What are qualifying professional development activities?
Qualifying professional development activities will include, but not be limited to, the following:
- Participation in TESL Saskatchewan and SK TEAL conferences and annual meetings, based on actual hours of each session attended and documented in a Professional Development Log. You can complete your logs in your member account.
- Participation as a TESL Saskatchewan, SK TEAL, or TESL Canada board member, based on attendance at board meetings as noted in the minutes.
- Attendance at TESL Saskatchewan and SK TEAL learning events, based on actual hours documented in a Professional Development log or sign-in sheets.
- Participation in workplace-based in-service activities, based on the number of hours stated in a letter or certificate signed by a supervisor documenting the topic of the in-service and the number of hours attended.
- Participation in other TESL-specific short courses or workshops demonstrated by a document of attendance stating the topic and number of hours and signed by an appropriate person from the program offering the short course or workshop.
- Successful completion of a relevant university or college course, documented by a transcript or official statement of grade. Note that a three-credit course in the Saskatchewan is regarded as consisting of 36 to 40 academic contact hours.
- Being observed by an accredited trainee teacher, based on the number of hours observed and documented by a letter or other record signed by a supervisor.
- Serving as supervising/sponsor teacher for a practicum student in a teacher training program accepted for accreditation or certification by TESL Saskatchewan or another professional TESL accrediting/certifying organization. One such service, documented by a letter from the teacher training program, will be regarded as equivalent to 25 hours of professional development.
- Publication of a book or refereed journal article relevant to the TESL field will be regarded as equivalent to 25 hours of professional development.
- Presenting as a volunteer on a topic relevant to TESL at a conference or workshop will be regarded as 2 hours of professional development for each 1 hour of presentation time, as documented by a letter from an organizer of the conference or workshop.
- Participation in a study session using audiovisual records of TESL learning events will be counted as a ½ hour of in-service for every hour of such a session, documented by a letter signed by session participants.
- Professional study via internet-based programs mandated by appropriate organizations such as universities or the CCLB will be counted on the basis of an estimate of academic contact hours provided and signed by an appropriate representative of the organization.
- To have some other activity recognized as professional development for the purposes of accreditation renewal, consult the Accreditation Committee to determine whether the proposed activity is acceptable.
How shall I compile and present my qualifying activities?
Keeping track of your professional development has never been easier! Just sign into your member account and keep all your logs in one place. Your online PD log is very flexible. Write short summary notes, full length accounts, or upload scans of conference documentation or class information. These online logs are mobile friendly, so you can keep up with your PD as you need. When you apply for accreditation, all your logs will be there waiting for you.
We recommend that you start a professional development file or professional portfolio in which you will be able to compile documentation of all your qualifying activities. You will find that this is useful not only for re-accreditation, but also for such things as job interviews because professional portfolios are an excellent way of demonstrating to prospective employers your dedication to extending your skills and knowledge for the benefit of your students. Also, if you find yourself moving to Ontario some day, you will also find the portfolio useful if you need to apply for TESL Ontario certification, a necessity for most of the better-paying adult ESL positions in that province.
The type of documentation that goes into your PD file or portfolio will vary depending on the type of PD. For instance, if you attend a workshop relevant to your work, you might include a workshop participation certificate or letter from the presenter or host institution that states the workshop’s date, topic, and number of hours. If you complete a credit course, you can document it via an official transcript or a letter or certificate that again specifies the topic and hours. Other documentation suggestions have been provided in the previous section.
Please don’t feel obliged to provide documentation of absolutely every in-service activity you’ve done over the five years. Some people find opportunities to do 25 hours of in-service every year, and we applaud them, but our volunteer committee won’t have time to look at so much paper! Provide just enough that the committee can be sure you have met the requirement.
At least one month before your renewal date, please select 25 hours’ worth of PD documentation from your file or portfolio, write a short cover letter stating that you are requesting renewal of accreditation and providing a list of the attached PD documents, and send to the TESL Saskatchewan Accreditation Committee in care of the Board Assistant.
