The Disability Information and Support team celebrated 30 years of service last year
Otago's Cell and Molecular Biology (CELS) team and Disability and Information Support team have been awarded the top prizes in a new team category in the University's Awards for Excellence in Teaching.
The 2023 Award winners were announced last month.
The new team category acknowledges the commitment shown by teachers working in a common area and supporting student learning as a group.
It is in addition to awards offered to individual faculty members. The winner(s) receive a grant of $5,000 to advance their professional development.
“Exceptional teaching plays a critical role in fostering student learning and success,” says Professor Helen Nicholson, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic).
“Winning one of these awards is a significant achievement and, the introduction of the team categories, demonstrates the value the University places on groups of experts coming together to support students in achieving their potential.
“I want to extend a huge congratulations to each and every one of the award winners because these prizes are a testament to countless hours of dedication and hard work.”
The University of Otago Awards for Excellence in Teaching are open to academic staff at a variety of levels and are judged on a range of criteria, including having an innovative teaching practice, contributing to developing curriculum, and engaging with the wider academic community.
The 2023 winners are:
Disability Information and Support Team - University of Otago Award for Excellence in Teaching (Team Category)
Disability Information and Support makes sure the students they assist always know they are in the driver's seat of their own education.
Manager Melissa Lethaby says, “We respect students' autonomy and privacy – we've always been guided by the principle of 'nothing about me without me'.”
Ms Lethaby says her team is absolutely delighted to have won this award, which was wonderful recognition for very hard-working staff.
“Without the dedication of every single person in the team we wouldn't be able to offer the support to students that we do.
“We pride ourselves on being a leader in the field of disability support in a tertiary setting and consider it a huge privilege to work alongside students during their studies.”
Over the year, the team will work with about 1700 students who have a disability, impairment, medical condition or injury to support them to achieve their academic potential.
Disability Information and Support celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2022.
The CELS team support over 1800 first year Health Sciences students transition to university with a student-centered approach to developing the necessary skills for study success.
CELS Team - University of Otago Award for Excellence in Teaching (Team Category)
“CELS191 is a Health Sciences First-Year paper with more than 1800 students in attendance. The CELS team provides comprehensive support for these students to help them transition to university life while fostering a love for biology,” says Dr Lisa Russell, a Professional Practice Fellow and co-ordinator of the team.
“To achieve this, the team employs a range of initiatives that support the development of academic and study skills that are crucial for success at university.”
These initiatives include providing comprehensive pastoral support to students, delivering timely and personalised feedback to students, and providing an array of resources which support their diverse learners”.
Dr Russell says the team's student-centred approach fosters a sense of community and creates a supportive and inclusive paper. They also have a skills programme where the team works to develop the teaching skills of their lab demonstrators, extending support and resources to college tutors this year.
Mrs Arianna Nisa-Waller - University of Otago Award for Excellence in Teaching (Kaupapa Māori Award)
Arianna Nisa-Waller says her award celebrates the transformative nature of hauora Māori.
Arianna Nisa-Waller won the Kaupapa Māori University of Otago Excellence in Teaching Award for her services as a Hauora Māori Lecturer.
Based in the Otago Medical School's Kōhatu Centre for Hauora Māori, she is “elated” to have received this award, seeing the achievement as recognising the important role hauora Māori plays in teaching the next generation of healthcare leaders.
“This award isn't about me,” Mrs Nisa-Waller says. “It is about promoting these education pathways to ensure that we are developing graduates who are motivated to improve health outcomes for Māori communities.
“I remember my nan would say to us growing up 'you've got to see it to be it', and so this award honours the people, places and communities that have raised me. For me, this award celebrates te ao Māori teaching and learning philosophies and the transformative nature of hauora Māori to develop, grow and inspire the current and future health workforce in Aotearoa.”
Miss Talai Mapusua - University of Otago Award for Excellence in Teaching (Endorsement in supporting Pacific Learners)
Talai Mapusua says her award is acknowledgement of wider use Pacific teaching styles for all students.
Talai Mapusua says her teaching style reflects her Pacific values and Samoan upbringing.
“To me, the award is an acknowledgement that Pacific teaching styles not only work for Pacific learners, but all students who I have the privilege of teaching,” she says.
Mapusua has worked at the University for 13 years, and recently received an Ako Pacific Professional Development Scholarship for her integration of research and teaching models inspired by traditional Pacific practices.
She wants to create a learning environment that is “empowering, practical and reflective” while supporting “the mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing” of Pacific students.
As an alumna herself, Mapusua says Otago is “a place that cultivates critical thinking and encourages Pacific students to step outside of their comfort zones, not so that they forget who they are but to learn about the world so they can appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of being one of many ethnicities from the Pacific”.
Associate Professor Anna High - University of Otago Award for Excellence in Teaching
Associate Professor Anna High has seen many positive outcomes after using mindfulness as a teaching tool
Associate Professor Anna High has been awarded an Otago Teaching Excellence Award for leadership in mindfulness pedagogy and student-centered legal education.
As a member of Te Kaupeka Tātai Ture Faculty of Law, Associate Professor High teaches Evidence Law, Jurisprudence, Chinese Law, and Gender and the Law.
Associate Professor High says she keeps rigour and accessibility in mind as equally important tenets in all her teaching. This has led her to incorporate mindfulness as a teaching tool.
By using mindfulness, pressure and self-doubt can be acknowledged and students have a tool to work through the impact of those factors on their learning, identity, and personal wellbeing: “in my experience, mindfulness can offer, for many students, a path to well-being, improved focus, resilience, and empathy.”
“Teaching is a true joy for me. I hope this is infectious – even subjects with as dry a reputation as evidence law and jurisprudence can be incredibly engaging, and I find it very rewarding to see students learn to appreciate nuances and complexities, and to succeed in reaching for the 'high-hanging fruit', of a particular area of law.”
Associate Professor Sunyoung Ma - University of Otago Award for Excellence in Teaching
Associate Professor Sunyoung Ma uses her experience as a practicing dental specialist to make sure her teaching is contemporary.
Associate Professor Sunyoung Ma aims to foster an environment that inspires intellectual and professional development so that all her students can reach their full potential.
“Dentistry is an exciting area that is quickly evolving with different technologies, and it is amazing to see how my students embrace the changes and constantly challenge themselves,” Associate Professor Ma says.
As an alumna, she believes that being an educator is an extremely important role, with the impression teachers make staying with students even after they graduate.
“Many of my students become practicing dentists and it is great to see how they all contribute towards improving the oral health of New Zealand. As a practicing dental specialist, I want to make sure that what I am teaching is contemporary so that my students have a good foundation and appreciate that clinical teaching doesn't just come from reading books.
“I am extremely grateful to my teachers and mentors who have given me that foundation and shown me the joys and importance of teaching.”
- Kōrero by the Division of Health Sciences Communications Adviser Kelsey Schutte.