Make Working With Words Your New Career!

The publishing world is highly dynamic and competitive, which is why an online publishing course can be so valuable. Our Certificate of Publishing is ideal for those keen to work as a publishing, marketing or production manager or even writers who wish to get their own work out into the market. It will give you insights into page layouts, desktop publishing, illustrations and research, and how to market publications in accordance with ethics and the law. All of this can prepare you for an exciting and ever-changing career!

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking an online publishing course include:

• Exploring the world of publishing
• Understanding what publishing is
• Learning about the role of a publisher
• Studying the role of a production manager
• Understanding the world of an editor
• Examining the role of a designer
• Learning about the role of marketing staff
• Exploring how to set tasks
• Studying publishing procedures and techniques
• Undertaking an overview of the publishing process
• Understanding the production schedule
• Examining page design
• Studying page layout in terms of consistency, direction, headings, graphics etc.
• Learning how to establish the skeleton of a document
• Exploring pull quotes and sidebars
• Studying typography in terms of fonts and other settings
• Understanding Public Lending Rights
• Gaining insights into desktop publishing
• Learning about word processing
• Exploring alternative publishing methods
• Studying how to print on a computer printer
• Understanding how to supply a ‘master’ to a commercial printer
• Examining how to publish electronically including on CD and the internet
• Gaining insights into software options
• Learning about the use of colour and black and white
• Exploring the use of graphics
• Studying illustrations and graphics including line illustrations, cartoons and photos
• Examining graphics like freehand work and computer graphics
• Gaining insights into photography
• And much more!

Your Best Publishing Options

Both technology and time have changed the world of publishing. Most people now have a computer and lots of those people have stories to share. With the onset of digital printing, printing a book has also become even cheaper (our online publishing course will give you some great insights). But what’s the best way to go about it? Here are some of the Australian Writers’ Centre’s top tips.

Commercial Publishing

With most commercial publishers, you submit your work via their submission guidelines and then you wait (usually around three months). However, ultimately you are either accepted or rejected. If you are accepted, you will be given a contract. Depending on the size of the publisher, you may get an advance, an advance against the royalties (so the royalties pay off the advance), or just royalties alone. Standard royalties from commercial publishers are around five to ten per cent of a book’s recommended retail price.

You’ll then be assigned an editor to fine-tune your book, and it will be laid out, issued a cover design and then offered to bookstores. In terms of financial outlay, you pay nothing as commercial publishers take on all the financial risk themselves.

Partnership Publishing

With partnership publishing, you will have to pay a sizeable amount (usually over $5000) for the services involved with having your book published. These include basic copyediting, the layout of your book and the cover design. Print runs will involve an additional fee, however, they the publisher will organise the distribution of your book, including into bookstores, and they’ll advertise it on their website.

Partnership publishers take on none of the financial risks — it all falls on you. Additionally, they will demand around 50 per cent of your royalties!

Self-Publishing

As the name implies, self-publishing is all about doing it all yourself. You’ll need to organise editing, layout and design, then find a printer suitable for your project and decide on the size of the print run. However, probably the most difficult thing with self-publishing is getting your book into bookstores. However, there are distributors you can approach to help with this task.

Top 5 Publishers To Send Your Work To

In the highly competitive world of publishing, finding a publisher that will accept your work can be extremely difficult – particularly if you don’t have an agent. Our online publishing course will help you negotiate this process, however, it’s also worth approaching a few of the bigger Australian publishers that accept un-agented manuscripts.

#1 – Allen & Unwin is an independent Australian publishing company established in 1976 and one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century. They currently publish up to 250 new titles a year, including commercial and literary fiction, academic and professional titles, a broad range of general non-fiction, and books for children and young adults. But the best bit? They accept submissions every day of the week!

#2 – Pan Macmillan Australia is a major Australian publisher with a wide range of titles under several sub-brands. They publish literary and commercial fiction, children and young adult fiction, and history, picture, Australiana, cooking, biographical, health and self-help, travel and sportsbooks. They currently accept submissions directly from writers between 10 am and 4 pm on the first Monday of every month as part of their manuscript submission process.

#3 – Penguin Australia was formed in 2013 and is the world’s largest trade book publisher. They publish non-fiction and adult and children’s fiction and are currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts of children’s literature in the first week of every month.

