TDU Talk
Issue 3 – December 2013
Dr Michael Cameron
Nilesh Kanji
Dr Timote Vaioleti
Dr Rowland Weston
Enoka Murphy
Prof John Oetzel
Sue Wardill
Brydget Tulloch
Claire Davison
Dr Colin McLeay
Prof Bill Henderson
Dorothy Spiller
Celebrating Teaching
with the winners of the Faculty Teaching Excellence Awards 2013
CONTENTS
Editorial Dorothy Spiller, Senior Lecturer in
Tertiary Teaching and Learning,
Teaching Development Unit
2
Butterflies, bees and flowers – a Biologist’s view
on teaching 3
Brydget Tulloch, Senior Tutor, Biological Sciences,
Faculty of Science and Engineering
Using Immediacy Strategies to Enhance
Student Learning
Prof John Oetzel, Management Communication,
Waikato Management School
Dialogue in Learning and Assessment
Dr Rowland Weston, Senior Lecturer, History,
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Values that guide my teaching
Dr Timote Vaioleti, Senior Lecturer,
School of Maori and Pacific Development
10
Teaching values, valuing teaching
Dr Colin McLeay, Senior Lecturer, Geography,
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
14
Recognising my teaching philosophy
16
Dr Michael P. Cameron, Senior Lecturer, Economics,
Waikato Management School
5
7
Teaching Development Unit
Wâhanga Whakapakari Ako
Centre for Tertiary Teaching and Learning
University of Waikato
Private Bag 3105
Hamilton 3240
New Zealand
Phone: +64 838 4839 Fax: +64 838 4573
E-mail: [email protected]
www.waikato.ac.nz/tduw
1
Editorial by Dorothy Spiller, Senior Lecturer in Tertiary Teaching and Learning, Teaching Development Unit
Kia ora koutou
Another academic year draws to an end and once more it is our pleasure to celebrate
teaching excellence at the university. The teaching awards process is a vital part of
our institutional life as it is an opportunity to honour the dedication and commitment
of our teachers who strive to create the best possible learning experiences for their
students. The teaching awards process also helps to raise the profile of teaching across
campus and give it its rightful place as a co-equal partner with research in the life of
the university.
In this edition of our magazine, some of the award winners share their teaching values
and practices. This sharing is an important way of developing a community of practice
around teaching and each of the articles can prompt us all to reflect on our own
teacher thinking and inform future planning. I see these contributions as invitations to
engage in dialogue with ourselves and others about teaching.
During the awards process and when adjudicating on faculty panels, I am always fascinated by the unique qualities that different
teachers demonstrate but also by the common values and aspirations that recur across different discipline contexts. Similarly, when
I read the contributions to the magazine I was once again struck by this mix of distinctiveness and commonalities. For example,
while Bridget Tulloch’s “Butterflies, bees and flowers” may seem a vast distance from Rowland Weston’s Gadamerian understanding,
both teachers demonstrate a respectfulness for their students at the heart of their practice. Rowland’s commitment to encouraging
students to engage in a dialogical relationship with others (people and ideas in
other historical moments) connects well with the values of Colin McLeay who
It’s been great working with our
wants his learners to experience the delight of “engaging with unfamiliar people
enthusiastic teachers and researchers
and places” (p15). Relationships are central for John Oetzel and Timote Vaioleti, who
again this year, and we look forward to
employ such different narrative frameworks, but who both emphasise connection,
continuing our conversations in 2014.
relationship and respect for culture. Like the other contributors, Michael Cameron
articulates the belief that underpinning the diverse contexts in which he teaches
I’d like to wish you all a safe, happy and
and multiple approaches that he uses, is the key word ‘connection’. It is inspiring
relaxing Christmas with family and friends.
to see that all of the educators who write here are themselves connected by an
aspiration to invite their students into a constructive dialogue with other people as
Pip, Teaching Development Unit
well as with the ideas that inform their discipline.
Sometimes, the sheer press of doing deadens our reflective capacities and we stop asking why we teach in the ways that we do and
forget to be attentive to the broader purposes of our role as tertiary educators. A quote from Rowland Weston’s article is an evocative
reminder of the seriousness of the education task with which we are entrusted. He says:
“We change, learn and grow, then, as we bring our necessarily imperfect preconceptions explicitly into play with
those of others” (p.7).
Best wishes to all our colleagues for the festive season and thank you for the support and encouragement that you have given us
throughout the year.
