The NSW Department of Education collaborates with initial teacher education providers to drive research and innovation in professional experience, aiming to enhance practices and promote consistent, high-quality teaching outcomes.
Our research projects include:
Supervising Teacher Research Project (2024)
The NSW Department of Education commissioned the NSW Council of Deans of Education to undertake research and deliver a report on the attributes of quality supervising teachers, identify effective support strategies, and examine how universities and schools can collaborate to enhance the supervision process.
For more information about the project's findings, please contact professionalexperience@det.nsw.edu.au.
Work-integrated learning case studies in teacher education
In collaboration with academic colleagues, teachers from the department’s Professional Experience Hubs have published a collection of case studies showcasing their professional experience practices. The book highlights the importance of rich, reciprocal partnerships between initial teacher education and schools. It encourages best practices to foster quality teacher preparation.
You can access the book via the Springer website. Department staff can log in using the institutional access under NSW Department of Education.
Examining the role of the school professional experience coordinator
In 2021, the department commissioned the NSW Council of Deans of Education to undertake research on the role of professional experience coordinators within the Professional Experience Hub Program.
Findings from this research highlight the significant contribution of professional experience coordinators in fostering a professional learning culture, enhancing the status of professional experience within schools. By increasing the number of teachers willing to supervise pre-service teachers and improving the standard of supervision, they help reduce the historical variability in quality. The study also identifies key strategies to enhance the quality of professional experience, such as greater clarity in roles and responsibilities, documentation, processes, and accountabilities for all stakeholders, as well as a stronger role for coordinators in the program planning and delivery of initial teacher education courses.
For more information about the project's findings, please contact professionalexperience@det.nsw.edu.au.
Graduate teacher exemplars: videos on mentoring pre-service teachers
The department, in partnersihp with the NSW Council of Deans of Education, has developed a suite of videos and resources that showcase pre-service teachers demonstrating the Graduate level of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
These resources are designed to support supervising teachers in using a developmental growth model to mentor pre-service teachers as they progress towards the next stage of their teaching careers.
The full suite of videos and resources is available on the NSW Council of Deans of Education webpage.