A reflection on the use of mentoring of early career academics to improve teaching and learning

Early career academics in a higher education institution may come from varied backgrounds which are not necessarily teaching based. Universities employed such academics to undertake an array of tasks including teaching administration and research. In current budgetary constraints an academic is normally required to undertake all 3 tasks. Teaching is a core activity of any university but there are enormous pressures for such academics to undertake research either through publication or undertaking research degrees and little attention is given to assisting with the philosophy and implementation of good teaching practices. This paper will examine a program at an Australian university with the use of mentoring from senior colleagues to assist not only in the teaching process but to also interweave this into research based publications.