Dorothy and the TDU team
2
Butterflies, bees and flowers –
a Biologist’s view on teaching
Brydget Tulloch, Senior Tutor, Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering
When I was invited to write another article for the TDU magazine on celebrating teaching, my first
thought was that I would have nothing to say that was new and it would just be a repeat of the piece
that I wrote last year. Then I realised how wrong I was, because the teacher that I am now is different
from the teacher that I was last year. Certainly some of my fundamental teaching philosophies remain
unchanged, but the way that I teach continues to evolve. This recognition goes to the heart of what
I want to talk about in this article; there are so many facets involved in teaching that even when one
teaches the same concept year after year, the process can still be new and exciting.
Imagine for a moment what it is like for new students to walk into your classroom, whether it is a large
formal lecture theatre in L Block, a science laboratory filled with equipment that they have never seen, or a smaller teaching room
where they scan for a seat. For some, these first moments may promote a whirlwind of butterflies in the stomach; university is a
foreign place for our new students. Now imagine that you are walking into your teaching room on that same day. Do you enter as if it
is just another day? For me it is butterflies all through that first week of the semester even after teaching for six years. The semester is
full of promise: there are new students to meet and new ideas to teach.
It is because I am aware that students have butterflies, that especially in the first lab, I try and spend time talking to every group of
students that I teach. The lab can be a scary place with unfamiliar equipment and students may be fearful of making a mistake. So
after a preliminary introduction to the session I spend time at every table starting to work on learning names and relationship building.
A student of mine once described me as a bee, someone that fluttered around from one student to another and through conversation
passed on knowledge while helping all those around me. I quite liked this description; I liked the idea of picking up little grains of
information and passing it around. However, as someone who loves the “eureka” moment, I would rather see myself as someone who
helps students to realise and articulate ideas that they already have. Is there anything better than when something finally clicks and it
becomes clear that a concept that a student has struggled with finally makes sense? It is this moment that truly excites me, there is so
much evidence of learning – engagement with the subject, connection building and reinforcement of knowledge.
It is because of my enjoyment of this “eureka” moment that I view my teaching style as one of mentoring and facilitation, helping
students along their learning paths. In the contemporary information age, it is quite easy for people to access information; anyone who
wants to find out about something can do so by exploring the topic online. But what they don’t get is the relationship that can occur
with learning in a university environment. As such, I like to think of my students more as junior colleagues and I see my job as assisting
them at the start of their careers. I believe that as teachers we should nurture our students and to do this we need to try and build
relationships with them. I’ve seen shy reticent students break out into a beaming smile just because I knew their name; such a small
effort of memorisation on my part that results in the dissolution of a barrier.
At the heart of my teaching is the belief that relationships are vital. Establishing and maintaining a connection with my students is
my priority in the first few weeks of semester. In a typical week I will teach the same lab six times, but as each class involves different
students, the teaching remains interesting and enjoyable. I could not experience this level of enjoyment if I did not take the time to
build those relationships.
“Make a space at your place for teaching”
3
Recently, while compiling a teaching portfolio, I started thinking about my journey as a student, from primary school right through
until the end of my university studies. It was a sum total of 22 years - that is a lot of teachers that I encountered. We have all had
those teachers that have made an impact on us, for good or bad. It only recently occurred to me that I could be one of those teachers
and I most definitely want to be the former. When writing my portfolio I talked about certain teachers that inspired me, and wonder if
in ten years’ time, someone may sit down somewhere and list me as a source of inspiration. The idea is humbling, but it is something
that I would like to attain, but not because I want the recognition. It would be the ultimate evidence that the work we do as teachers
is about more than just the transmission of knowledge.
So I challenge you all as you contemplate 2014 and a whole new cohort of students. You may teach a class of 400 and learning all
their names may not be practical, but consider what you can do to build relationships. It may be as simple as arriving a little early for
class, standing outside the lecture and taking time to chat to students who may one day be your colleagues. Will you enter the class
next year thinking “here we go again” or will the butterflies flutter?
4
Using Immediacy Strategies to
Enhance Student Learning
Prof John Oetzel, Management Communication, Waikato Management School
I have been teaching tertiary education for 24 years. During this time, I have taught undergraduate and
post-graduate students at three different institutions. These experiences, along with some research I have
done on learning, have led me to conclude that a critical element to effective teaching is immediacy.
