Demonstrating Standard 6.2

6.2) Engage in professional learning and improve practice

Understand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers

Attendance of Conferences:
Attending state or subject-specific conferences has not only been an excellent method to develop my networking structure as an emerging teacher, but also provides current and practical advice related to situations experienced by other professionals in the field. Furthermore, most of the content covered at the conference will be based on theory that will act as a strong foundation for my teaching practices. The conferences I have attended include the South Australian English Teacher's Association (SAETA) Conference and the Christian School's Australia (CSA) Conference. At the CSA Conference I had the opportunity to attend several workshops, one of which included a Stage 1 English workshop. This was held by an experience professional in the educational field and gave me great insight into the challenges, standards, and requirements asked of me as a graduate teacher.

Professional Development Workshops:
I have found that there are several Professional Development workshops available for graduate teachers. These may range from special needs support, to subject specific support, as well as personal and professional health and wellbeing support. Some valuable sources for these workshops have been MultiLit workshops, who provide a calendar of upcoming events (as seen by Figure 1 below); AISSA, who have provided several significant workshops that have aided in my understanding and practical ability to differentiate tasks in the classroom (Figure 2 below);

Online Networking Databases:
Finally, there are several online networking databases such as Pinterest Boards, Blogs and Wikispaces that may provide invaluable support and information to a graduate teacher. These sources often provide relevant and modern resources, that are helpful when trying to balance a busy workload with several other newly developing responsibilities and tasks.