ABSTRACT
Working as a mentor in geography education can bring you many rewards, including; increased professional competency, opportunities for reflective practice, collaborative learning, leadership and personal benefits. These can all be forms of professional development which can be recognised by universities through further study, or can be improvements to your own practice. A balance needs to be sought between developing generically trained teachers and ‘geography’ teachers; mentors model professional behaviours and so the extent to which geographical knowledge features in your professional identity will play a role in how you are seen and emulated. This chapter argues that by engaging in geography education scholarship, particularly around ideas of curriculum thinking, you can increase your own understanding of these complex issues, improve your own professional development, and guide the beginning teachers in your charge.