#4 – Text Publishing Australia is an independent, Melbourne-based publisher of literary and commercial fiction and non-fiction. They are currently accepting fiction and non-fiction manuscripts including those for middle-grade children and young adults.

#5 –Hachette Australia is a team of passionate readers and expert publishers dedicated to discovering and supporting talented writers. They accept fiction and non-fiction manuscripts excluding illustrated children’s books, cookbooks, poetry, science fiction/fantasy, self-help books, screenplays and academic submissions.

A Day In The Life Of A Publishing Director

You’ve completed an online publishing course and decided your future career aspiration is to work in the publishing sector. But what does it involve? Jane Willson is the former editor of Epicure and the food section of The Age. She is now a Publishing Director at Hardie Grant Books and here is a snapshot of her typical day.

9 am: Her production manager delivers the first copies of two of their big monthly titles that have arrived from the printer. There is a unique combination of fear and excitement in the air that always accompanies receiving a title in the flesh for the very first time!

9.30 am: Jane attends a covers meeting with her design manager, project editor and the sales and management team. They talk through cover concepts for a future title including direction, colour schemes and its general appropriateness for the market. Depending on the author’s openness to the design, this could be a multiple-meeting scenario!

10 am: She attends an acquisitions meeting with fellow publishers and imports, sales and managing directors. Each publisher presents their potential new titles and they explore detail around the audience, structure and the author profile. Each pitch is assessed on topicality, commerciality, relevance, likely expense and achievability, and the ‘X factor’. Updates on other contracts underway are also discussed, as well as the viability of an ongoing series and the launch of a potential project for new authors.

1 pm: Jane catches up on emails and reads a variety of manuscripts, proposals and proofs.

2 pm: She attends an author meeting which she believes is one of the best parts of her job. Today they have the go-ahead on a project that has returned to acquisitions three times over four years – which is unusual but extremely satisfying. The author is hardworking, enthusiastic and has a unique selling point. The team talk through the process, the creative team, the timeline, potential sales partners and the overseas market. She leaves the meeting keen to leap into the next stage!

3 pm: Jane meets with her publicity manager and publicist to workshop the vision and expectations around some of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival events that will involve one of their key overseas authors.

4 pm: She meets with her design manager to discuss the final touches on a book that is due to pre-press in a few days. The author has requested a ‘natural’, wood-free finish that has undeniable appeal, but there are questions as to its useability and wear and tear. They also discuss the cover colour of another title. The designer wants a rich ‘punchy’ red but it’s a nervous decision as the ‘wrong red’ would be a disaster once 10,000 copies are printed!

4.30 pm: Jane responds to more emails, advises her creative team on an upcoming photoshoot in Tasmania for a book cover, and liaises with her contracts director on the details of the deal. Then it’s home for family time and the chance to snuggle up with a new book (obviously)!

Keen to gain insights into editorial principles that can be used across a range of media and genres? Harness your creativity and your business skills with our Certificate of Publishing!

Online nutrition courses are important for encouraging healthy eating in the younger population, particularly because over 28 per cent of children and adolescents in Australia were considered overweight or obese in 2019. It’s a disturbing statistic and one that can have serious and long-term implications for their future health and wellbeing.

Learning about children’s nutrition, and developing strategies for healthy eating early can help reduce the risks of social and emotional problems, and diseases in later life like obesity, Type-2 diabetes, heart disease and even some types of cancer.

Our Certificate of Child Nutrition is focused on a holistic approach, where you’ll learn about optimal diets and the healthy eating patterns and nutritional requirements suited to infants right through to adolescents.

Learning Outcomes

Outcomes achieved by undertaking online nutrition courses include:

