Alannah McLatchey
Evidence Sample 7


This evidence sample aligns with various teaching standards descriptors. The nature of this evidence piece demonstrates how community representatives can provide a more specialised focus that is relevant particularly to the professionals within the specific Albury-Wodonga area, with resources, tools and strategies that can be used for the local population demographic and needs of the local professional teaching population. Further, the need for professional learning is essential in keeping up to date with resources, strategies and tools for learning and working with children, staff and families in an appropriate, professional and continually updated manner.
Evidence sample seven can therefore be seen to align with the graduate level teaching standards 6.2 and 7.4.
Justification
In this evidence sample, a professional development course was made available in the local Albury-Wodonga area for professionals and university students moving into areas dealing with children and trauma. It was conducted towards the middle of 2017, and provided information on dealing with child trauma, relevant professional services equipped to handle these events, and key strategies to employ if a child opens up about a traumatising situation. This evidence sample can be considered a relevant piece of evidence to standards 6.2 and 7.4, as Whitton, Barker, Nosworthy, Humphries, & Sinclair (2016) note that professional development works to enhance skills, and widen knoweldge (p.68). They go on further to suggest that proffessional development is inlcusive of attending seminars and conferences, award courses, and non-award courses (Whitton, Barker, Nosworthy, Humphries, & Sinclair, 2016). As the Building Bridges Conference 2017 falls under these categories, it can therefore be considered as a valid piece of evidence that depicts engagement with professional learning. Engaging with conferences and other professional development tasks is considered ‘critical to professional learning’ (Grossman, Compton, Igra, Ronfeldt, Shahan, & Williamson, 2009, p. 2062). The fact that this conference was local to the area means that all resources suggested, provided and demonstrated are relevant and accessible to teaching and learning within the local area. This evidence sample therefore demonstrates a thorough understanding not only of relevant sources of learning, but also the role of external professionals in broadening professional knowledge.