Deputy Principals

PETER CUMMINS

Deputy Principal - Teaching & Learning

Supporting Pre-service Teachers

With over 15,000 pre-service teachers being placed across Victorian schools each year, the role of education mentors (teachers in schools) in developing the capacities and ‘classroom readiness’ of our future teachers, is an important undertaking.

Professional experience in schools, with the support of mentors, helps to bridge the gap between the academic learning that takes place within an education course, and the practicalities of being within a classroom and the broader school environment.

This coming term Oakleigh Grammar plans to take part in a program in conjunction with Monash University, to host first year pre-service teachers one day a week for the whole of Term 3.

The idea is to give pre-service teachers the opportunity to shadow a member of the P-12 teaching staff for a particular day, and to do this each week over the duration of the term. The pre-service teachers are not expected to have an in front of class teaching role, but can assist with classroom activities, sport, co-curricular activities, etc.

For beginning pre-service teachers, they will get the opportunity to see the school in action one day a week, over the whole of a term, and gain a better insight in to the working life of a teacher and their professional responsibilities.

For teachers and students at Oakleigh Grammar, the assistance provided by pre-service teachers will be a real asset.