• Learning about the scope, nature and history of nutrition
• Exploring the effect of culture and family background on nutrition
• Studying the importance of nutrition in early childhood
• Understanding the basic nutrients needed in a child’s diet
• Examining nutrition tips for children
• Gaining insights into nutrition for pre-pregnancy
• Learning about the pre-conception diet – maternal weight and maternal nutrient status
• Exploring paternal health and nutrition
• Studying the effect of nutrition of parents at conception
• Examining how to make diet changes pre-conception
• Gaining insights into nutrition in pregnancy
• Learning about early pregnancy and morning sickness
• Gaining tips on helping with pregnancy nausea
• Exploring nutrition through pregnancy in terms of a recommended dietary intake (RDI)
• Studying caloric and fluid intake through pregnancy
• Understanding the calorie demands of a pregnant woman
• Gaining insights into foods to avoid while pregnant
• Learning about hypervitaminosis
• Exploring pregnancy complications that relate to nutrition
• Studying nutrition in infants
• Gaining an understanding of breastfeeding
• Examining formula feeding
• Gaining insights into feeding for the first six months
• Learning about starting infants on solid foods
• Exploring the adequate Vitamin C and iron intake for infants in the first year
• Studying how to progress infants on solid foods – protein, dairy and finger foods etc.
• Gaining an understanding of nutrition for toddlers
• Examining snack packs, small meals and meal alternatives
• Gaining insights into allergens
• Exploring weaning
• Studying nutrition in childhood
• Understanding caloric, mineral and vitamin intake
• Learning how to encourage good eating habits
• Gaining insights into breakfast, packed lunches and morning and afternoon snacks
• Learning about childhood eating habits
• Studying puberty
• Gaining an understanding of nutritional concerns
• Examining the scope and nature of nutritional health for children
• Gaining insights into healthy snacks and re-hydration
• Learning about underweight children and malnutrition
• Exploring anaemia/iron deficiency
• Studying dental care in children
• Understanding eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia and binge eating
• Examining fast food and junk food
• Gaining insights into influencing children’s eating
• Learning how to teach healthy eating to children
• Exploring healthy snack ideas
• Studying childhood food sensitivities
• Understanding food intolerances and allergies
• Exploring the relevant research
• Studying food and autism in children
• Understanding food and child behaviour problems
• Examining sensitivity diagnosis including diet and skin and blood tests
• Gaining insights into child nutrition issues
• Learning about the causes of childhood obesity including what’s unhealthy
• Exploring the guidelines for child weight loss
• Studying diet plans and special nutritional needs
• Gaining an understanding of childhood diabetes
• Examining vegetarian and vegan diets
• Learning about normal eating habits for children

Childhood Obesity in Australia

Obesity can take its toll on both physical and mental health, including increasing the chance of children developing a range of other medical conditions. Because obese children also tend to be obese in later life, it’s vital that health professionals – including those who have undertaken online nutrition courses – are equipped with the skills to manage children’s healthy eating habits as early as possible.

What Is Childhood Obesity?

The term basically refers to children having too much body fat or an abnormal amount of body fat. It occurs when the energy children get from what they consume is greater than the energy they output via growing and physical activities – the excess energy is then stored as fat.

Why Is Healthy Weight Important?

Maintaining a healthy weight is important to children’s health – both now and in the future – as it can reduce their chances of:

• being obese or overweight as an adult
• developing serious health problems during childhood, including type-2 diabetes, hip and joint problems and obstructive sleep apnoea
• suffering from social and emotional problems like depression, low self-esteem, eating disorders, poor body image and teasing and bullying
• suffering physical health problems as adults, including type-2 diabetes, skin disorders, heart disease, infertility and some types of cancer.

What Factors Influence It?

Many factors can put children and adolescents at a higher risk of becoming overweight and obese, and they include:

#1 – Unhealthy Food And Drink Choices

Healthy nutritious foods include fruit and veggies, reduced-fat dairy products and protein-rich foods like fish, eggs, legumes and lean meat and chicken. Tap water and reduced-fat milk are the healthiest drinks for children. Children and adolescents need to eat different amounts of these foods at different ages, which is why health professionals should follow the recommended Australian dietary guidelines.

#2 – A Lack Of Physical Activity

Children need to be as physically active as possible as part of an overall healthy lifestyle. This includes walking and playing outdoors, as these activities can use up their excess energy and decrease their stress levels. Physical activity can also prevent health issues and disease, and give children the chance to socialise with other children.

#3 – The Influence Of Family Role Models

Children are more likely to be active and make healthy food choices if they see their parents and other influencers doing the same. Young children, in particular, do as adults do, so modelling healthy eating and regular exercise can have a huge impact.

#4 – Family History And Medical Factors

Lifestyle factors can affect children’s health, but so can things like our genes. Some children are at greater risk of obesity because their genes can make them gain weight more easily, or because they have existing health problems or take certain medications.

