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Congratulations are in order for the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s (ATA) specialist councils that are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.
Inaugurated in 1961, the following specialist councils have achieved this historic milestone: Business Education, Council on School Administration, English Language Arts, Guidance, Home Economics, Industrial Arts, Mathematics, Modern Language, Physical Education, Science and Social Studies.
Today the ATA supports the work of 21 specialist councils, which were created to foster the professional development (PD) of teachers interested in specific curriculum areas. By organizing annual conferences, producing publications, maintaining websites and offering workshops, councils provide members with opportunities to exchange ideas and gather new information. Each council is operated by a team of volunteer teacher members who contribute their time, talents and enthusiasm to plan and implement programs and activities for the council. The Association supports the councils through financial grants and administrative advice and support.
Membership in the Association automatically provides membership in a specialist council of one’s choice. Membership in a specialist council entitles teachers to discounted registration rates for the council’s annual conference, opportunities to attend additional PD activities, and access to publications and website resources.
Specialist councils play a critical role in advancing the PD opportunities for Alberta teachers. The establishment of specialist councils supports the Association’s belief that a program of continuous professional development is a major factor in the change process for education. This belief is embedded in the 1935 Teaching Profession Act, which states in part: “The objects of the Association are to improve the knowledge and skills of teachers by meetings, publications, research and other activities designed to maintain and improve the competence of teachers.” According to the Association’s position paper on professional development (Members’ Handbook 2011), PD must be responsive to the learning needs of the professional teacher and reflect a wide range of practices, such as collaborative learning, peer-assisted learning, teacher-as-researcher projects and independent learning. Collegiality and collaboration are also essential features of effective PD programs. The specialist councils’ success is due to their ability to remain relevant and responsive to teachers’ changing PD needs over the years and to promote collegiality and collaboration among members.
The Roles of PD Leadership
The document Four Roles of PD Leadership provides a framework for the Association’s PD program to help ensure that the PD programs, including specialist councils, mirror the strategic directions of the provincial Association. This document reviews the four components that must be considered when planning PD for teachers. The first role of PD leadership is to facilitate career-long PD for all teachers. Specialist councils work to ensure that teachers have access to meaningful PD opportunities that meet their needs throughout all stages of their careers. For example, all specialist councils have the opportunity to participate in the Beginning Teachers’ Conferences by offering presentations and hosting display tables. The Middle Years Council has provided presentations to universities to preservice teachers, and the Special Education Council has hosted webinars on meeting diverse student needs, as part of its commitment to reach teachers at all stages in their careers.
All specialist councils support the second role of PD leadership, which is to enhance the professional expertise and practice of teachers in the areas of curriculum, resources and education policy. For example, the Early Childhood Education Council provides teachers with a list of new publications and book reviews through its newsletter and website. The Career and Technology Studies (CTS) council offers assistance and hosts sessions on curriculum integration of the new CTS outcomes.
To advocate on professional issues is the third role of PD leadership. Through the work of PD subgroups, it is hoped that PD leaders will have the knowledge and skills to advocate for conditions favourable to teaching and learning. Specialist councils have played a critical role in this advocacy. The Alberta School Library Council, for example, prepared and submitted a response to Alberta Education’s Draft Library Access Policy and Guideline, which had a significant influence on the final draft. The Fine Arts Council participated in an external review committee of the fine arts curriculum development and attended a variety of town hall meetings around the province to advocate on issues arising from the proposed curriculum.
The final role of PD leadership is to build communities of practice among teachers through communication, collaboration and research. Professional networking is important to the development of PD leadership and is supported through specialist councils. The English as a Second Language Council built communities of practice by creating a membership survey, publishing the results in its newsletter and using the data to drive its strategic action plan for 2010–12. The Global, Environmental and Outdoor Education Council builds communication among members through its quarterly publication, Facebook group, Twitter feed and website updates.
Councils participate in hundreds of activities each year to promote the four roles of PD leadership. It’s important that teachers become involved in their specialist councils to continue to build strong PD learning communities across Alberta. With 21 specialist councils to choose from, there are many PD and leadership opportunities available.
ATA members are encouraged to visit the Association website to select their no-cost specialist council membership. The no-cost memberships do not expire; rather, they continue from one year to the next until the members chooses to opt out. Visit the ATA website at www.teachers.ab.ca, log in and select Specialist Council Membership under Access Your Sites at the top of the page. Alternatively, you can phone Professional Development staff at 1-800-232-7208 to learn more about ATA specialist councils.
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Andrea Berg is an ATA executive staff officer in the Professional Development program area.
