Mentor Days and the important role they play in the St Thomas Aquinas Teaching Schools

The St Thomas Aquinas Teaching Schools plays an important role in Catholic Education Tasmania as we seek to develop high quality teachers for Catholic education. The Teaching Schools program revolves around three key components; studying at an Australian based university, weekly intensive teacher development sessions held at CET and online, and a weekly school placement as a paid cadet teacher working alongside a qualified mentor teacher. 

There is one further aspect that helps the cadets of the Teaching Schools program. These are regular ‘Mentor Days’, which help support the mentors and build their understanding of the role. 

Each school within Catholic education is unique, and no classroom is the same, which gives cadets an opportunity to grow through the conversations they have with their mentors. Mentor Days provide a more structured environment for these conversations to take place, to give both the mentors and their mentees an opportunity to voice any queries they might have when they are studying their degree and working in a classroom. 

The mentors are an important link between the theoretical side of teaching pedagogy, and the practicality of teaching it everyday in the classroom. It can be hard to comprehend as a university student how best to use the techniques and theory that is taught in lectures and tutorials, so mentors play a key role in helping the STATS cadets understand how best to use the teaching practices they learn about daily. 

The purpose of Mentor Days is to provide practical professional development for both the mentors and mentees. It gives both parties an opportunity to interact with each other and share their experiences outside of the context of the classroom, which can sometimes be difficult to do during the busyness of an average day in a Catholic school. Schools can be incredibly dynamic and diverse places, and each mentor has a wealth of experience during their career as an educator. The Teaching Schools mentors are a fountain of knowledge that can be tapped into by cadets who are only just starting out in their journey of becoming a teacher.

Kathy Gaskin, Teaching Schools Director, explained the benefit of Mentor Days for the cadets. “Cadets and mentors find these days valuable as they have insight into the bigger picture of what happens in different classrooms in the diocese,” said Kathy, “They see other models of professional relationships, they can ask questions about teaching, and gain a better understanding of what is expected of them in the workforce.”

It is important for the mentors and cadets that they continue to work together as a team to help support each other through this important and worthwhile relationship. The transition from a university student to teacher within a school can be a daunting prospect. The St Thomas Aquinas Teaching Schools provide their cadets with the opportunity to slowly begin this transition, becoming more comfortable each day that they spend in the classroom. The mentors spoke at previous Mentor Days about the difference they have seen in the cadets from when they started at the beginning of the school year to the development they made as the year progressed. The cadets are able to build their own capacity and confidence, thanks to the experience of interacting with their mentor, students and other members of staff which allows them to become more competent educators as they become closer to graduating as a qualified teacher. 

While Mentor Days are mainly intended to help support the mentors , they also provide benefits for the cadets. They are an opportunity for collegiality, the sharing of ideas and expertise to other mentors, and also allow for feedback sessions to help shape the program in the future. The program looks forward to having more Mentor Days in 2023 as the St Thomas Aquinas Teaching Schools induct more cadets into their program for this year. 

For more information on the St Thomas Aquinas Teaching Schools, click here.