Teaching Excellence Program

Conferences

TEP teachers attend 2 conference days to learn from national and international leaders in education and collaborate to generate new understandings and knowledge. Conferences are held in Melbourne during Term 1 and Term 4.

Discipline days

These are a unique opportunity to explore essential questions related to teaching and learning in the disciplines. Teachers participate in active dialogue, problem solving, sharing and modelling. Subject matter experts provide  evidence-informed learnings to stimulate practitioner inquiries, enabling teachers to network in discipline-focused groups. 

Teaching Excellence Learning Communities

Teachers come together from across sectors, disciplines, school types, year levels and locations to apply their discipline-focused learning to their specific classroom and school contexts. 
These learning community days support teachers to enhance their expertise through professional dialogue, connection-making and practitioner inquiry. They are conducted at Academy locations across Victoria. 

Practitioner inquiry

TEP teachers will use the TEP Inquiry Cycle to conduct 2 practitioner inquiries, one collaborative and one independent, as a part of their self-directed learning. Through practitioner inquiry, TEP teachers develop an inquiry stance. They learn to elicit and closely examine evidence of student learning, consider the actions they will take and how they will know whether their inquiry makes a difference.

TEP graduation requirements

To graduate from the TEP, teachers are required to:

• attend at least 90% of TEP professional learning events
• develop and submit required learning tasks aligned with quality indicators.

The TEP Alumni Network

Graduates of the program become Academy alumni and are invited to join the TEP Alumni Network. The network offers alumni the opportunity to engage in exclusive professional learning events. There is also an online community to engage in focussed discussions, share practice and resources and provide peer support.   

Following graduation, TEP alumni can apply for a Teaching Innovation Fellowship to design, lead and implement an innovation project that transforms teacher practice and student learning in their classrooms or schools.

Information you need

To start your application on our website you will need to: 

• provide your personal details 
• agree to the program’s terms and conditions 
• choose your discipline (you can only apply to one). 

We recommend that you select a discipline where you have the greatest expertise and passion. 

We welcome applications from primary or specialist school teachers who are naturally drawn to English or Mathematics disciplines. We also encourage teachers with specific skills and interests in other disciplines and a wish to deepen their knowledge in these to choose The Arts, Health and Physical Education, The Humanities (History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship), Languages, Science and Technologies. 

Apply online
 

Log in to Award Force 

1. You will receive a confirmation email that includes a link to Award Force, the platform the Academy uses to manage online applications for the TEP. 
2. Create an account to begin your online application. 

Documents and information you need:  

• your current curriculum vitae 
• 2 working examples that demonstrate exceptional teaching and practice (one must be from your selected discipline) 
• answer 3 questions (below) by providing your response either in written OR video format. 

Written or video response (one only) 

Prepare and upload a response in one of the following formats: 

• written response of no more than two pages in a doc, docx or PDF file 
• video response of no more than 3 minutes in any of the following formats: avi, m4v, mov, mp4, mpeg, mpeg4, mpg or wmv file. 

Answer the following 3 questions: 

• Why are you applying for the 2025 TEP and how do you think it will enhance your teaching practice? (minimum 250 words)   
• Tell us about a learning or wellbeing initiative from your classroom that you have implemented. What did it achieve?   
• Is there anything you would like to add to further support your application? 

Selection criteria  

Your application should demonstrate alignment to the selection criteria (see below). 
 

Principal or manager endorsement is required 

If you are in a school setting, you will need your principal’s endorsement. If you are in another setting, you will need your manager’s endorsement. 

Automated request to principal/manager

After you have finalised all the steps in Award Force and clicked submit on your application, your principal/manager will automatically receive an email asking them to click on a link and tick a box to endorse your application. Your application will not be completed until your principal has completed this step. 

Please remember to: 

• allow time for your principal/manager to complete their endorsement before applications close. 
• provide your principal/manager’s direct email address. 
   

Make sure you consider the selection criteria when developing your application. You will be assessed on 3 key selection criteria: 

• Demonstration of a deep understanding of the selected discipline. 
• Analysis of evidence to identify student learning needs. 
• Demonstration of an understanding of the importance of student wellbeing and the connection of wellbeing to quality learning.