Teaching Excellence

EMMA CHANDLER, PUBLICATIONS COORDINATOR

In 2023 teachers Iain Wallace and Kellie Winters embarked on the Teaching Excellence Program (TEP) offered by The Victorian Academy for Teaching and Leadership. Both feel that their experience has been an enriching one, fortifying their roles as educators and enhancing their effectiveness in the classroom.

The Teaching Excellence Program (TEP) is a year-long professional learning program for highly skilled teachers, supporting and challenging them to become even better teachers.

For Iain Wallace, a primary years teacher at The Geelong College, the TEP was an opportunity to delve into the most effective strategies for developing students' language comprehension within a curriculum spanning science, history, geography, and social studies.

"The TEP provided me with a unique opportunity to explore new methods and refine my approach...I was able to tap into a wealth of contemporary, evidence-informed research that will help me to better tailor my teaching to the diverse learning needs of my students," he said.

'The words of E.D. Hirsch summarise it well: "If we want our children to be broadly competent readers, thinkers, and problem solvers, they must have a rich, broad store of background knowledge to call upon, enabling them to flex those mental muscles," he said.

Kellie Winters also found the TEP to be an invaluable part of her professional development.

"It greatly enriched my teaching skills and strengthened my role as an educator by equipping me with the tools to enhance my effectiveness in the classroom," she said.

Kellie was able to put these skills into practice when she engaged in two inquiries. Her first focused on identifying disengaged students and finding strategies to re-engage them. The second was an exploration of student agency, metacognition, self-regulation, and self-efficacy, and was completed in association with teachers from two other Geelong schools.

Both Iain and Kellie highly valued the opportunity for professional connection that the program afforded them.

"One of the highlights of TEP was the opportunity to engage with national and international expert educators," said Iain.

"The opportunity to connect with teachers from all sectors of education exposed me to diverse learning activities and innovative teaching approaches," said Kellie.

But the aim of the TEP was not only to enrich the teaching skills of participants, it also aimed to provide them with a lens through which they could be introspective.

"Each participant had to complete two teacher 'portraits', one in Term 1 and the other in Term 4, the purpose being to provide teachers with an opportunity to reflect upon their teacher identity," explained Kellie.

"It was an invaluable platform to deepen my understanding of who I am as a teacher and to explore and express the personal qualities, passions, beliefs, and values that shape me as an 'exceptional teacher'.”

Both educators are grateful for their experience, and emphasised the profound impact of TEP, as a whole, on their professional growth.

"Participating in a diverse range of learning activities, I gained insights beyond the confines of traditional teaching methods.

“The program not only broadened my educational horizons but also equipped me with the tools to elevate my effectiveness as an educator.

“I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the College Executive and the Junior School Leadership team for their support throughout my TEP journey," said Iain.

"I would like to thank Dr Miller for supporting my application and granting me the time during the school year to undertake this transformative professional learning... The TEP fostered an environment of continuous growth, inspiring me to incorporate novel methods in my classroom," said Kellie.

Iain and Kellie's experiences underscore the importance of continuous professional development and collaboration in fostering effective teaching practices.