#5 – Other Factors

Busy family lifestyles, a lack of outdoor space and too much screen time can make it harder for children to be active, which makes it easier for them to overeat. Sleep problems are also a risk factor in terms of childhood obesity, so it’s important to promote regular and adequate sleep as part of a healthy lifestyle.

The Healthy Eating Pyramid

The Healthy Eating Pyramid was first introduced by Nutrition Australia in 1980. It was designed as a simple, conceptual model to encourage Australians to eat a varied and balanced diet in line with the current dietary guidelines. Since then, the Pyramid has continued to evolve, with the latest version being launched in 2015.

It’s a great visual guide for health professionals – including those who are undertaking online nutrition courses – that outlines the types and proportions of foods we should eat every day for good health.

The Concept

The Healthy Eating Pyramid contains the five core food groups (plus healthy fats) and is based on their contribution to a balanced diet based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines from 2013. The layers represent the recommended food intake for 19 to 50-year-olds, however, the placement and proportions of each food group are generally applicable to everyone aged from one to 70. Australians should enjoy a variety of foods from each of the food groups every single day (something you’ll learn about very quickly when you study online nutrition courses!).

The Layers

The foundation layers of the Pyramid include the three plant-based food groups – fruits, vegetables, and legumes and grains. They make up the largest portion because they should be 70% of our diet! These foods contain a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and they’re also our main source of fibre and carbohydrates. In terms of grains, whole grains (like brown rice, oats and wholegrain varieties of bread, pasta etc.) should be chosen over refined, highly processed options.

The middle layer includes things like milk, cheese, yoghurt and their alternatives, and poultry, lean meat, fish, nuts, seeds, legumes and eggs. The dairy category provides us with protein, calcium and other vitamins and minerals, and it can also refer to non-dairy options like rice, soy or cereal milks. Reduced-fat options are also recommended in this group. The second category contains our main sources of protein, which provides nutrients like iron, zinc, iodine, healthy fats and B12 vitamins. Everyone should aim to have a variety of meat and non-meat options from this category.

The top layer refers to healthy fats, as opposed to saturated or trans fats. Small amounts of these are needed every day to support brain function and heart health. Unrefined polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats can come from plant sources like nut, seed and extra virgin olive oils. Healthy fats are also found in other food groups like nuts, seeds, fish and avocadoes.

Other Recommendations

The Healthy Eating Pyramid also reminds us to limit our intake of sugar and salt, which is linked to an increased risk of some diseases. This means avoiding adding sugar or salt to food when we’re cooking or eating and consuming drinks and packaged foods that have sugar or salt added to their ingredients.

In terms of salt, we do need small amounts for good health, however, too much of it is linked to a risk of high blood pressure which can lead to kidney and heart disease.

In terms of sugars, most vegetables, fruits, legumes and unsweetened dairy foods contain small amounts of naturally occurring sugars which aren’t harmful. However, consuming a lot of added sugars can add extra kilojoules, lead to weight gain and increase the risk of developing type-2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

In terms of drinks, water is best! It keeps us hydrated and supports other essential functions in the body, so sugary options like soft drinks and sports and energy drinks should be avoided.

Little bodies need lots of the good stuff and less of the bad stuff. So if you’re keen to have a positive impact on the future health of our children, our Certificate of Child Nutrition is a fantastic place to start!

Play therapy helps to reduce or eliminate negative or unhelpful behaviours while encouraging the use of positive, more adaptive ones. A play therapy course is useful for parents and carers. It is also valuable professional development in health care, counselling, teaching, and in the toy and gaming sector.

In undertaking a play therapy course, you will learn to encourage healing in children and adults experiencing physical, mental, or emotional trauma. This type of therapy, like other therapies, help to improve mood, coping skills, problems solving, self-awareness, social skills and more. 

The Certificate of Play Therapy is an online play therapy course that will teach you how to apply play therapy to help those with mental health conditions and developmental disorders to regain their motivation and emotional stability. You will also discover how play therapy can help with dementia, family problems and grief and loss

In this play therapy course, you discover the foundations of play therapy. You will also learn how to create the right environment and choose the right toys, materials, and activities to suit a specific client and more.

