With the continued uncertainty around large gatherings and density limits due to COVID 19 at the time of planning the 24 th CDES Annual Psychology Teachers’ Conference for 2022, the only option was to deliver the Conference virtually via Zoom webinars once again. Whilst there are clearly a number of benefits of a virtual conference, the networking afforded by a face-to-face conference is definitely missed and acknowledged.

 

In 2022, there will be five one-hour workshop sessions. As in past years, the program will begin with the VCAA Update (Session 1). Teachers will again have the opportunity to hear from and ask questions of Erin Wilson – VCAA Stem Manager (Psychology and Biology) who has the responsibility for overseeing VCE Psychology. With a new Study Design pending, an update from Erin is important and timely. In Session 4, the Chief Assessors for the 2021 examination – Kenna Bradley and Kerrie Ardley will provide an evaluation of the common mistakes made by students in the 2021 exam. In Sessions 2, 3 and 5, teachers will select the workshops they wish to attend from a range of options. The duration of all workshops will be 1 hour – with a 50-minute presentation and 10 minutes of Q & A. During the presentation part of the workshops, 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 in Sessions 2, 3 and 5 only.

There will be a 15-minute break between workshop sessions and a 30-minute lunch break between Sessions 3 and 4. During Sessions 2, 3 and 5 there will be seven or eight different workshops available from which teachers can select. In the week of the Conference, the Workshop Timetable will be emailed to all registered participants. The timetable will clearly show which of the 22 different workshops available will be presented during each of those three sessions. Each workshop will only be presented ONCE. Each of the 22 workshops will have a designated ‘link’ which teachers will use to access the workshop they wish to attend. The designated links will be emailed to registered participants as part of the Workshop Timetable.

On the day of the Conference, participants will select one workshop to attend in each session by clicking the relevant link for that workshop. In Session 4, only one workshop will be presented – Review of the 2021 Units 3 & 4 Exam. As in past years, the Chief Assessors have made themselves available to present this highly popular workshop in which the 2021 Exam will be unpacked in detail and insights into required answers will be discussed.

Using the Zoom webinar platform is relatively straightforward. However, there are a few key preparations that participants need to undertake to ensure they can access all aspects of the Conference 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.

As always, access to ALL workshop notes will be available to all registered Conference participants after the
Conference for the remainder of the 2022 school year.