Aiming to actively prepare for the academic year 2023 – 2024, all teachers at WASS participated in the Professional Development (PD) Training Week in the beginning of August.

With the goal of advancing and synchronizing teaching methods as well as providing optimal education programs for students, the Professional Development (PD) Training Week was an annual key activity for teachers at Western Australian International School System (WASS).

Education is a journey of constant development. Like students, teachers were also working hard everyday to improve their professional knowledge and skills in order to provide meaningful and valuable lessons. Through professional development, teachers were able to improve themselves and become more proficient in their work.

Recognizing that importance, WASS has always prioritized the growth and professional development of its teachers. The PD Training at WASS provided the foundation for teachers to update their knowledge, improve their professional skills, supplement and enhance their ability to understand the needs of students and accompany them on the journey to adulthood.

The contents of the training sessions at WASS were always meticulously selected, closely following the orientation and innovative teaching methods, in order to promote close and synchronous cooperation in the teaching process between the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training as well as the Western Australian School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA).

Each session was shared by guests who are experts, professors, and leaders in prestigious educational institutions, helping teachers equip themselves with more essential skills for their pedagogy and maximize the fundamentals of education. In addition, PD Training has also provided an opportunity for teachers to interact and share their teaching experiences. Since then, WASS community has been enhancing the spirit of solidarity and unity, perfecting the pedagogical skills of each individual.

As a licensed and accredited Australian overseas school in Vietnam, WASS has periodically organized Professional Development Training Week as a key activity throughout the school year to ensure that academic programs at WASS are well received. Implemented in accordance with the roadmap and requirements from the State of Western Australia.

At the beginning of the PD Training Week, teachers at WASS participated in an online training session with the Western Australian School Curriculum and Standards Authority. SCSA’s academic advisors and senior education administrators provided the latest information on the learning pathway, modern teaching methods, and strategies to implement and evaluate learning outcomes of SCSA in order to ensure the consistent quality set forth among Western Australian State curriculum schools around the world. SCSA will also directly review and evaluate the program as well as the quality of the teaching staff at WASS annually. As planned, the SCSA inspection team will conduct the evaluation at WASS in December of this year.

Training with SCSA’s leading education experts was an opportunity for teachers at WASS to improve their skills, update new teaching methods, and inherit the fundamentals and strategic direction from Australian education, thereby reinforcing the School’s position as an Australian international school in Vietnam.

Following the first week of PD Training, teachers were updated on teaching applications and communication methods between the School and Parents that will be implemented during the new school year. The application of science and technology in teaching was one of the innovation commitments that WASS has focused on in the new school year, in order to provide an advanced educational environment, and improve the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process.

During the training session, the teachers together learned and discussed important teaching concepts, such as the Thinking Routine or Professional Learning Community. In addition, the “Child Protection at School” workshop helped teachers at WASS review the necessary information about child abuse and bullying. The mastery of theory and participation in group activities helped teachers better comprehend the above concepts and learn how to implement them in the classroom, thereby enabling them to know how to improve students’ learning efficiency.

In the last week of PD Training, teachers at WASS were trained to improve their knowledge and skills to effectively apply innovative, positive, and unique teaching methods in the classroom. It includes “Inquiry-Based Learning”, “Team-Based Learning”, “Collaborative Teaching and Learning” and “Technology-Based Learning”. These four teaching methods are the top priority for WASS towards the mission of providing the best educational quality environment for our students.

Students will always be the most important factor, given special attention and priority in the educational strategy of WASS. The School will always be determined, caring and committed to providing a safe and friendly learning environment for students, thereby contributing to their comprehensive development of knowledge, physical, mental, and emotional well-being, as well as personalities.

With a commitment to providing students with an educational environment that meets international standards, WASS is constantly improving the quality of teaching, raising the qualifications of the teachers with the goal of improving the training quality, and coping  with the new challenges and opportunities presented in the digital age.

The Professional Development (PD) Training Week was an important premise for teachers at WASS to improve themselves and their pedagogical skills. As a result, WASS could now provide a reliable and quality learning environment for students on their path to development and growth.