Improving educational program and practice within approved early childhood education and care settings project

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Improving Educational Program and
Practice within Approved Early
Childhood Education and Care
Settings Project
CRICOS No. 00213J

Learning Objectives
By the end of this training, you will be able to:
• Articulate an understanding of the Improving Educational
Program and Practice within Approved Early Childhood
Education and Care Settings Project (Reflective Practice
Project)

What is the Reflective Practice Project?
Why Now?

Project Partnership
• Scope IT support systems
• Produce vignettes for 10 topic areas
• Coordinate pilot trial group
• Trial training options
• Create online learning platform with
support resources
• Create support resources to assist
reflective practice
• Train front-line Children’s Services
team members in mentoring,
coaching, and critical reflection
• Provide resources for online platform
• Provide content expertise to support
vignettes
• Evaluate the Reflective Practices
Project

Reflective Practice Project Scoping
Project Scoping:
• DETE funding to deliver learning and
development opportunities.
1. Analysis of C&K service results
against the National Quality
Standards (NQS) highlighted strong
need for educator support in the
areas of critical reflection.
2. Analysis of C&K’s NQS results
against the Australian Early
Development Census (AEDC)
highlighted a number of topic areas
that support critical reflection.
3. This information was then mapped to
the C&K Learning and Development
Framework
Business Context:
• Fit within C&K’s Learning and
Development Framework
• Support educators across
Queensland including, rural and
remote areas
• Enable connection amongst
educators
• Build skills in critical reflection, and
address areas arising as key issues
for educators such as inclusive
practice, behaviour guidance, and
cultural competence
• Sustain beyond the funding period of
December 2015

The Early Years Sector
‘Changes in service demand and delivery are driving
increased demand for certain roles and specific skills.
This is contributing to an ongoing need to invest in workforce
planning and development’.
Ref: Community Services & Health Industry Skills Council Quote: 2015 Environmental scan Summary building a healthy future:

Project Implementation

What is Critical Reflection?
Early Years Learning Standards:
“Reflective practice is a form of ongoing learning that involves engaging
with questions of philosophy, ethics, and practice.
Its intention is to gather information and gain insights that support, inform
and enrich decision making about children’s learning. As professionals,
educators examine what happens in their settings and reflect on what
they might change or develop.”
Ref: Guide to the National Quality Standard. October 2011 pg. 44
Building waterfalls:
“..a process of thinking deeply from multiple perspectives about what is
being observed in order to develop understandings.”
Ref: C&K Building waterfalls: a guideline for children’s learning and for teaching in kindergarten pg. 107

Pilot Trial Group Training
Group consisted of:
• 20 Kindergarten and Universal Access services
– Metropolitan
– Regional
• 2 full day face-to-face training sessions
• 2 full day online training sessions

2 Day Regional Training Program - Trial
Day One:
• Defining reflective practice
• Frameworks to support reflective practice
• Introduction to resources
Day Two:
• Educational theory
• Transfer of learning
• Supporting reflective practice

What Did the Project Produce?
• 10 digital vignettes with supporting resources focused on key areas of Educators’
practices that can be used now, and into the future (duration 5-10 minutes).
• Two online, and two face-to-face, training sessions on Reflective Practices were
delivered for the pilot group, consisting of a mix of regional and metropolitan services.
• Six reflective practices training sessions delivered to approximately 85 educators,
across regional Queensland.
• The two day Reflective Practices workshop was mapped to units of competencies with
the C&K College, to provide credit for attendance.
• An evaluation report completed by QUT detailing deliverables achieved and
recommendations for improvement.

• The design, development, and delivery of a ‘Coaching Fundamentals’ course
for roll out across services in 2016 applying a train-the-trainer approach.
• A revised ‘Collaborative Teaching and Learning Journal’ incorporating
reflective practices to be used by all services.
• A new ‘Collaborative Teaching and Learning Journal Companion Guide’ to
accompany the application and use of the Collaborative Teaching and
Learning Journal.
• A set of ‘Reflective Practice Cards’ designed to prompt and support critical
reflection in services.

