How does the New Zealand Catholic elaborations 'fit', in teacher professional growth cycles and Arinui?
We know in all our years of expertise with professional growth cycles that there can be so many indicators which schools have thought about using. The Standards for the Teaching Profession are the nationally agreed description of the expectations of effective teaching. These are what educators need to be guided by their annual professional growth cycle.
The Catholic elaborations on the Teaching Council’s Standards for the Teaching Profession provide a framework for personal and professional reflection and support the growth of the encounter with Christ. They are not in themselves another set of criteria for educators in Catholic contexts to be measured against. And evidence which suggests that a teacher or leader meets the Standards for the Teaching Profession in a certain context may not in itself be a perfect match against the Catholic elaborations.
Instead, we recommend that educators reflect on how they are improving their practice to best meet the needs of their learners. A huge part of this should be reflecting on the impact of their professional practice in supporting their ākonga to grow their encounter with Christ. Evidence of the Catholic elaborations would be naturally occurring within Arinui - as part of the inquiry into teaching or leadership practice or through professional learning, feedback on practice, or other professional goals. Our Arinui team can help you consider how you might integrate the Catholic elaborations into collections; the reflections on the elaborations can be used for professional discussions about practice.
When schools use Arinui, we make sharing collections with others easy. Principals and ECE leaders can share collections if needed as part of the special character review.
Remember, the professional growth cycle should be about leaders and teachers reflecting on naturally occurring examples of practice. And Arinui helps them to do this. Using Arinui saves teachers and leaders time as it allows them to focus on the main thing: making a difference for all learners in your place, through your context.