Specialist Teachers 2017–2018: Call for Application

  1. Background Information

In September 2015 the Minister for Education launched the Victorian Curriculum F-10 as one of the Education State initiatives. As part of the Education State support for implementation of the new curriculum, professional learning programs for teachers will be provided in the following priority areas:

  • STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)
  • Digital coding
  • Learning about religions
  • Critical thinking
  • Literacy in the early years
  • Music
  • Financial literacy
  • Health education and personal and social capability, including respectful relationships
  • Civic participation
  • Ethical understanding in a global world.

The professional learning programs for teachers in the priority specialist areas will be provided by Specialist Teachers.

  1. Position Details

The Specialist Teachers will be practising school-based teachers/school leaders who will have a 0.5 EFT teaching/school administration load, and a 0.5 EFT role in statewide support for one of the specialist areas. Specialist Teachers will be based at their home school.

The Specialist Teacher role is for an 18 month period, commencing in Term 1 2017 and concluding on June 30 2018.

The Specialist Teacher roles provide current teachers/school leaders with significant professional development and learning opportunities to extend their professional knowledge and skills, enhance their experience in the facilitation and delivery of professional learning, provide support to primary, secondary and special schools for curriculum planning and implementation, and play a key role in the effective implementation of an important Education State initiative.

Specialist Teachers will be supported through:

  • training by and regular communication with VCAA curriculum staff
  • interaction with Department of Education and Training (DET) regional Education Improvement Leaders
  • a team-based approach to the delivery of curriculum support in each specialist area and across the curriculum.

For further details of the specialist position, including the selection criteria, please refer to the attached Position Description.

  1. Information for principals of intending applicants for Specialist Teacher positions

Specialist Teacher salary replacement

The VCAA, through the Department of Education and Training (DET), provides salary replacement funding to the school of the Specialist Teacher for the duration of their appointment at a rate equivalent to 0.5 of the substantive salary, plus 0.5 of the relevant salary on-costs and payroll tax.

Principal Agreement to release of teacher to undertake a Specialist Teacher role

  1. Principals are requested, if appropriate, to endorse the application.
  2. The VCAA will contact principals of applicants it is interested in appointing in order to discuss the applicant’s skills, knowledge and capacity, prior to making a decision aboutwhether to appoint the teacher to a Specailist Teacher role.
  3. The appointment of Specialist Teachers is subject to the approval of their principals. No appointment will be made to a Specialist Teacher role by the VCAA without the approval of the principal.
  4. The commencement date of each appointed Specialist will be negotiated and agreed with each principal.

4.Applications are sought for five of the priority areas

Applications for five of the 10 areas are now sought from teachers/school leaders in government, Catholic and independent schools who are interested in undertaking a Specialist Teacher role for an 18 month period, commencing from Term 1 2017 and concluding on June 30 2018. These areas are those where schools indicated through a staewide survey that they had the highest need for support.

The five areas are:

Critical Thinking

This role will support teachers and schools to develop explicit and intentional teaching and learning programs based on the Critical and Creative Thinking capability.

Primary and secondary teachers who might not normally self-identify as ‘experts’ in this area, but who have taught critical thinking strategies, are strongly encouraged to apply, and will receive training and support to ensure that they are equipped to facilitate professional learning for their peers.

Digital Coding

Knowledge and skills about coding have been incorporated in the new Digital Technologies curriculum and the Mathematics curriculum. This role will support both generalist teachers and learning area Specialist Teachers to develop effective teaching and learning programs based on the new elements of these curricula.

Secondary teachers with experience in computational thinking, including coding, are strongly encouraged to apply for this area.

Health Education, and personal and social capability, including respectful relationships

This role will support teachers and schools to develop new teaching and learning programs focused on the development of respectful relationships based on the Health and Physical Education learning area and the Personal and Social Capability.

Literacy in the Early Years

This role will support teachers and schools to develop effective literacy programs in the first three years of primary school.

STEM

This role will support schools to develop innovative integrated teaching and learning programs with a particular focus on the STEM elements of the Victorian Curriculum.

It is especially important that amongst the cohort of Specialist Teachers that there is knowledge of the specific needs of teachers working in specialist settings or who have students with special learning needs in their classrooms. Applications are therefore sought, not only from teachers in government, Catholic and independent sector primary and secondary schools, but also from teachers in Special Schools for the Specialist Teacher roles.