Teacher immediacy is the use of verbal and nonverbal communication behaviours to enhance closeness
with students (Mehrabian, 1969; Zhang & Oetzel, 2006). Immediacy is one of the key elements in my
student-oriented teaching philosophy. Specifically, my philosophy involves challenging students to
achieve excellence while providing support and guidance for them. I also meet students where they are
at; that is, I treat them as adult learners who seek education to achieve their personal goals. Immediacy
is critical to being able to enact this philosophy. In this essay, I first describe what immediacy is and why
it is important for learning. Then, I identify various strategies that enhance immediacy, some of which also serve other learning goals.
Teacher immediacy is one of the most popular teaching behaviours to be studied in my discipline of communication because of its link
to learning. Immediacy includes verbal and nonverbal behaviours such as using personal examples, using humour, addressing students
by name, having conversations with students before/after class, smiling at students, gesturing while talking, and moving around the
class (Gorham, 1988). Additionally, teacher immediacy focuses on three primary roles: instructional, relational, and personal (Zhang
& Oetzel, 2006). Instructional immediacy focuses on communication behaviours associated with classroom instruction and direct
learning. Relational immediacy focuses on communication behaviours that enhance the psychological closeness between teacher and
student. Personal immediacy focuses on communication behaviours related to the moral and ethical behaviour of the teacher. Our
research has found that the meaning and importance of these roles is consistent across at least four nations: China, Japan, Germany,
and the United States. More importantly, teacher immediacy is related to learning. Our research across these same four cultures finds
that the three types of immediacy have a direct and positive impact on learning. Further, immediacy also has an indirect effect on
learning by increasing students’ liking for the subject and also their motivation to do well (Zhang, Oetzel, Gao, Wilcox, & Takai, 2007).
Given that teacher immediacy is important, I strive to enhance teacher immediacy in several ways. First, I learn the name of every
student (at least in classes with fewer than 50 students) during the first class period (although it takes me a couple of weeks to
retain them all). I find that by learning the students’ names and talking with them during the lecture and before/after class helps me
to get to know them and find out their interests. I can use information I gather from these conversations in the examples I provide
during lectures and I simply can connect with students on a personal level. Further, I hope to convey that I care about my students as
individuals. To this end, I am focusing on relational immediacy in particular.
Second, I feel it is important to engage students. I am enthusiastic about what I teach and the importance of learning. I know that if
I am not excited by the material, they will not be either. I am passionate about the power of effective communication and the ability
to use communication to enhance our lives and enhance relationships. To further engage my students, I actively involve students in
my lectures through discussions and/or group activities. I like to create an interactive environment where students can also learn from
each other. To this end, I am focusing on instructional immediacy.
Third, I think immediacy is also about recognising the diversity of my students, including cultural diversity and diversity of experiences.
In a book on intercultural communication (Oetzel, 2009), I outline several strategies that are important for engaging diverse classroom
audiences including using culturally engaging content and involving individual and collective learning opportunities. I use examples of
materials that come from various cultural and socio-economic groups. If all of your examples are mainstream culture only, you will
only connect with mainstream students. I also want students to gain awareness of different perspectives about communication so
5
culturally distinct examples serve a dual purpose. Further, I also utilise group and individual assignments and activities during class to
balance those with individual and collective approaches to learning. Some students learn best by working individually and others by
connecting with others. Integrating both types of learning activities allows me to connect to all students. To this end, I am addressing
all three types of immediacy—personal immediacy is addressed by me practicing what I preach (i.e., the importance of intercultural
and international perspectives); instructional immediacy is developed by using appropriate teaching strategies, and relational
immediacy is addressed by showing understanding and appreciation for students’ cultural backgrounds.
Fourth, I use feedback in several ways to develop immediacy. During lectures, I make sure to answer students’ questions and also seek
out those unasked questions when students do not understand material. I also acknowledge different opinions and perspectives from
my own to validate their experiences. Interpersonally, these strategies demonstrate an interest in, and caring about, my students.
Ignoring, dismissing opinions, or not finding out what they need to know communicates to students a disinterest in them and their
performance. Further, I often take breaks in the lecture to get students to discuss theories, concepts, and cases. I come over to the
groups and listen to conversations. As I listen, I can determine where they are having trouble with concepts and then explain points to
the larger class. I think this communicates to students that I care about their learning and performance. Finally, I mark and return my
students’ assignments within one week of submission (usually returning within two-three days). I block off time in my diary when I
schedule an assignment so that students can receive timely feedback. I think this timely return of feedback is helpful for their learning
and yet also communicates to students that they are first on my “to-do” agenda and thus are important. To this end, these feedback
strategies involve all three types of immediacy.
