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Professional Development and Education Resources

Throughout the year Educational Assessment Australia (EAA), UNSW Global offers conferences and workshops to teachers and educational professionals. This professional development is free of charge to schools that enter full cohorts of students in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) - English, Mathematics and Science tests. Schools that do not enter full cohorts in ICAS tests are eligible to attend but will be charged for attending. For further information please contact Amanda Scott on phone (02) 8344 1078 or email pd@eaa.unsw.edu.au

EAA assessment staff also present at numerous conferences and trade shows.
Click here for a copy of the 2009 Professional Development Calendar

Previous Events:

Total Assessment Partnership (TAP) Conference - Thursday, 22 and Friday, 23 October 2009

The October Total Assessment Partnership (TAP) Conference provides school executive the opportunity to network and closely examine their 2009 ICAS results. There will also be a number of case study presentations and practical workshops on a range of educational assessment topics such as the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy.
Find out more…

For information contact Amanda Scott, External Relations Coordinator,
email pd@eaa.unsw.edu.au or telephone +61 2 8344 1078.

Total Assessment Conference - Thursday, 4 and Friday, 5 June 2009

The June Total Assessment Conference has been designed for school executive from Australian and New Zealand schools who want to know more about ICAS tests, their design and how to unpack the diagnostic ICAS reports. There is a session on “ICAS and NAPLAN - Working Together” There will be opportunities to participate in case studies and share practical ideas for school improvement. Included in the Total Assessment Conference are all meals including morning and afternoon teas, lunches and a conference cocktail party on Thursday night, 4 June at 6:00pm.
Email PD@eaa.unsw.au with your name, school and contact number if you would like to register your interest for the TAP conference. We will contact you if a space becomes available.
Click here for a copy of the 2009 June Total Assessment Conference Brochure

Writing Good Assessments- Monday, 18 and 25 June, 2009

This free workshop is a two day event focusing on the purpose of assessment and types of assessment.
*BOOKED OUT*
Monday, 18 May, 2009
Principles of writing assessment items
· Principles of good assessment
· Skills versus content
· Language concerns
Extended writing task
· Advantages and disadvantages
· Important things to consider
Short answer items
· Advantages and disadvantages
· Important things to consider
Multiple-choice items
· Advantages and disadvantages
· Important things to consider
Homework: Review 3–5 items and write 3 items

Purpose of Assessments - Dr Saw-Choo Teo Assessment Project Officer - International
Principles of Assessments - Dr Saw-Choo Teo Assessment Project Officer - International
Open response Items - Janelle Ho -Senior Assessment Project Officer - Literacy
Multiple Choice Questions - Dr Saw-Choo Teo Assessment Project Officer - International

*BOOKED OUT*
Monday, 25 May 2009
Analysis of the performance of the items reviewed

Principles of test construction
· Order of difficulty
· Range of skills/content and difficulty
Attendance is free and refreshments will be provided
EAA is an endorsed provider of professional development. This event will count towards your Teacher Identified PD as it has been registered with the NSW Institute of Teachers.

Multiple Choice Questions - Dr Saw-Choo Teo Assessment Project Officer - International
Item Analysis- Dr Sofia Kesidou - Senior Assessment Project Officer- Mathematics and Science
Principles of Test Construction - Dr Saw-Choo Teo Assessment Project Officer - International

After School Seminars

This free seminar will show teachers how to use the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) to prepare for the National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in 2009 and beyond. Seminars were held in Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
Attendance at seminars is free but places are limited.

Grammar Workshop - Thursday, 26 March, 2009

The grammar workshops are designed for grammar novices who want to understand more about how the English language works so that they are better equipped to teach and assess students' writing.

Criterion Referenced Writing Marking Workshop - Friday, 27 March, 2009

The writing workshops will explain the genre-based approach to writing assessment that is used in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) and the new national literacy assessment program for Australian students.

For further information please contact Amanda Scott on phone (02) 8344 1078 or email pd@eaa.unsw.edu.au

Grammar course: Sentence-level grammar

Friday 3 July 2009, 9.00am - 12.30pm
This grammar course aims to provide the practical knowledge and metalanguage needed for teachers to be able to identify errors as well as different types of complex sentence constructions and to explain them to their students. The course will use both traditional and functional grammar labels and concepts and assumes some knowledge of basic labels used in grammar e.g. phrase, clause, tense, agreement, subject, object. The course has been approved by the NSW Institute of Teachers.

There will be a cost of $50 per participant. Teachers from TAP schools (up to a maximum of 2) can attend free of charge. Morning tea will be provided.

The course will be held on Friday, 3 July 2009 from 9.00 am - 12.30 pm at UNSW Global, Educational Assessment Australia, Training Room 1, 12-22 Rothschild Avenue, Rosebery NSW 2018.

To register for the course, email pd@eaa.unsw.edu.au or contact Kelly Edmonds, Administration Coordinator on (02) 8344 1064.

To find out more about the Total Assessment Partnership (TAP) contact Amanda Scott, External Relations Coordinator at a.scott@eaa.unsw.edu.au or on (02) 8344 1078.