Effective Mentoring Program

Teachers who are new to the profession require guidance and professional support to apply their knowledge in everyday teaching situations, and it is an expectation that PRTs will be inducted into their teaching environments and the profession by more experienced colleagues.

The evidence-based process for full registration requires experienced teachers to:

• observe and provide guidance in relation to the PRT’s practice
• provide feedback on practice
• engage in professional discussions with PRTs
• work collaboratively with PRTs.

This mentoring support is central to the development of new teachers as independent practitioners. As a mentor, you will play a key role in this process and should have an understanding of the evidence-based process for gathering and documenting evidence to apply for full registration.

The guidance offered is an essential element of support and should be targeted to the focus of inquiry.

Use evidence of what you have seen and heard in the learning environment as well as samples of student work to assist in these discussions.

Be prepared to question your PRT to encourage creative and critical thinking.

Help them build capacity to develop perceptive decisions and take appropriate actions.

By the end of the discussion, there should be clear action points for the PRT.

Attendance at both Day 1 and Day 2 of the EMP, and completion of both pre- and post-online modules, is required to complete the program. 

Attendance at the two face-to-face days of the EMP are the minimum requirement, for a teacher / early childhood teacher, to be recognised as a VIT trained mentor for participation on a Workplace Panel for (full) registration. Teachers are strongly encouraged to complete all components of the EMP.

In addition to the two-day program, a small number of one-day refresher seminars will be conducted for mentors who completed EMP before 2015 and wish to update their skills and knowledge about mentoring and the provisional to (full) registration process.

Further information for government schools and early childhood providers can be found at:

Effective Mentoring Program for experienced school teachers

Effective Mentoring Program for experienced early childhood teachers

Program overview

Day 1 

• understanding my beginning teacher and their learning needs
• discussing the role teacher mentors play in supporting beginning teachers
• exploring the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) and the need for evidence to support full registration
• identifying factors that enable mentoring in schools and services.

Day 2

• building a relationship with your beginning teacher
• gaining knowledge of the registration requirements
• exploring options for observing practice
• engaging in evidence-informed conversations
• understanding evidence and the APST
• recommendation process overview.