More free NESA Professional Development hours with Grok Learning
Announcement about NESA Accredited PD
As of December 2020, NESA will no longer endorse providers or register professional development in the way it has done in the past. The endorsement of all currently NESA Endorsed Providers, including Grok Learning, is cancelled. Under the new Policy, individual courses will be assessed and accredited by NESA according to principles of effective professional learning and specific criteria in priority area
Read more here: https://docs.groklearning.io/article/130-how-do-i-claim-my-pd-hours
In June 2018 we announced that Grok Learning was endorsed to provide NESA Registered Professional Development. We’re delighted to announce that our NESA endorsement has now been expanded to more courses!
There are now 13 accredited courses or competitions covering more than 100 hours which you can use for accredited Professional Development (PD) for NSW Proficient Teachers.
Are you teaching in Australia but not in NSW? Keep reading for information about Professional Development in your state.
Because all teachers are eligible for free accounts on Grok, any verified teacher can complete any of our courses or competitions for free!
In NSW, all Proficient Teachers are required to complete at least 100 hours of PD during your maintenance period (usually 5 years). This must include at least 50 hours of NESA Registered PD. For the balance of hours, you can do a combination of NESA Registered and Teacher Identified PD.
All our NESA accredited courses address standard 6.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
If you’re a Proficient Teacher in NSW, here’s how to complete one of our NESA accredited courses.
1. Register your free Grok teacher account
Registering for a free teacher account on Grok is easy! Just register, and follow the instructions here to become a verified teacher and get your free access.
Are you a teacher but not currently at a school? Email us at support@groklearning.com .
2. Choose one of our NESA accredited courses
You can find the full list of NESA accredited courses here. We’ve included a range of languages and skill levels so there’s something for everyone!
If you’re brand new to coding, we recommend starting with Introduction to Programming (Python), or Introduction to Programming (Blockly) if you’d like to try visual programming.
If you’re a primary school teacher, check out Monster Maker, an adorable course on ordering and sequence.
3. Complete the course & request accreditation
You can work your way through the course at your own pace. Make sure you mark your work using our automated marker!
Once you’ve completed all the problems, send an email to support@groklearning.com with your NESA account number, and we will log the course completion with NESA for you.
If these courses inspire you to start using Grok in your classroom, you can register your class and check out our range of free and paid courses for students!
Not in NSW?
Most states of Australia require a minimum of 20 hours of relevant Professional Development per year to maintain your teaching accreditation. If you’re an Australian teacher but not in NSW, here’s how you can use Grok to complete your Professional Development requirements.
Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory:
To maintain your teaching registration in these states, you are expected to complete a range of professional development activities that is above and beyond your normal teaching roles & responsibilities.
In Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia, teachers must complete a minimum of 20 hours of Professional Development per year. Some states calculate this over a longer term: for example in South Australia the requirement is 60 hours for each 3 year registration period.
Many Grok courses can be used as Teacher Identified PD to help you to address the following Australian teaching standards: Standard 2 - Know the content and how to teach it; Standard 6 - Engage in professional learning. Choose something from our list of NESA accredited courses, or choose another Grok activity that matches your PD goals.
In most states, you are expected to retain evidence of your PD activities. You can download your Grok certificates to keep in your personal PD logbook. (If you’re in Queensland, you should use the QCT’s online CPD recording tool.)
Some states also make a distinction between formal and informal PD. In most cases, our Grok courses & competitions count as formal PD, as you are assessed on your progress and you receive a certificate of completion.
Australian Capital Territory:
Like NSW, the ACT requires teachers to completed accredited Professional Development for some portion of the hours. Your 20 hours must include at least 5 hours of Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) Accredited programs, and at least 5 hours of Teacher Identified activities.
We’re working on getting some of our Grok courses accredited in the ACT, so stay tuned! In the meantime, all our Grok courses are available as Teacher Identified activities.
What do you like about Grok PD?
Are there other courses you would like to see registered with NESA? Are there other teaching standards you would like our courses to cover? Would you like our courses to be registered with the PD governing body in your state or country? Let us know what you are looking for!
