Staff+Performance+and+Professional+Development+Policy+for+Society+High

__Staff Performance and Professional Development Policy for //Society High// __

At //Society High//, we believe that the teachers play an immense role in the impact of student learning. We continually strive to give our students the best possible education by providing teachers with a vast range of professional development workshops/tutorials that subsequently build teachers’ performances and capabilities within their domain as well as across others.

//Society High //hosts weekly professional development meetings/sessions which are mandatory for all teachers to attend, with the exception of extenuating circumstances. These meetings vary from week to week in regards to the location, content covered and the hosting of the meeting. Every four weeks it is also compulsory for all teachers to host their own professional development meeting to school staff on an interesting matter within their domain. Professional development workshops are also delivered in a variety of ways such as having guest speakers, information sessions, workshops, online tutoring/courses, conferences, camps and seminars. These sessions may be conducted in-house (at //Society high//) or externally at other schools where teachers are expected to travel to. Information and content learnt within meetings that are undertaken externally, need to be relayed back to all teachers at //Society High// via email or a memo.

Our school is also involved in the //Professional Development Pathways// program. This is a program funded by the government that allows teachers to obtain post-graduate qualifications whilst teaching. Teachers, who are registered in this government initiative and have completed any professional development programs they provide, are eligible to be formally assessed by participating tertiary institutions to achieve their academic credit.

//Society High //also offers many VET (Vocational Educational Training) courses for students to undertake. We therefore need trained teachers with a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment to conduct these classes. Any teachers that do not have these qualifications and shows an expression of interest towards teaching VET, will be given the opportunity to enroll in the courses to obtain their certificate. This also applies to other short courses and certificates.

Our school has a strong affiliation with the neighbouring tertiary institute La Trobe University. Teachers may take on the opportunity to visit the University for Professional Development Workshops across all domains. Science teachers for example can develop their laboratory skills or learn about innovative research techniques by attending workshops within the molecular biology labs.  There may be confusion amongst teachers as to what classifies as a ‘personal development activity’. //Society High// has produced guidelines to clarify these situations.


 * Teaching ** – If the activity is valid within the classroom to enhance student learning and to better teaching practices, it is deemed a professional development activity. This can include taking workshops to improve ICT skills, learning about different reading/writing strategies, etc.
 * Staff Meetings **– Some meetings can count for professional development and some cannot. Any active discussions which include the welfare of students, how to improve test scores and teaching strategies within the meeting is counted for professional development.
 * Action Explore – **Being involved in ‘action explore’ also credits as a professional development activity. This entails attending several sessions on a topic, such as improving student engagement. Teachers set themselves a main goal to enhance student engagement; certain strategies are then implemented within the classroom. Teachers monitor (log books, journals) students’ engagement and any changes towards their learning will be reported back to the lesson conductor for feedback and advice.

//Society High’s //policy requires that all teachers need to complete a minimum of 20 hours professional development workshops per school year as per our professional development policy. These are to be documented on a Professional Development activities record, outlining all necessary information such as date, activity, duration, location etc. A spreadsheet outlining how these activities contributed to teaching pedagogies and the eight professional standards from VIT (Victorian Institute of Teaching) must also be shown as well as a short report on the reflection of participation and contribution to the activities to gain the 20 hours. A developed framework summarising what is expected in terms of professional development from teachers is readily available through the school’s intranet website.

The performance of staff is of great significance, as this also directly affects student learning and engagement. //Society High’s// staff performance review identifies teachers’ contribution, achievements, skills and performances throughout the year. It also allows teachers to voice their thoughts and give valuable feedback to the school community. Staff performance reviews are held bi-annually, during terms two and four. This is called the review cycle which every teacher is subjected to. Teachers have an initial meeting (term two) with the principal and several leading teachers to discuss personal goals, implementation plans, training sessions etc that they wish to engage in. This is so the school community is aware of the teachers’ expectations and aspirations for the school year and to assist them with any needs; also to ensure that their needs coincide with the school’s objectives. Teachers are to keep a log book on their progress throughout the year on their performance within the school. Prior to the follow up meeting in term four, the principal or a leading teacher will review a period of class time to observe the teacher. The final meeting (term four) of the staff performance review is called the review discussion. This is where the teacher explains and demonstrates how his/her goals from the start of the year were achieved, tackled and executed within the school. Concluding statements from the review panel are reached and also discussed with the teacher. Further action plans, expectations and goals are also discussed to enhance staff performance for the following year.


