If you’re anything like me, you spent the early days of your professional experience scratching your head (or hitting your head) over your Teaching Accreditation. If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, or over it, this resource will give you some hope. Not just that, it will give you the support and practical guidance you need to successfully complete your Teaching Accreditation. This e-book will help you to get organised and successfully complete this complex and, at times, confusing component of your teaching career.
As a shiny new graduate, in my freshly ironed trousers and my overly starched shirt I had the natural networking skills and determination to get teaching positions with relatively little effort. I was confident in my training and career prospects, however, once I entered the classroom things began to get a little overwhelming. There are so many challenges that I was not expecting to have to deal with. Managing parents’ expectations, establishing discipline in the classroom, building professional networks, marking, reports, assessments, laryngitis, staff politics, disappointments, repeated bouts of the man-flu – I felt like I was facing a never ending uphill battle! That didn’t even include the actual teaching of a class of uncooperative cherubs.
And the industry keeps evolving. Even in the years since I graduated I have seen huge changes in many areas including the use of ICT, curriculum implementation and teaching pedagogy. With more and more accountability placed on schools and classroom teachers our time is becoming more and more stretched. I spent the first three years or so, just trying to keep my head above water – there was no time, or mental capacity left, to even think about my Teaching Accreditation.
In those first years there was no one to help me through my Teaching Accreditation. I worked in a number of elite private schools and everyone was busy enough with their own workload and there was no time to think about my accreditation. The other thing was none of the teachers that I met in the early stages in my career knewmuchabouttheaccreditationprocess–itwasrelativelynew. Someschools have dedicated staff members and mentors that are there to help graduate teachers through the process, but many schools do not.
This e-book and the resources in the ‘Navigating Your Teaching Accreditation’ section at imanewteacher.com are designed to help you to complete your accreditation by offering guidance, support and even a shoulder to cry on if you really need it.
I was fortunate enough in my third year of teaching to have had excellent teaching mentors and support. With the help of these experienced and generous teachers, I was able to complete my Teaching Accreditation, receiving ‘Professional Competence’ in my first attempt. Many of the examples that are included in this book are my personal reflections and selections of evidence that I used for my accreditation. While I am happy to share these with you, it is important that you recognise that this way is not the only way of completing your Teaching Accreditation. You should always follow the advice of your teaching supervisor and principal, thoroughly read the supporting documents that have been compiled by the New South Wales Institute of Teaching (NSWIT), the Department of Education and Communities (DEC), Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Limited (AITSL) and other agencies. This is not the only way to complete your accreditation; it is merely a guide to navigate you through the various stages.