In summary, teacher immediacy is a clear and important element for student learning. While there are a number of ways to display
immediacy, this essay has demonstrated four particular strategies: (a) learning names and engaging in personal conversations; (b)
engaging students in active discussions; (c) recognising diversity of students; and (d) use of timely feedback. All teachers can develop a
number of strategies to enhance immediacy—the key is to put interest in students and their performance at the top of the “to do” list.
References
Gorham, J. (1988). The relationship between verbal immediacy behaviours and student learning. Communication Education, 37, 40-53.
Mehrabian, A. (1969). Attitudes inferred from non-immediacy of verbal communication. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior,
5, 294-295.
Oetzel, J. G. (2009). Layers of intercultural communication. New York: Vango Books.
Zhang, Q., & Oetzel, J. G. (2006). Constructing and validating a teacher immediacy scale from a Chinese perspective. Communication
Education, 55, 218-241.
Zhang, Q., Oetzel, J. G., Gao, X., Wilcox, R., & Takai, J. (2007). A further test of immediacy-learning models: A cross-cultural investigation.
Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 36, 1-13.
6
Dialogue in Learning and
Assessment
Dr Rowland Weston, Senior Lecturer, History, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
The eminent German philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002) tells us that historical
understanding comprises a ‘fusion of horizons’, a mutually informing dialogue between our present
perspectives and assumptions and those of a more or less alien past. Yet, for Gadamer, this hermeneutic
encounter between ourselves and that which is not us or is ‘other’ is, more fundamentally, the essence of
human being.1 Understanding (anything) is a mutually modifying engagement between what we know
(the historically given) and what we don’t know, which latter can be perceived and interpreted only in
the light of what we already know. As our preconceptions are disturbed by exposure to those of ‘others’
(other times, cultures, persons) we have the only ‘experience’ capable of producing the change or growth
which constitutes real learning and real life.2 Such experiences have neatly been described as being
“pulled up short”.3 They not only occasion changes in our ideas or attitudes, but also render us more susceptible to future change.4
We change, learn and grow, then, as we bring our necessarily imperfect preconceptions explicitly into play with those of others. In the
context of a formal education in history, these others are the different individuals and cultures of the past as refracted through the
insights and arguments of one’s fellow classroom learners and the community of scholars whose views comprise our subject. Learning
occurs only through dialogue with these others and with ourselves. As Gadamer insists: “Dialectic is the art of having a conversation
and includes the art of having a conversation with oneself and fervently seeking an understanding of oneself. It is the art of thinking.” 5
Teaching is the art of encouraging or facilitating such dialogue.
As I reflect on my more fruitful learning experiences I recall a sense of excited disorientation: a giddy, joyful and sometimes disturbing
sense that Reality might be significantly other than I had assumed. These are serious, even sublime or spiritual experiences, occurring as
we engage the world diffidently and yet hopefully, experimentally and unselfconsciously, as small children approach their play. It is this
Gadamerian image of a kind of ‘play’ in the service of high seriousness which best captures the learning experience. 6
I vividly remember reading as a student A. N. Whitehead’s classic Science and the
Modern World (1926) and being so excited I had trouble breathing, let alone reading
on. I would put the book down, reel around the room struggling to focus and then
settle myself for another paragraph, another sentence. Not all learning experiences
are as dramatic as this solitary, though still profoundly dialogic, example; but all
productive learning experiences share to some degree, this quality of exhilarating
or unnerving disruption and disorientation. Where possible I try to recapture such
personal learning experiences for the class by presenting material as I encountered it
for the first time or for the first time in which it had meaning to me.
My key conceptions of education, teaching and learning are broad, interdependent and, hopefully, uncontentious. As a history teacher,
1 William Outhwaite, “Hans-Georg Gadamer” in The Return of Grand Theory to the Human Sciences edited by Quentin Skinner (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1990), p. 26.
2 See C. Higgins, “A Question of Experience: Dewey and Gadamer on Practical Wisdom”, Journal of Philosophy of Education 44, 2-3 (2010), pp. 301-333
(322-23).