Information Technology
1. A Windows 365 software upgrade
2. The purchase and configuration of 145 laptops for
delivery in 2016
3. A Wi-Fi upgrade to support streaming of the vignettes
4. Video conferencing hardware and Lync for Business
software was installed

C&K Vignettes

Each Vignette Contains
• 3-5 minute video clip of educators
demonstrating practice around each
topic (filmed within C&K services)
• 3-5 minutes sound wave of educator
discussing their practice and
theoretical influences
• 10 minute video clip of QUT content
experts
– Important topic knowledge for practice
– Theories pertinent to topic area
• 3-5 minute video clip of QUT content
experts commentary on educator
practice

Vignette Viewing

Project Evaluation

Project Logic Model

Project Evaluation
Project Inputs
1. Training materials on:
(a) critical reflection,
(b) theories,
(c) coaching and mentoring,
(d) pedagogical and content knowledge, and
2. An online professional development package
consisting of 10 vignettes showcasing a specialised
knowledge or practice

Project Evaluation
Project Outputs
1. Full day face-to-face professional development sessions
between QUT and C&K Children’s Services Managers
2. Two hour face-to-face/online professional development
sessions with Children’s Services Managers
3. Two full day face-to-face professional development
sessions with service staff

Project Evaluation
The conceptual framework for the evaluation was
underpinned by:
• critical reflection,
• professional development, and
• transfer of learning.

Report Findings
There was clear evidence that:
a) participants were satisfied with the professional development
experiences provided in the project,
b) the professional development was relevant to their work,
c) the professional development informed their work in new ways,
d) the time spent undertaking the professional development was
well spent, and
e) the sessions provided participants with knowledge and skills to
support colleagues working with the vignettes.

Report Findings
There was compelling evidence that, as a result of the
project, participants:
a) had a better understanding of their own beliefs and perspectives,
and
b) had changed some of their everyday practices.
Specific gains in critical reflection, as a learned skill, were:
(a) greater self-awareness,
(b) elaboration in thinking differently and appreciating others’
perspectives, and
(c) reconstructing or revising existing understandings and reaching
new conclusions.

Report Findings
There was strong evidence that participants learned about
new theories and saw the value of these theories in helping
them to understand their everyday practice.
Critical theories and post-structuralist theories (included in
the Early Years Learning Framework) were identified as new
to respondents, and the theories the respondents most
wanted to learn more about. These were also the least
accessible to educators.

Report Findings
Of most value to respondents in relation to the coaching and
mentoring they received was the opportunity to connect
directly with others (face-to-face) and to work with the QUT
academics who modelled critical reflection on the vignettes.
Mentoring was found to support participants to extend their
thinking and practice, and participants felt empowered to
make changes in practice due to mentoring support.
A significant number of respondents indicated they would be
better able to mentor others on the vignette topics in future,
in light of the mentoring they received.

Report Findings
Pedagogical and content knowledge within the vignettes and
support materials helped participants to deepen their
understanding of the 10 topic areas:
Literacy physical wellbeing
numeracy emotional resilience
inclusive practices cultural competency
behaviour guidance leadership
information technology modern families

Report Findings
There was clear evidence that the project provided
participants with valuable opportunities:
a) to show leadership,
b) to develop a sense of mission,
c) to enable staff to think and learn in new and
stimulating ways, and
d) to provide an environment conducive to exploring
individual learning needs.

Report Recommendations

Report Recommendations
• 16 recommendations in total:
 Organisational level
 Service level
 Educator/Individual level
• Alignment with C&K Strategic Plan
• Embedding the notion that C&K is a ‘learning organisation’
• Developing a shared language around critical reflection
across the organisation

Where to From Here?
• Build and maintain the IT platform to provide a sustainable
delivery mechanism across QLD
• Provide training in reflective practices at all levels across the
organisation
• Roll out of coaching fundamentals training across the
organisation
• Roll out of reflective practices supporting resources
(internal/external)
• Review of professional development offerings to align with
reflective practices

Improving educational program and practice within approved early childhood education and care settings project

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Improving educational program and practice within approved early childhood education and care settings project