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
greg.mcphan@une.edu.au
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.
2.
3.
4.
Professional Development
Teacher self-reflection
Initial teacher education
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 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
their probation requirements.
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 and was an effective way of engaging with the
Standards.
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 nonthreatening, 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 SelfReflection 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