Learning Outcomes

• The purpose of using play therapy, the potential of what it might achieve, and determine situations where it is appropriate to use it as a therapeutic technique.
• The therapeutic play continuum, applications of play and play therapy, play therapy tools, advantages and issues arising in therapy.
• How play therapy can be used to help children with emotional disturbances, such as depression and anxiety disorders.
• In what way play therapy can be used to help children with behavioural disorders such as conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder and problems with anger and impulse control.
• By what means play therapy can be used to treat developmental disorders such as autism, intellectual disability and learning disorders.
• A range of different but closely related therapies including music, art, and drama therapy, and techniques used in these therapies which are incorporated into play therapy.
• How play can be used in occupational therapy and other contexts to help people manage or rehabilitate from physical and mental disabilities, and the role of science and technology.
• Determine appropriate uses of play therapy for children suffering from social and family-related problems such as grief and loss, crises such as divorce, and trauma-related issues.
• Understand the uses of play therapy to assist adult populations with specific emotional and psychological problems which can benefit from play.

What is Play Therapy? 

Psychology Today defines play therapy as a ‘psychotherapeutic approach used primarily to help children ages 3 to 12 explore their lives and freely express repressed thoughts and emotions through play. 

‘Therapeutic play usually takes place in a safe, comfortable playroom, where very few rules or limits are imposed on the child, encouraging free expression, and allowing the therapist to observe the child’s choices, decisions, and play style.

‘The goal is to help children learn to express themselves in healthier ways, become more respectful and empathetic, and discover new and more positive ways to solve problems.’

What are the Benefits of Play Therapy? 

You’ll discover a wide range of benefits derived from play therapy in play therapy courses, including: 

• Improved mood and positive feelings
• Better coping skills
• Enhanced problem solving
• Less internal conflict and stress
• Greater self-awareness
• Increased impulse control
• Appropriate emotional expression
• Improved verbal skills
• Better communication
• Improved social skills
• Increased confidence and self-esteem
• Greater trust of others
• Increased maturity

Types of Play Therapy Toys

The most popular type of play therapy toys falls into three categories, including real-life; expressive and creative; and aggressive-emotional release. 

Child-centred play therapy clinician Dr Garry Landreth recommends therapists include several toys from each category. 

Real Life

• Play kitchens and play food
• Doctor kits and band-aids
• Dolls and Dollhouses
• Animals, Cars, Trucks, People
• Cash Register and Play Money

Expressive and Creative 

• Art supplies
• Paint
• Play-doh/clay
• Dress ups
• Puppets and Puppet Shows
• Sand 
• Water

Aggressive and Emotional Release

• Toy guns (plastic, not real-looking)
• Fake/plastic swords
• Army soldiers
• Rubber knives
• Rope
• Aggressive puppets (sharks, dinosaurs, crocodiles)

How Can Play Therapy Help Adults?

It’s easy to overlook the relevance of play in treating adult clients. After all, isn’t play the work of children? In many ways, teenagers and adults can benefit from re-learning the value of play.

Playful exploration enhances both cognitive and physical behaviours in adult clients. In fact, research from the fields of neurophysiology and molecular biology support play therapy as a therapeutic tool for adults. 

Of course, play therapy may not suit all adult clients. But, play therapy shouldn’t be automatically ruled out as developmentally inappropriate without proper assessment and consideration.

Play therapy takes the view that adults retain child-like representations of the world and can make use of non-verbal expression. As such, adults of all ages can get in touch with their inner-child and work through trauma or issues stemming from childhood.

The benefits of play therapy for adults include enhanced relationships, optimised learning, and better overall improve health and wellbeing.

Play therapy with adults may be at its most successful when used in alongside other types of treatment.

Adults with the following conditions may benefit from play therapy.

• Dementia 
• Grief and loss
• Arrested emotional development
• Problems associated with developmental disorders 
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Post-traumatic stress
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder 
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Play Therapy is a useful tool to have in your professional toolkit, especially if you work in a counselling role. It’s also ideal personal development for anyone working with or caring for children, including parents. Discover the Certificate of Play Therapy today and unlock the power of play. 

Because every learner is different, successful teaching strategies requires an understanding of both content and people. Teachers need to recognise how people learn, how to encourage and motivate, and how to adapt to a variety of classroom scenarios. 

Successful teaching also involves the ability to develop teaching-learning relationships via clear communication. If this process results in a student being able to communicate their needs successfully, then their ability to learn will be improved. And that’s a big tick!  

This course – Developing Your Teaching Skills – is ideal for those keen to increase their personal development and teaching strategies in the education space, including principals, teachers and teacher’s aids.

