• 2021 CDES Virtual Annual Psychology Teachers’ Conference<br/><span style=Friday, 26th February 2021" />

2021 Virtual Conference

The unprecedented COVID-19 events in 2020 have required a reformatting of the 23rd Annual Psychology Teachers’ Conference for 2021. Whilst the conference, by necessity, will have a different look and feel – the essence of what will be delivered has been retained. In 2021, the Conference will be conducted virtually, using Zoom webinars. The obvious benefit of a virtual conference is that teachers can access the conference from the comfort of their own home or workspace. However, the ability to network is clearly lost.

The new medium for delivering the Conference has resulted in some changes to the structure of the program. In 2021, there will be five workshop sessions as well as a VCAA Update. As in past years, the program will begin with the VCAA Update. Teachers will again have the opportunity to hear from and ask questions of Erin Wilson – VCAA Stem Manager (Psychology and Biology). Erin has the responsibility of oversight of VCE Psychology. With a new Study Design pending, an update from Erin is important and timely. Dr Meredith McKague, the Chief Assessor of the VCE Psychology examination will present the second half of the VCAA Update, providing an overview of the common mistakes made by students in the 2020 exam. The five workshop sessions will follow the VCAA Update. Each workshop session will last for 1 hour – with a 50 minute presentation and 10 minutes of Q & A. During the presentation part of the workshop, participants’ microphones will be on ‘mute’. However, the Zoom webinar platform allows for participants to type and send questions to the presenter during that time. Participants microphones will be turned on again during the final 10 minutes of the workshop for the Q & A.

There will be a 15 minute break between workshop sessions. During Sessions 1, 2, 4 and 5 there will be six different workshops available from which teachers can select. Prior to the Conference date, the Workshop Timetable will be emailed to all registered participants. The timetable will clearly show which of the 25 different workshops available will be presented during each of those four sessions. Each workshop will only be presented ONCE. Each of the 25 workshops will have a designated ‘link’ that teachers will use to access the workshop they wish to attend. The designated links will be emailed to registered participants with the Workshop Timetable. On the day, participants will select one workshop to attend in each session by clicking the relevant link for that workshop. In Session 3, only one workshop will be presented – Review of the 2020 Units 3 & 4 Exam. As in past years, Dr McKague has made herself available to present this highly popular workshop. During this workshop, the 2020 Exam will be unpacked in detail and insights into required answers will be discussed.

We are assured by many people who have run conferences similar to this one in 2020 that the Zoom webinar platform is relatively straightforward. However, there are a few key preparations that need to be undertaken to ensure all aspects of the Conference can be accessed without any technical delays:

  1. Set up a free Zoom account using the same email address provided when registering for the Conference.
  2. Have your Zoom password readily accessible on the day of the Conference. (CDES personnel will be unable to assist with the inability to access Zoom webinars as a result of a forgotten password or being blocked by Zoom due to too many incorrect attempts at accessing a Zoom account).
  3. Ensure you have the Program that states Session times, the Workshop Timetable and the list of the designated links for each workshop readily available before the commencement of the Conference.

Importantly, teachers should be aware that webinars cannot be accessed on multiple devices using the same Zoom account. If both you, and someone else, use your Zoom account to login to the webinars, only the first device logged in will be able to join the webinar. Any subsequent attempts to join the webinar will be blocked by Zoom.

Conference Program

9:00am – 10:00am
VCAA Update Erin Wilson, STEM Manager Science (Psychology & Biology), VCAA and Dr Meredith McKague, Chief Assessor, VCE Psychology
10:15am – 11:15am
Session 1 Workshops
11:30am – 12:30pm
Session 2 Workshops
12:45pm – 1:45pm
Session 3 Review of the 2020 Units 3 & 4 Exam
Dr Meredith McKague
2:00pm – 3:00pm
Session 4 Workshops
3:15pm – 4:15pm
Session 5 Workshops

Workshop Features

    • VCAA Update including feedback from the Chief Assessor
    • Q & A session with VCAA personnel
    • 25 different workshops
    • 17 new workshop topics/presenters
    • Engaging teaching and learning ideas for secondary Psychology

Workshop Descriptions

Detailed descriptions of all 25 workshops on offer at the 2021 February Conference are available in the Brochure.

Download Brochure

Conference Benefits

  • the acquisition of a wealth of teaching ideas and learning activities
  • an opportunity to hear directly from and ask questions of VCAA personnel
  • access to a vast range of resources
  • an opportunity to network with other Psychology teachers
  • the chance to obtain answers to your VCE Psychology questions
  • hearing different interpretations of the Study Design
  • clarification of ambiguities
  • an opportunity to talk directly with ‘expert’ Psychology teachers
  • electronic access to notes from every listed workshop
  • time to reflect on your own teaching practice
  • a chance to reignite your motivation and passion for teaching senior secondary Psychology
  • a certificate acknowledging your attendance at 6 hours of PD