Teaching Excellence Program Overview

The TEP is a year-long professional learning experience, grounded in key discipline areas, practitioner inquiry, teacher agency, reflective practice, and contemporary research.

Open to Victorian government, Catholic and Independent schools, the TEP is Australia's first advanced professional learning program for highly skilled teachers.

The program is designed for teachers with a minimum of 3 years teaching experience. Supported by a team of master teachers, participants engage in a diverse range of learning activities, including conferences, discipline-based masterclasses, elective workshops, cross-sectorial Teaching Excellence Learning Communities (TELCs).  

Teaching in the disciplines 

The TEP is structured around key disciplines, including: 

• The Arts
• English
• Health and Physical Education
• The Humanities
• Languages
• Mathematics
• Science
• Technologies.

Responsive pedagogy 

The program's focus on responsive pedagogy enables cross-disciplinary alignment. Participants engage with contemporary expertise and link pedagogical decisions with research on effective learning for diverse students.

Practitioner inquiry 

Through practitioner inquiry, participants develop an inquiry stance. They learn to elicit and closely examine evidence of student learning, develop action plans and trial teaching approaches, evaluate their impact, and articulate next steps.

Teaching dispositions 

The focus on developing dispositions for exceptional teaching encourages participants to recognise, activate and reflect on associated patterns of action that have high impact.

Register your interest to receive updates about TEP 2024.

Teaching Innovation Fellowship 

TEP alumni may apply for a Teaching Innovation Fellowship to implement an innovation project that transforms teacher practice and student learning in their classrooms or schools.

Fellows will be supported to work autonomously or co-lead a team to deliver their project. They will work in teams within their school or in a collaborative partnership with TEP alumni in other schools. 

Fellows will enhance their individual and collaborative expertise by sharing their professional learning and exemplary practices with colleagues in their schools and beyond.  

Funding  

Fellows may receive up to $10,000 to design and implement their innovation project.  Schools may also be eligible to receive time release funding to support their fellow to undertake the project.

Professional learning masterclasses

Fellows will engage with experts and other highly skilled educators in a series of masterclasses designed to provide them with strong foundations to pursue their innovation project. 

Fellowship Learning Communities 

Fellows will participate and contribute to Fellowship Learning Communities where they will build relationships with other fellows and share ideas, learn from each other, and support each other’s professional growth. 

Access to direct support through mentoring 

Fellows will be guided by a project mentor who will contribute to their project’s progress. Mentors will foster fellows’ reflective learning practices through collaborative dialogue and supportive guidance.

How to apply  

Fellowships will be awarded through a merit-based selection process. To be eligible to apply individuals must:  

• be a graduate of TEP or master teacher alumni 
• be in a full-time or part-time teaching role at the start of the fellowship  
• have VIT registration 
• have principal or manager endorsement and ongoing support.   

The Teaching Innovation Fellowship guidelines provide you with essential information to prepare your application; read these carefully before applying.  

Start your application 

Applications close on 14 March 2023.  

TEP Alumni Network  

Graduates of the program become alumni of the Academy and will be invited to join the TEP Alumni Network. The network offers alumni the opportunity to engage in professional learning events and an online community to engage in conversation, share practice and resources, and provide support to each other.

An alumni advisory group actively guides the development of the alumni strategy, activities, and opportunities. Advisory group members serve for a period of 1 year and give voice to the needs of their cohort.

TEP graduates are automatically considered alumni, however, access to the TEP Alumni Network and its associated platform is optional. This network will expand yearly with each intake of new graduates.

By joining the TEP Alumni Network, graduates receive a range of benefits including access to:  

• an exclusive network of highly skilled teachers who are passionate about enhancing their individual and collective expertise  
• free professional learning and networking sessions throughout the year  
• online research databases. 

More information

If you have graduated from TEP and have not already opted in to the TEP Alumni Network, you can request  to join by emailing teaching.excellence.program@education.vic.gov.au 

Note: by joining the network, you agree to the privacy statement and community guidelines.