Learning Outcomes

Online teaching resources provide a wealth of knowledge, including developing your skills with a teaching course online. This includes:

• Learning about interpersonal communication in education
• Exploring the basic principles of communication
• Studying both verbal and non-verbal communication
• Understanding the factors affecting communication
• Gaining an understanding of reactive patterns
• Examining self-awareness and communication
• Gaining insights into intentions
• Learning about the optimum teacher/student ratios
• Exploring the factors affecting communication in a classroom
• Studying student diversity
• Gaining an understanding of student expectations
• Examining teachers’ needs and expectations
• Gaining insights into society and culture in teaching 
• Learning about communication and education approaches
• Exploring teacher-centred and student-centred learning
• Studying the verbal skills needed for classroom teaching
• Gaining insights into questioning skills
• Learning about the elements of lecturing how to lecture 
• Developing your listening skills
• Studying the stages of listening
• Gaining an understanding of the key listening elements in a classroom
• Understanding the obstacles to listening
• Examining anxiety, bias, selective attention, negativity and lack of interest in terms of listening
• Gaining insights into listening skills including active and empathetic listening
• Learning about how children respond to received communications
• Understanding motivation
• Examining what motivation is 
• Exploring the variables of motivation
• Studying the theories of motivation, including Maslow’s theory
• Examining primary and unlearned motivators
• Learning about secondary or learned motivators
• Gaining insights into motivation and anxiety or distress
• Studying the motivational factors for success
• Examining internal and external incentives
• Learning about the relational nature of incentives
• Studying how to enhance intrinsic motivators
• Examining social reinforcers as incentives
• Gaining insights into the influence of groups on individual motivation
• Exploring the notion of social loafing
• Learning how to apply motivation to education 
• Exploring motivation, goals and expectations
• Studying vicious and virtuous cycles
• Gaining an understanding of practical applications for motivation
• Discovering how to assess a person’s current situation
• Gaining insights into dealing with emotions
• Learning how to identify existing barriers to learning
• Exploring how to establish goals and priorities
• Studying how to locate and apply useful resources
• Gaining an understanding of stress management
• Examining the flight or fight response
• Gaining insights into long term learning problems 
• Learning about what happens when a person is stressed
• Exploring a stress management program
• Studying conflict management 
• Understanding what conflict is 
• Gaining insights into conflict handling techniques
• Learning how to deal with anger in others
• Exploring how to modify anger 
• Examining how role-play can help with conflict management
• Gaining insights into mediation and negotiation
• Understanding what negotiation is
• Gaining insights into establishment and community groups
• Learning how to undertake a joint problem-solving approach
• Exploring effective negotiating behaviour
• Studying a mediator’s responsibilities
• Examining facilitation and the attributes of a good facilitator
• Gaining insights into the balance of power and power imbalance
• Learning about group work and discussion
• Exploring conflict training exercises

Key Characteristics of Effective Teachers 

According to a study done by the University of Melbourne in 2018, 11 teacher characteristics are directly associated with teacher, student and school outcomes. These can be used to formulate valuable teaching strategies, and they include: 

#1 – Cognitive Capability

Cognition in this study isn’t focused on ‘intelligence’, but on broader attributes associated with the teacher and their personality. These include:

• Credibility. Teachers with credibility tend to adopt a clear, responsive and assertive communication style that involves interacting with students and other teachers in ways that support student learning. They also come across as social, composed and caring to students and colleagues. 

• Creativity, insight and imagination. Teachers defined as creative work with existing knowledge in unique and innovative ways, and introduce new processes that result in improved student learning. They also tend to have a strong emotional investment in their students and encourage ‘possibility thinking’ and inclusivity in their classrooms. 

• Judgement and decision-making ability. Teachers who possess this characteristic make decisions and develop strategies based on balanced and evidence-based methods, and regularly reflect on their own teaching practices and techniques.

#2 – Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), and Competence

There are five SEL competencies that comprise this characteristic, and these include:

• Self-awareness
• Self-management
• Social awareness
• Relationship skills 
• Responsible decision-making

Teachers with high social and emotional competence make responsible decisions, recognise and understand other people’s emotions, engage in behaviours that benefit others, and are skilled at managing their own behaviour and their relationships with others.

