PD structucture for the future part 2: Attandence numbers.

Keeping numbers low.

Some networks offer fewer PD workshops seating 60 or more while we keep our maximum numbers to 40.  We operate differently to these networks for certain reasons.

One of the main reasons is that as a smaller network in the beginning, we did not need large attendance numbers.  Any opportunity we offered rarely filled and the attendance cap of 40 was more about working out maximum costs than anything else.  Our early attendances were about 24-32 and the upper limit of 40 was completely theoretical.  As the Network has grown, and now that PD requirements are assessed yearly, attendance numbers have grown to the point where we are reaching the cap in bookings.  A couple no-shows generally makes attendance for full-time PD at 36-38.

Within the last 6 months our membership numbers are beginning to grow exponentially and we see a point not too long in the future where 40 will "not be enough".  We have, however, chosen to remain at an attendance cap of 40. This is not without reason.

The CRT Community.

Firstly, the Network is founded on the principle of creating community.  For too long many CRTs have felt like outsiders without any group to really belong to.  This leads to many frustrations, the stress of which has a negative impact on the quality of their teaching.  By giving CRTs somewhere to belong and ample opportunities to mingle in a social way, the smaller numbers we offer are helping many CRTs to bridge the gaps that are causing them to feel isolated.

With the general rise in morale, the quality of teaching on offer increases.  This helps our members to pull ahead of the pack when it comes to the CRT priority list for schools and who gets work how often.  This is of great importance to us.  To increase our numbers at PD workshops will begin to erode the social nature of our overall operations.

Variety of PD opportunities,

Secondly, we also believe that PD shouldn't just be about hours to maintain your registration.  While there is no dodging those 20 hours, by offering a larger variety of smaller opportunities we are able to cover a much wider range of topics and presenters.  This helps to ensure that not only can everyone get a good slice of their 20 hours, they can also pick and choose the opportunities that most interest them or provide them with the highest benefit to their career.

Not only does this help enable access to personally relevant opportunities, it also helps ensure that the day seems a lot less like "work".  Again, this folds back into the first point;  if you are happy you'll perform better and that's important to us.

Should we begin to raise attendance numbers, we will start to get closer to our goals as stated in the previous post and lose out in variety of presenter and topics.  It will become much harder to "tack on" the additional opportunities which allow us to cover such a broad array.

Expansion outside of Wodonga.

Lastly, these "added" workshops are what have allowed us to expand outside of Wodonga into Wangaratta and are what will also allow us to expand into more rural areas to help alleviate travel issues some CRTs are experiencing.

The funding we receive through the DEECD is intended to support all CRTs within a given area and  logistically speaking the ongoing nature of this funding is reliant on it achieving it's goals.  The 2011 release of the VAGO report on CRT Arrangements made specific mention that not all CRTs were able to benefit from the funding, often due to location issues leaving pockets of CRTs unable to access the benefits on offer.  We have begun to address this issue via the expansion into Wangaratta which has been the "test case" for our expansion onto other areas.

There are also ethical concerns to address.  Centralized offerings creates a situation where some are spending far more time traveling than others on a very regular basis.  This not only equates to travel expenses but also more time away from family and so on.  While this situation can never be made "completely fair", there is certainly leeway to share the load a little.

Summary.

In our view, increasing numbers has a cost-per-head benefit but that is simply outweighed by other concerns such as community, variety, fairness and even the continuance of the support funding we access.  Numbers of 40 for full-day and 20 for 2.5 hour presenter-based PD seem to be the "magic numbers" for a well rounded and equitable approach to providing PD for CRTs in our area.

Regards,

Melinda Lichnovsky-Klock
Wodonga CRT Support Network Coordinator.