 * __Rationale__**

Every school community has professional development plans, strategies and activities for teachers to partake in. Teachers are required to actively participate and contribute in professional development sessions so they can effectively modify their teaching practices to suit the students’ learning and engagement needs.

Research has shown that the majority of these activities/sessions is not detailed, are short term and do not address the curriculum set out for the students [|[1]]. Here at //Society High// we have high expectations and specific guidelines to ensure that all activities serves a purpose and that its implementation within the classroom lead to better results, an increase in student engagement and learning. Statistics also show that only 30% of teachers are involved in professional development sessions that entails in depth study of a specific field [|[2]]. We believe that the content covered and the duration of the session is vital for efficient professional development within teachers and therefore choose workshops that strictly cater to //Society High’s// students.

We at //Society High// understand that professional development has en effect on student achievement. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> An effective teacher utilises all professional development within their classroom, which has shown to improve the results of 53% low-achieving students [|[3]]. A study conducted by Wenglinsky (2000) established that different types of professional development impacted on student achievement. A science teacher for example who attends sessions to develop his/her laboratory skills has students that are a grade ahead of the students whose teacher did not acquire these skills.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Programs that professionally develop teachers should be long term and fixed throughout the school year. Teachers should also actively participate in the programs; giving feedback, demonstrating and putting into practice the knowledge they have learnt for within their classroom. Teachers should also be constantly liaising with other staff and institutions and collaborating together to improve their teaching and student learning [|[4]]. In general, the more money that is deposited towards the improvement of teaching practices and qualifications in terms of professional development, gives greater gains to student learning than any other uses of the educational money [|[5]].

The one undisputed requirement of good education is good teaching, and performance in the classroom lies at the heart of the teacher’s professional skill and of the standard of learning achieved. (HMI, 1985)

Staff performance plays a vital role in how the school performs as a whole. Staff performances are based on setting and achieving goals (long and short term) through different methods and techniques [|[6]]. Performances are also based on the maintenance and improvement of these methods and techniques to augment student learning and engagement within the classroom. A staff performance review provides feedback and advice for teachers to take on board and further develop their skills [|[7]]

All staff must be presented with fundamental knowledge of what is expected of teachers’ performances so they can achieve the school’s objectives. Responsibilities, aims, goals, discretion, are all made clear by the school so that teachers are able to employ their teaching practices to accommodate for their objectives. Guidance from the school community is also essential to correct any blunders between their intention and their performances within the school [|[8]].

[|[1]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 9pt;">Cohen and Hill, 1998 [|[2]] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">Hirsch, Koppich, & Knapp, 1998 [|[3]] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">Haycock, 1998 [|[4]] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">The Council for School Performance, 1998 [|[5]] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">Darling-Hamond 1998 [|[6]] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Poster and Poster, 1991 [|[7]] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Poster and Poster, 1991 [|[8]] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Poster and Poster, 1991

__<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">References __
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Cohen, D. K., & Kill, H. C. (1998). **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> //State policy and classroom performance: Mathematics reform in California//. CPRE Policy Brief No. RB-27. Philadelphia: Consortium for Policy Research in Education, University of Pennsylvania.


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Council for School Performance. (1998). **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> //Staff development and student achievement: Making the connection in Georgia schools//. Atlanta: School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Haycock, K. (1998). **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> //Good teaching matters//. Washington, DC: Education Trust.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">HMI (1985). **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Education Observed 3: Good Teachers, London: DES


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Hirsch, E., Koppich, J. E., & Knapp, M. S. (1998). **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> //What states are doing to improve the quality of teaching: A brief review of current patterns and trends//. Seattle: The Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington.


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Poster, C., & Poster, D. (1991). **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Teacher Appraisal: Training and implementation, //What is appraisal?,// Routledge.


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Wenglinsky, H. (2000). **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> //How teaching matters: Bringing the classroom back into discussions of teacher quality//. Retrieved 25.10.09 from **www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PICTEAMAT.pdf**