About us
'A new era in teacher mentoring that honours teachers, their work and their futures'
Dr Ellen Larsen
Welcome to the Institute for Future-focused mentoring. IFfM has emerged from the collaborative work of a group of education researchers from the University of Southern Queensland and the University of New South Wales. These researchers are committed to supporting and partnering with educators across the many and varied contexts in which they work to engage in mentoring practices that can:
- Develop future-focused ways of working
- Create opportunities to explore future-focused practices
- Build mutually beneficial mentoring partnerships that nurture professional potential now and into the future.
Future-focused mentoring (FfM) heralds in a new era in mentoring; one that is about providing a way for teachers to learn together that will set them up to address the complexities of their work effectively, flexibly, and creatively. Teachers are facing a future that includes rapid change, unknown complexities, and escalating demands. FfM aims to nurture the kinds of intellectual virtues, such as curiosity, intellectual humility, thoroughness, open-mindedness, and tenacity, that will see them meet these demands head-on in a mentoring approach that celebrates each and every teacher’s personal potential, leverages the power of learning partnerships and supports teachers to work together to find solutions and grow throughout their careers.
Testimonials
The FfM program was a great learning experience and reminder that all teachers need to continually reflect on their professional practice. The learning sessions targeted a teacher mindset, language choices and goal setting in a mentoring context, and added another layer of depth to the current mentoring program. As an early career teacher, FfM helped to shape how I participated and prepared for my mentoring sessions, making them more productive and edifying, and ultimately, equipping me to become a better teacher.
Early Career Teacher
The FfM program nurtures the power of reflective and collaborative learning in a mentoring relationship. The purposeful and intentional use of the intellectual virtues as learning dispositions were effective foundations for professional growth. The professional learning invoked a sense of discovery and meaningful insight into the mentoring relationship and professional practice.
Mentor
Being a participant in the FfM project was incredible for developing a more authentic and supportive understanding of the ECT/mentor relationship. Being able to incorporate the key foundations of the program with our school’s established mentoring model, we have seen a deeper more authentic mentor/mentee relationship. It has aided in improving both my personal teaching practice, as well as seeing areas of growth in my mentee. An excellent experience in expanding my understanding of what it means to be a mentor.
Mentor
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