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it. Having a professional discussion with your assessor is a good way to demonstrate how you have met the criteria, perhaps if you are having difficulty expressing yourself through written work.

      A professional discussion can be used as an holistic assessment method, meaning several criteria can be assessed at the same time. Your assessor will prompt you to explain how you have met the requirements and ask to see documents which confirm this. They might make written notes during the discussion and/or make a visual or aural recording of your conversation. This can be kept as evidence of your achievement. Prior to the professional discussion taking place, you should agree with your assessor the nature of the content of the conversation to enable you to prepare in advance. You may need to bring along examples of teaching materials you have prepared and used. When you are having the professional discussion, try and remain focused; don’t digress but be specific with your responses. At the end of the discussion, your assessor should confirm which criteria you have met and which you still need to work towards.

       Projects

      A project usually consists of practical activities which can be carried out during your teaching practice, and which are based on the qualification criteria. You should be given a target date for completion, and possibly a word count for any written work. Projects usually take longer in terms of time than an assignment, and might group several criteria together.

       Questions – written, oral, online

      You may need to produce answers to written or oral questions which will be based around the criteria of the qualification. These could be part of a written test, asked orally, or be completed online. If it’s the latter, the online program could give you the results immediately, but might not tell you which questions were answered correctly or not.

      If you have answered written questions and met most but not all of the criteria, your assessor might follow this up with some oral questions or a professional discussion to ensure you have the relevant knowledge and understanding.

       Reflective learning journal

      A reflective learning journal is a way of helping you formally focus upon your learning, progress and achievements. You might be given a template or a document to complete, or you could write in a diary, use a journal, notebook or a word processor. If you are handwriting, make sure your work is legible as your assessor will need to read and understand it. Try and reflect upon your experiences by analysing as well as describing them. Be as specific as possible as to how your experiences have met the criteria. Don’t just write a chronological account of events. Consider what worked well, or didn’t work well, and how you could do something differently given the opportunity. Try and note which of the qualification criteria you have met as this will help your assessor when they read your journal.

      Reflection should become a part of your everyday activities and enable you to look at things in detail as you perhaps would not ordinarily do. There may be events you would not want to change or improve if you felt they went well. If this is the case, reflect as to why they went well and use similar situations in future sessions. As you become more experienced at reflective writing, you will see how you can make improvements to benefit your learners and yourself (covered in Chapter 12).

       Witness testimony

      If you are currently teaching, you might have someone who is advising and supporting you at work, such as a mentor. They could observe you with your learners and provide a written testimony as to what you have achieved. They can confirm which criteria you have met and write a statement to this effect. You will need to check with your assessor if witness testimonies are acceptable or not.

       Worksheets

      Worksheets include tasks, activities and/or questions for you to carry out. These can be completed during attended sessions, in your own time or as part of an online course. Worksheets are often used to check progress and might link several criteria together. After completing them, your assessor will check whether your responses can be used to demonstrate achievement of the relevant criteria. They will then give you constructive feedback to help you develop further.

       Professional standards

      Most countries have professional standards for teachers and trainers to follow. However, these could be called something else, for example, a code of practice, a code of conduct or national occupational standards (NOS). These can take many forms and are either mandatory or voluntary. In England, the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) has a set of Professional Standards for teachers and trainers to follow which were launched in 2014. They are not mandatory, but they give teachers something to aspire to, or to use as a form of self-assessment. If none are available where you work, it might be useful to refer to these as a guide.

      The ETF Professional Standards:

      • set out clear expectations of effective practice in education and training

      • enable teachers, trainers and other practitioners to identify areas for their own professional development

      • support initial teacher education and provide a national reference point that organisations can use to support the development of their staff.

      There are 20 Professional Standards which relate to three areas:

      • professional values and attributes – six standards aimed at developing judgement of what works and does not work in teaching and training

      • professional knowledge and understanding – six standards aimed at developing deep and critically informed knowledge and understanding in theory and practice

      • professional skills – eight standards aimed at developing expertise and skills to ensure the best outcomes for learners.

      www.et-foundation.co.uk/supporting/support-practitioners/professional-standards/ (accessed May 2017)

       Professional bodies, associations and networks

      It’s useful to belong to a professional body, association or network for teachers and trainers, and/or one for your particular subject area if one exists. This will help you to keep your knowledge up to date with what’s happening in the sector and with your subject. Belonging to an association should enable you to access relevant resources, training courses and networking opportunities. Some might be free to join, but most rely on payment of a subscription. Some might offer certain benefits like reduced insurance or access to free or subsidised courses and conferences.

      The following (in alphabetical order) are a few examples of those available in the UK to teachers, trainers and assessors. You might like to research the following further; most have websites which are listed at the end of this chapter.

       Association for Research in Post-Compulsory Education (ARPCE)

      The ARPCE aims to sustain and increase individual and collective knowledge (internationally) and use of research in post-compulsory education. This is to enhance its quality and improve public policy-making.

      It is subscription free for associates and trustees, who can benefit from discounted attendance at events and conferences, and free online access to the international peer-reviewed journal Research in Post-Compulsory Education.

       Association of Colleges (AoC)

      The AoC exists to represent and promote the interests of colleges and to provide members with professional support services. The AoC was established in 1996 by colleges as a voice for further education and higher education. Its membership includes general and further education colleges, sixth form colleges and specialist colleges in England and Northern Ireland (Wales and Scotland are via partnerships).

       Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP)

      AELP is a trade association for vocational learning and employment

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