A pre-service teacher is completing a qualification that meets the requirements of a nationally accredited initial teacher education program. Upon receiving this qualification, they will have demonstrated their compentence at the Graduate career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (the Standards) outline the expectations for teachers at 4 career stages: Graduate, Proficient, Highly Accomplished, and Lead. These Standards define the knowledge, skills and attributes required at each career stage.
The Standards serve 2 main purposes:
- To improve the quality of teaching.
- To support the career progression of Australian teachers.
The 7 Standards are interconnected, interdependent, and overlapping. Each career stage includes descriptors to help you understand and develop your own practice as well as that of the pre-service teacher. The Standards are organised into 3 domains of teaching:
- Professional Knowledge
- Professional Practice
- Professional Engagement
Your role as a supervising teacher
As a supervising teacher, you will:
- support your own professional growth towards the Highly Accomplished Standards
- actively assist pre-service teachers in their professional development towards the Graduate Standards.
Mentoring using the Graduate Standards
As a supervising teacher, you will mentor and coach pre-service teachers to enhance their professional knowledge, practice and engagement. This can be done through:
- breaking down and discussing the Standard Descriptors with your pre-service teacher, and planning professional learning goals that focus on improving their teaching quality and student learning outcomes
- supporting pre-service teachers through observations, co-teaching, and modelling classroom practices to implement a variety of teaching strategies
- providing informal and written feedback to guide their professional development and impact on student learning achievement
- discussing goals and evidence needed for pre-service teachers to demonstrate they have met the Graduate Standards. Refer to the Professional experience - evidence guide for supervising teachers by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).
Resources to support your mentoring:
- Create a professional development plan for your pre-service teacher, using self-reflection against the Graduate Standards, SMART goal planning, and feedback on classroom practice, developed by the NSW Department of Education, 2024.
- Develop your pre-service teacher's knowledge and skills by recommending specific Setting up for Success webinars that align with their professional development plan, developed by the NSW Department of Education, 2022.
- Deepen your understanding of the Standards by reviewing filmed illustrations of the Standards, developed by the NSW Council of Deans of Education.