Advice for previousapplicants (from the second round, March 2016)

Any teachers who previously applied for one of the five priority areas listed abovein response to the March 2016 VCAA notice,and who wish to have the application that they submitted in April 2016 considered in this round, should confirm this by emailing Alan McLean at .

A further application is not required, but applicants may choose to update their application, if appropriate.

Intending applicants should refer to the attached Position Description, obtain their principal’s support and endorsement, complete the attached Application proforma and forward it, including the responses to the key selection criteria, to:

Alan McLean
Acting Executive Director, Curriculum Division, Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA)

Closing date: Wednesday 16 November2016

  1. Enquiries

Enquiries about the Specialist Teacher role can be directed to:

Alan McLean

Acting Executive Director, Curriculum Division, Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA)

Phone: (03) 9032 1675

Email:

Victorian Curriculum – Specialist Teacher

Position Description

Specialist Teacher role responsibilities

Specialist Teachers will:

  • design, develop, facilitate and lead professional learning programs in specialist areas, including the provision of advisory support to teachers and schools in a range of modes (face-to-face, online, phone, Skype, workshops); and
  • support the development of specialist areas communities of practice.

Position details

Employment Status

Specialist teachers will continue to be employed by the Department of Education and Training or their relevant employer, and maintain their current terms and conditions of employment.

Duration of role / 18 months, from Term 1 2017 to July 15 2018
Time fraction / 0.5 EFT school-based duties, 0.5 Specialist Teacher role
Position location / Specialist teachers will work from the school where they are currently employed, but will be required to travel to faciliate professional learning in other locations.
Travel and Accommodation costs / Costs for travel and overnight accommodation expenses incurred through the role will be reimbursed

Victorian Curriculum: Specialist Teachers

Application Form

Name
Email
School
Current position
Teacher Classification level
Employment – fixed term or ongoing
(if fixed term, please indicate commencement and cessation dates)
Principal Name
Principal Phone Number
Principal email address

Please nominate either one or two of the following specialist areas in which you have expertise, and indicate your preferred order of preference (where 1 is your most preferred area).

Specialist Area / Preference/s
Critical thinking
Digital coding
Health education and personal and social capability, including respectful relationships
Literacy in the Early Years
STEM

Specialist Teacher Selection Criteria

Your Application should directly address each of the following criteria.

  1. Demonstrated knowledge and expertise in the identified specialist Victorian Curriculum learning area/s.
  2. Demonstrated successful experience and skills in the development, writing, implementation and evaluation of teaching and learning resources.
  3. Demonstrated knowledge of a range of effective professional learning strategies, including teacher collaboration and mentoring.
  4. Demonstrated highly effective communication skills (writing, speaking and listerning, presentation, facilitation, interpersonal)

Advice for responding to the Selection Criteria

In responding to the criteria it is important that:

  • sufficient evidence is provided for each of the criteria in order to demonstrate how the elements of the criteria are satisfied;
  • skills are explicitly identified. (A series of roles undertaken or positions held do not of themselves indicate skills);
  • the response to the communication skills criterion addresses various components of communication (speaking, listening, questioning, presentation and facilitation, writing); and
  • all elements of the criteria are addressed.

Referees

Please nominate two referees, one of whom must be your current principal, who can be contacted by the VCAA to corroborate your experience, knowledge and skills.

Please provide phone and email contact details for each of the referees you nominate, and a brief comment about how the referee knows of your work.

Collection Notice

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) is a statutory authority continued under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic). The VCAA collects the information requested on this form, which includes personal information within the meaning of the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014, for thepurpose of facilitating the selection of Specialist Teachers by the VCAA. The information collected on this form will be used by and disclosed to VCAA employees and/or contractors for and in connection with the abovementioned purpose. The information may also be disclosed to members of the Specialist Teachers selection panel, some of whom may be from other organisations. Unless the VCAA is authorised or required by law, the VCAA will not otherwise use or disclose the information collected on this form. Failure to provide the information requested on this from may result in an applicant’s expression of interest not being considered. When an individual’s personal information is provided to the VCAA by a third party, the VCAA requests that the individual is made aware their personal information will be or has been provided to the VCAA, the purpose for which it will be or was provided and to whom it will be or is likely to be disclosed. An individual may request access to personal information the VCAA holds about them, if any, and request its correction if inaccurate. Initial enquiries regarding access to personal information held by the VCAA in relation to the selection of Specialist Teachers can be made by contacting Alan McLean at . The VCAA Privacy Policy can be found at