#3 – Self-efficacy

Self-efficacy can be defined as “the belief in one’s capabilities to organise and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations”. It sounds complicated, but it refers to a teacher’s belief in their ability to impact student learning and other outcomes. Teachers with this characteristic believe: 

• Their relationships and engagement with students are meaningful and important.
• Their relationships and engagement with students is part of their professional responsibility.
• Goal setting and professional development and learning is valuable.
• Involving students in goal setting and class decision making is important. 

#4 – Communication

Teaching primarily revolves around instructional communication, which is ‘the role of communication in the teaching of all subjects at all levels’. Communication can be verbal, co-verbal, or non-verbal communication, and all are important for teachers. It involves: 

• Rhetorical communication techniques – which include clarity, communicating relevance and using humour
• Relational communication techniques – which include listening, immediacy and manipulating presentation styles

Non-verbal communication is also an important aspect of communication, and this includes:

• Proxemics – proximity to students and a teacher’s use of space
• Co-verbal behaviours – eye contact, physical gestures, body language and facial expressions
• Paralanguage – voice volume, pitch and rhythm
• Appearance – good grooming and overall physical presentation

#5 – Motivation

Motivation can be defined as ‘the energy or drive that moves people to do something by nature’. In the context of teaching, it can be defined as the reasons an individual chooses to teach, and the reasons a teacher sustains or continues to teach. 

Motivated teachers: 

• Are influenced by several factors, including students themselves.
• Are enthusiastic about their students.
• Have a positive view of their abilities and their work.
• Are keen to develop competence and knowledge in their teaching skills. 
• Effectively navigate setbacks and challenges. 

#6 – Cultural Competence

Cultural competence and culturally responsive teaching strategies are an important characteristic of effective teachers. It is characterised by teaching practices as well as a teacher’s values, attitudes and their knowledge relating to culture. 

Teachers with this characteristic:

• Recognise a student’s intellectual capabilities, prior accomplishments and their personal and cultural strengths
• Embrace diversity, the ‘culture of power’ and the enablement of cultural identity development
• Build effective relationships and deliver relevant and authentic learning 

#7 – Personality 

‘Personality’ is a combination of qualities or characteristics that make up an individual’s character. Experts believe a teacher’s personality is an underlying core factor influencing their performance. 

Teachers with this characteristic exhibit: 

• Agreeableness – they actively listen and engage in conversations.
• Extraversion – they enjoy being around people more than being alone.
• Conscientiousness – they complete quality tasks with efficiency. 

Personality traits include being talkative, caring, affectionate, sociable, good-natured, trusting, unselfish, kind, composed and emotionally expressive …. with a sense of humour! 

#8 – Self-Reflection and Reflection

Teacher self-reflection is defined as the ability to identify one’s strengths and weaknesses, adapt to change and correct mistakes accordingly. 

Teachers’ reflective practice: 

• Encourages self-assessment.
• Enables them to react to personal concerns and learning experiences.
• Helps them elaborate on learning theories and philosophies with other colleagues.
• Allows them to contemplate problems, personal insights, training and future goals.

#9 –Collegiality

Collegiality, as a characteristic, is defined by the ability of a teacher to encourage, display optimism about and build collaborative relationships. It also involves teachers: 

• Being given opportunities for continued development
• Being able to grow, both personally and professionally 
• Viewing themselves as lifelong learners
• Working with other teachers to develop curriculums

#10 – Attitudes, Beliefs, and Expectations

The definition of this characteristic is relatively straightforward and focuses on positive teacher beliefs and expectations. Both of these are interrelated and are influenced by attitudes. Teacher beliefs and expectations comprise: 

• The belief in the power and importance of accomplished teaching. 
• The exploration and achievement of all students’ potential.
• An ambitious vision for all students’ long-term success. 
• The communication of expectations to students via daily goals. 

#11 – Values, Moral and Ethics

Values, morals and ethics reflect various elements that make up a teacher’s personality and character. Basically, they revolve around: 

• The variety of beliefs and virtues that teachers may hold about issues such as religion or environmental issues
• Beliefs and virtues that extend to a teacher’s ethics and morality
• Virtues which ‘contribute to the flourishing, or well-being of individuals and society’, including their students!

Whether you’re homeschooling or keen to update your teaching skills for more effective student experience, Developing Your Teaching Skills For Success will equip you with a range of valuable teaching strategies.