Pedagogical mentoring is a fundamental and increasingly important part of professional learning and development for teachers in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is a way to build professional skills, knowledge and confidence as early childhood educators.
Bear Park values our teaching team and invests in their careers to become meaningful and supportive teachers. In providing support for our teachers, our children can become empowered and interactive learners.
How Bear Park matches its teachers with their pedagogical mentors.
Our pedagogical team comes with their own personal attributes and strengths. Bear Park matches these on the needs or desires of each centre or teacher.
We do this by:
- Creating meaningful learning environments for children,
- Supporting teachers to develop best practice to ensure positive learning outcomes for our children,
- Guiding specific areas of current research via the Reggio Emilia philosophy, and
- Supporting teachers relating to planning assessment processes to solidify their pedagogy and practice.
We acknowledge the uniqueness of the individual centres in their journey. Therefore, we collaboratively create effective professional development and a strategic direction for each site.
Growing and developing through our pedagogical mentoring process.
Our pedagogical leaders are regularly on-site and spend time with teachers both individually and within their teams. They provide constructive feedback that promotes professional growth and deeper reflective thinking. Consequently, this empowers teachers to feel motivated and inspired in their teaching careers.
Additionally, our pedagogical team actively supports our managers with their leadership journey to expand their understanding of how Bear Park integrates key values from the Reggio Emilia educational philosophy. This ensures ongoing and relevant professional growth that is consistent across all centres.
How will this help assist a Bear Park teacher in their career progression?
Having the support of a pedagogical leader will inspire and guide teachers to become advocates for the ECE profession here in New Zealand. Motivated teachers make our children’s potential a key focus, helping them embrace and pursue a lifetime of learning and innovation.
