CPTD capacity building

CPTD capacity building

Evaluating the evaluation process

SACE (South African Council for Educators) is mandated to manage the CPTD or Continuous Professional Teacher Development Management System. Within this process, educators are encouraged to engage in their own professional development. When they do, they can accumulate professional development points for their efforts. Organisations such as Government Departments, Teacher Unions, Educational Institutes and Non-Governmental Organisations that provide programmes for Professional Development are all considered potential providers. These providers need to be approved by SACE and their programmes should be evaluated and endorsed by SACE before they are allowed to cater to the educators. The Flemish Association for Development Cooperation and Technical Assistance (VVOB) supports the improvement of this CPTD process.

Continuing Professional Teachers Development

From 2 to 4 June 2014 SACE evaluators, members of the endorsement committee, SACE staff and provincial education department officials gathered to engage in this programme. They learned more about effective Continuing Professional Teachers Development (CPTD) practices and reflected on their current practices. From this reflection, a list of challenges was drawn up. Communication between the different stakeholders was identified as a common challenge. Evaluators also sometimes have a different understanding of what their role is and how the tools can be used. The evaluation process and tools could thus improve. The SACE CPTD Management System creates a unique opportunity to improve teaching and learning, but it could be strengthened, based on insights from research to what entails effective CPTD.

PLCs

Bringing teachers together to learn with and from each other is an effective CPTD strategy. These groups are called Professional Learning Communities (PLC). PLCs are currently being established in many provinces, but many people have different understandings on what PLCs are. The concept of PLCs was unpacked and again related to the CPTD Management System. Can the system do more to encourage all teachers to participate in such communities?

How to evaluate?

Participants then discussed two possible new tools to strengthen the evaluation process. Based on the learnings and insights about effective CPTD, they set the first steps in creating a rubric for the evaluation of programmes submitted by providers. Participants identified criteria and levels of achievement. They then started working on descriptors. These drafts will be further discussed and a rubric will be compiled, which should enrich the evaluation process.

Participants also discussed the matter of Site Visits. The idea is to also evaluate providers’ programmes on site. This will allow evaluators to have a more complete view on the delivery and impact of a programme.

More news to come

SACE is planning to start publishing a CPTD Newsletter. Such newsletter could inform a wide variety of stakeholders on events and evolutions related to CPTD. The participants of the workshop brainstormed on the name of such newsletter, and discussed the target groups while they also identified possible topics to cover in the newsletter. The newsletter will also cover events such as the one that is covered in this article. Expect a CPTD Newsletter soon!

For more information on this event, kindly go to the following link for more: http://www.vvob.be/southafrica/content/how-can-recently-launched-cptd-system-support-effective-teacher-professional-development.