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Teaching and lifelong learning are an essential part of the profession. Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) standards (2014) and Education Queensland (Department of Education and Training, 2015) designate that personal development (PD) is compulsory. Specifically, standard 6 says that teachers will engage in continued professional learning and development (AITSL, 2014). Research also suggests that in order for History teachers to remain effective they must remain conversant with the current information about learners and pedagogy (Husbands, 2011).
Keeping up to date with teaching and learning in the History domain not only means improving content knowledge but also through the use of teaching strategies for learning. In order to maintain best practice with regard to inquiry learning in History, the use of information, communication and technology (ICT) should be integrated into learning experiences. Consequently, the teacher should remain afoot of ICT developments and regard it as a form of PD (reference: ‘Self-assessment and student learning in History blog entry). An example of this is through the use of podcasts. As a form of electronic media, podcasts offer an audio version of History that can be both interesting and informing, such as ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects’ (British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 2015). The availability of ICTs for use in the classroom is countless. It is therefore advisable to consistently use a select amount of ICT applications, lest students become confused with information variability (Taylor, Fahey, Kriewaldt & Boon, 2012). In hand with this, the possibility for information students can access, and interconnect with their learning, makes it equally important to teach how to discern reliability of certain sources (Taylor et al., 2012).
There is also some History associations online which can be joined in order to gain more insight into the combination of content and ICT. Looking further afield, the Beginning and Establishing Teacher’s Association (BETA) (2015) is a volunteer organisation which is designed to aid beginning teachers by providing a professional network of connections, access to a journal, and PD opportunities. Another association of worth is the Queensland History Teachers’ Association (QHTA) (2015). The association provides links to curriculum content, conference information, resources, a newsletter, an e-journal, and a forum for History teachers to communicate (QHTA, 2015). Contained in this association is the opportunity to attend the annual History teachers’ conference in Brisbane (QHTA, 2015). The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) (2015) also provides personal development workshops. This training provides three hour information sessions on topics such as interpretation and implementation of Subject Achievement Indicators (SAI’s) relative to subjects (QCAA, 2015). The QCAA website (QCAA, 2015) also allows the searching of personal development opportunities relative to regions.
This task is intended to address APST 6.2, 6.4
References
Beginning and Establishing Teachers’ Association (BETA). (2015). Welcome to BETA. Retrieved August 21, 2015, from http://www.beta.asn.au/
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). (2015). A History of the World in 100 Objects. Retrieved from August 21, 2015, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/programmes/a-z/by/a%20history%20of%20the%20world%20in%20100%20objects/player
Department of Education, Training and Employment. (2014). Employee Professional Development Including Study and Research Assistance Scheme (SARAS). Retrieved August 21, 2015, from http://ppr.det.qld.gov.au/corp/hr/development/Pages/Employee-Professional-Development-Including-Study-and-Research-Assistance-Scheme-%28SARAS%29.aspx
Husbands, C. (2011). ‘What do History teachers (need to) know? A Framework for Understanding and Developing Practice’, in I. Davies, (Ed.), Debates in History Teaching. London: Routledge.
Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2015).Workshops. Retrieved August 21, 2015, from https://events.qcaa.qld.edu.au/Catalogue.aspx?yl=3
Queensland History Teachers Association (QHTA). (2015). Home. Retrieved August 21, 2015, from http://www.qhta.com.au/default.htm
Taylor, T., Fahey, C., Kriewaldt, J., and Boon, D. (2012). Time and Place: Explorations in Teaching Geography and History. Frenchs Forest, Australia: Pearson Australia.
The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). (2014). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Retrieved August 21, 2015, from http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers/standards/list