many CPD activities are organised within and across departments, or by the University’s own professional development team. The Faculty’s CPD sets out to add value to such initiatives by identifying specific needs of FoE staff, whether full-­‐time or part-­‐time. 4. The CPD committee plans to translate its commitment to the professional development of staff through a number of initiatives, including: [a] Carrying out a Training Needs Analysis to be as targeted and as responsive as possible when it comes to organising CPD sessions. Such TNA can be carried out at departmental level in the first instance, with the outcome being presented to the CPD committee for follow-­‐up action. Some of these needs are best met at departmental level. Others can be sufficiently common to all or most staff and cross-­‐
departmental in scope such that they warrant Faculty-­‐wide training. Other structured ways of gauging staff professional development needs will be implemented from time to time. page|1 [b] Organising a programme of activities that would take place at times when the majority of staff are likely to be available (i.e. Wednesdays and/or Fridays from 12h00 to 14h00). Every effort will be made to avoid clashes and overlaps with other Faculty activities, and to also hold sessions on other days and at other times throughout the week in order to cater for staff whose family responsibilities make mid-­‐day commitments difficult. [c] Contributing to the organisation of the major Faculty seminars and conferences, particularly those at the start of the academic year, the conference at the end of the first semester, and the end-­‐of-­‐year seminar. [d] Collaborating closely with HODs and Dean to support CPD initiatives organised at departmental or faculty level, when and where needed. This could include the implementation of a peer mentoring programme to help induct new and junior staff members, and to share knowledge and skills in other aspects of our academic work, such as publishing. 5. There are four types/modalities of CPD activities that the committee envisages organising/coordinating: [a] Regular seminars focusing on themes that are considered to be critical to all the faculty members. These could be ‘lunch-­‐bag seminars’ held throughout semester time, or longer conferences and workshops, usually held when staff are relieved of their lecturing duties. Over the coming years, it is envisaged that such seminars and conferences will focus on issues related to the MTL.** [b] ‘Ad hoc’ seminars that make good use of the presence of international visitors, including visiting external examiners, who will be invited to address staff on the area of their expertise. [c] Targeted and bespoke group sessions which deal with specific aspects of faculty work, in areas where staff declare the need for training. Such training, delivered in a spirit of collegiality, could be provided by specialist staff from within or outside the faculty (e.g. mentoring; using the IWB creatively). [d] Exchange visits with other Faculties of Education in order to learn from valuable practice elsewhere through shadowing, short-­‐term internships, collaborative teaching and research, and so on. 6. Longer-­‐term plans include the proposal that the CPD programme of the Faculty of Education is acknowledged by the University as a way for staff to fulfil their professional development obligations, thus being eligible for promotion. 7. The Faculty needs to commit funding to the CPD committee so that it can implement its plans. Such funds would meet the costs of inviting page|2 international experts to address staff. Given that an aspect of the CPD programme is to enhance the spirit of conviviality among staff members, ideally light refreshments should be offered whenever lunch-­‐bag seminars are organised. 8. It is important that the Faculty’s CPD programme features prominently on the FoE’s web page, thus sending out a clear signal about the faculty’s priorities in this area. ___________________________________ * Examples include courses offered by IT Services, the University’s CPD unit, and the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee, among others. ** Including, for instance: the research component in an inquiry-­‐driven course; training in multicultural skills; knowledge of the latest initiatives in the education sector; training in supporting novice teacher learning during the practicum; creating cross-­‐curricular linkages to ensure powerful connected learning experiences; the new vocational subjects; etc. There are also a number of administrative tasks that staff are expected to handle related to, amongst others, the introduction of the MTL and for which training needs to be provided. page|3