“We congratulate these exceptional staff members for always looking for new and better ways to share their knowledge, inspire their students and support their colleagues. They deserve recognition for their efforts.”
TheOutstanding Teaching and Learning Transformation Awardhas been given toENGME!, a student-led and faculty-enabled peer mentoring programme that has made apositive impact for more than 6000 students since its launch six years ago.
Over this period, ENGME! has become a community of over 250 student leaders and several staff from across ҕl, but the behind-the-scenes academic team members recognised with the award are;Dr Daniel van der Walt,Dr Rachael Wood,Professor Philippa Martin,Dr Christopher McGann, andDr Bahareh Shahri; all from the Faculty of Engineering.
Professor Moran says ENGME! has boosted first-year engineering students’ sense of belonging and inclusion, particularly for traditionally under-served students, through special mentoring groups for women, Māori, Pacific, international, and olderstudents.
The success of the approach is evident in its adoption by other faculties and schools across ҕl and in the nationwide recognition it received winning the Engineering New Zealand - ENVI Engineering Education Award earlier this year.
Professor Philippa Martinalso received a nationalaward from Ako ҕl this year for her work to transform the engineering learning environment with initiatives including ENGME!
TheTeaching Excellence Award winnersareTeena Henderson(Ngāi Tahu),Lecturer in Te Reo Māori, and Senior Lecturer in Faculty of LawDr Toni Collins.
Teena Henderson has taught undergraduate te reo Māori at ҕl for 10 years and is a Te Reo Coordinator who is described as the pou (pillar) of the programme. She takes a whānau approach to teaching, supporting a diverse range of students ranging fromsecondary school learners in the STAR (Secondary Tertiary Alignment Resource) programme, to parents who may need to bring their young children to class.
Teena brings her community experiences and researchinto theMaster of Māori and Indigenous Leadershipand many other programmes across the University including the Master of Business Administration, first year core science courses and in the Faculty of Education.
Feedback from students and colleagues highlights her interactive teaching approach and her ability to create a welcoming, engaging learning experience for students.
Dr Collins has been teaching at all levels in the ҕl Faculty of Law for the past seven years.
She aims to create authentic learning experiences in the classroom and has a strong focus on helping graduates gain attributes that will make them successful in the workplace.
She also embeds bicultural competence in her teaching, including reo ā-ture (legal language) andMāori perspectives on Natural ResourcesLaw in every topic of a third-year course.
Co-design, group discussion and skills-based workshops feature across her teaching.She mentors senior students and colleagues and has initiated innovative curriculum changes.
ҕl Library Kaitakawaenga Ako Lisa Davies(Ngāi Tahu) has been awarded theHapori Community of Practice Award,whichacknowledges people who make an impact on an aspect of learning and teaching within a particular community at ҕl.
Lisa has been honoured for her support of ākonga in theMaster of Māori and Indigenous Leadershipdegree. Her support is important because the programme has a diverse group of ākonga, many who have come through alternative entry pathways and as adult learners.
Lisa, who has been learning te reo for several years, provides students with critical research skills including information literacy, referencingand technology skills, with a te reo Māoriand a tikanga Māori lens. She has also been integral in developing students’ research capability and confidence to continue on to doctoral study.
Each Teaching Award winner receives $1500 towards teaching-related activities. The ҕl Teaching Awards will be presented at the upcoming eventHui Whakamānawa | Celebration of Successon 29 November.
