| Note: Don't waste money on folders that sellers may call Blue Books or guides. The Teaching Council don't really like these. The Teaching Council does not want to see naturally occurring evidence replicated in the folder or teaching journal. The Teaching Council guidelines are clear and it's easy to set up your own folder and follow the process. The article below explains how. |
It's very important that you also read another article here on the Professional Growth Cycle (PGC) that is replacing this old system of appraisal
Becoming a fully certified teacher is not just a ‘tick off the list’, it is a way in which you can become a better teacher. Investing time and effort into your teacher certification will ensure that your teaching practice will positively influence learners, colleagues and ECE as a whole.
Contents
- Why do I need to get certificated?
- What is involved?
- How should I set up my folder and what about integrating this with an online system for appraisal processes?
- What sort of goals should I choose?
- What should I put in my folder?
- Who should be my mentor?
- Some helpful resources
As a new graduate starting out in your career in early childhood education, gaining full teacher certification is not always straightforward.
For many of you, the brief lecture or two outlining teacher certification and what is required of you may not lead you to the understanding of the importance of becoming, and remaining, a certificated early childhood professional.
The following article answers many of the questions hanging over provisionally certificated teachers’ heads and serves to provide some clarity around what is expected of you on your journey towards full certification and maintaining your certification throughout your career.
Why do I need to get certificated?
Many new graduates entering the profession do not have a thorough understanding of what is required of them with regard to gaining teacher certification. Most will have had an overview of the process through their tertiary provider, however the process itself may still be a bit of a mystery.
With the high workloads of senior teachers in ECE services, teacher certification can be overlooked or undervalued, and new graduates can be left unsure of what they are meant to be doing. Chris Smith of Teacher Registration Support Scheme tells of teachers coming to her for Induction and Mentoring, having had little support through their employer,
Sometimes teachers will have received very little support in the area of Induction and Mentoring and when they come to me they will lost many months of time which they could have spent on their teacher certification.
With the time to gain your full certification being only six years, many teachers waste months, to years, of these six years unaware of the need to complete their certification, after which they will need to participate in a refresher course to continue practising.
Becoming certificated encourages you to grow and develop through reflection, communication, goal setting and professional development; the skills learned through this process ensure that learning doesn’t stop after you finish studying and you continue to grow and develop as a teacher. Certification sets a foundation upon which you can continue to develop throughout your career and provide the best outcomes for learners.
2. What is involved?
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