Professional Development

The NSW Teachers Federation, being both an industrial and professional organisation, from time to time provides specific development training opportunities for its members.

Outlined below are current programs / courses on offer. Some of these activities are jointly run with other professional organisations.

Teacher Professional Learning Program

We have joined with the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney to offer you, our members, a range of professional learning experiences which we hope you will find professionally stimulating and of benefit to your daily practice.

Our courses and programs offer you access to the blended expertise of our own officers, the university's academic staff and practising teachers in public schools - the perfect mix, we hope you'll agree!

We are delighted to advise that we are an endorsed provider of Institute Registered professional development for the maintenance of Professional Competence. Check out the courses (less than 10 hours) and programs (more than 10 hours) for the accreditation you can claim. When you come to a course or program refreshments - morning tea/coffee, morning and afternoon teas and lunch (if a whole day program) are included. In the interests of the environment we are gradually aiming to reduce the use of paper and, in some courses, you will be issued with a USB memory stick rather than a pile of documents.

You can apply for the TPLP courses by fax on 02 9217 2368.

Course details will be posted on this website as they become available.

Workshops for Science Teachers Years 7 – 10

Questacon, ANU and the NSW Teachers Federation are hosting 2 courses in April at Noah’s on the Beach, Cnr Shortland Esplanade and Zaara Street, Newcastle. The following speakers will be presenting at both courses:

Professor Mike Gore AM
The founder of Questacon, Australia’s National Science and Technology Centre and an international exponent of successful science presentations and teacher workshops - Mike brings science to life and puts it in a relevant, accessible context for everyone.

Professor Sue Stocklmayer AM
Sue is the Director of the Australian National Centre for Public Awareness of Science at the ANU and has a long record of international workshops and research in the physical sciences, especially alternative conceptions in physics and gender issues.

Professor John Rayner AM
John has a long record of teaching physics, especially to students and teachers at the University of Canberra. He is currently a Visiting Fellow at ANU, and brings his high analytical skills in physics to the team.

Workshop 1: Working for understanding - forces for science teachers

Date: Monday 2 April Time: 9.00am to 4.00pm (registration from 8.30am)

Venue: Noah’s on the Beach, Cnr Shortland Esplanade & Zaara Street, Newcastle

Cost: Members $100, Non Members $150

Closing date for registrations: Monday 19 March 2012

Teachers will appreciate an in-depth and very personal look at the basic understandings behind the concepts of mechanical forces and Newton’s Laws. In this short workshop, we examine the underlying principles of forces through an enjoyable series of interactive exercises using simple, easy-to-find equipment. 

The workshop is aimed at you – the teacher, to enable discussion and experimentation in a lively, thoughtful and friendly environment. Along the way, you will gather some useful classroom exercises with full notes provided, including a brief account of current research into alternative conceptions in this area. We set out to challenge the traditional presentation of forces in the classroom, taking a fresh look at how best to construct a teaching sequence for this topic, and how to scaffold student understanding through simple, relevant experiments.

The workshop is in three sections - Part 1: Feel the forces; Part 2: Measuring forces; Part 3: More on understanding forces.

At the end of this workshop you will have explored all three of Newton's Laws through a series of hands-on experiments, and addressed student difficulties associated with Newton's Third Law. You will be aware of likely alternative conceptions and will have explored ways to address these with your students. You will have a set of resources to use in the classroom. 

Workshop 2: Working for understanding – fields in physics for science teachers

Date: Tuesday 2 April 2012

Time: 9.00am to 4.00pm (registration from 8.30am)

Venue: Noah’s on the Beach, Cnr Shortland Esplanade & Zaara Street, Newcastle

Cost: Members $100, Non Members $150

Closing date for registrations: Monday 19 March 2012

This workshop examines basic understandings behind the concepts of fields in physics. We examine the underlying principles of gravity, magnetism and electricity through an enjoyable series of interactive exercises using simple equipment.

The workshop is aimed at you – the teacher, to enable discussion and experimentation in a lively, thoughtful and friendly environment. Along the way, you will gather some useful classroom exercises with full notes provided. A strong feature of this workshop is the topic of alternative conceptions, especially in electricity, and we incorporate current research into the workshop in an understandable and effective way. We link the presentation of these different fields and discuss how to scaffold student understanding through simple, relevant experiments.

The workshop is in three sections - Part 1: Visualise the fields; Part 2: More complex fields; Part 3: More on understanding fields.

At the end of this workshop you will have explored fields in physics through a series of hands-on experiments. You will be aware of likely alternative conceptions and ways to address these in the classroom. You will also be aware of current research into the teaching of fields, especially their importance in teaching current electricity. You will have a set of resources to use in the classroom.

Each course addresses the following standards of the NSW Institute of Teachers: 1.2.1, 1.2.3, 3.2.2, 3.2.4, 6.2.3, 6.2.4 and is Institute registered for 6 hours.

Application forms

You can either apply online or download an application below.