3 Deborah Kerdeman, “Pulled Up Short: Challenging Self-Understanding as a Focus of Teaching and Learning”, Journal of Philosophy of Education 37, 2
(2003), pp. 293-308.
4 “The dialectic of experience has its own fulfilment not in definitive knowledge, but in that openness to experience that is encouraged by experience
itself.” Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method Second edition (London: Sheed and Ward, 1975), p. 319.
5 Gadamer, “Autobiographical Reflections”, p. 31.
6 “…play itself contains its own, even sacred, seriousness…Play fulfils its purpose only if the player loses himself in his play.” Gadamer, Truth and
Method, pp. 91-92.
7
my aim is to provide a general civic education, to familiarise students with the specific terrain of the subject under examination and,
primarily, to model/inculcate the dialogic skills and sensitivities of the historian. For “it is the process of doing history that constitutes
the core of the discipline”.7
History explores the totality of human experience in and across time. Historians term these perspectives, respectively, as the
synchronic and the diachronic. For slightly different purposes, the cultural theorist Michel Foucault refers to these related activities
of the historian as archaeology and genealogy.8 ‘Archaeology’ helps us delineate the radical pastness of older beliefs and practices the
alienness which confronts and unsettles our presuppositions about what it is to be human. ‘Genealogy’ helps us appreciate both how
these older forms change and the extent to which beliefs and practices are contingent and constructed. We are thus better equipped
to defend and nurture those practices we value and dismantle those we find redundant or counter-productive. My primary teaching
objective is to awaken and develop learners’ synchronic/archaeological and diachronic /genealogical historical sense.
Assessment
All assessment is formative and is an under-appreciated and under-utilised mode of learning. All assessment items ought to be
designed to facilitate learning, not simply measure it. In most of my papers, the largest piece of assessment is the final examination. As
a student, I enjoyed exams, seeing them as a chance to find out what I had learned and how I could make it cohere. At the same time
I disliked the element of chance involved. Students are invariably strategic learners and in revising for exams are apt to focus on those
areas of a paper they think most likely to be examined. They make this decision on the basis of emphasis given or perceived to have
been given over the paper as a whole and any advice or clues given by instructors. Often exam questions test only isolated elements of
a course of study on the usually mistaken assumption that time-rich students will attain familiarity with the entirety of the material.
One should not be penalised as a history student either for being a poor strategist or for having understanding and competency in
areas of the paper which the instructor does not choose to examine. As a teacher, my objective has always been to minimise the
elements of luck and fear associated with exams and give students the largest possible scope to demonstrate what they have learned
rather than what they haven’t learned. My first strategy in this regard was to have students contribute to the construction of the final
exam. Midway through the semester – immediately prior to administration’s request for final exam papers – I began spending a 50
minute class discussing with students the kind of exam questions they believed appropriate to ask with relation to the material we had
covered to that point. We discussed and modified these in terms of the stipulated teaching and learning objectives of the paper and I
then included these questions on the final exam. Students responded enthusiastically to this active involvement in the construction of
their own assessment. It also proved an excellent (if surreptitious!) form of revision and hence learning.
Since then I have become more direct about the alignment of assessment in final exams and the learning objectives of a course. I
usually give the final exam question(s) on the paper outline which students receive in the first class. We then have ample opportunity
progressively to discuss material in the course with reference to this final summative assessment. Final exams, like all assessments, are
also formative learning exercises, though students seldom receive feedback on finals. Discussing the final exam question(s) throughout
the paper goes a long way to overcoming this systemic defect.
7 G. Timmins, V. Keith, & C. Kinealy, C. Teaching & Learning History. (London: Sage Publications, (2005), p. 97. My emphasis.
8 See Alun Munslow, The Routledge Companion to Historical Studies (London & New York: Routledge, 2000), pp. 107-108.
8
All my papers have the following as their subsuming Learning Objective: “to develop the skills and sensitivities appropriate to [the
relevant level of] study in history specifically and the humanities and social sciences more generally.” Below is an example of how
final teaching and learning outcomes may be illustrated and practised in individual classes as preparation for final assessment. As
noted above: my conception of the historian’s unique sensibility is an appreciation of the synchronic/archaeological and diachronic/
genealogical perspectives of human activity. I want to model and develop this fundamental skill or sensibility into a reflex which
fundamentally informs all subsequent responses to historical issues and assessments.
An example of the synchronic perspective: sixteenth century Spaniards could hold diametrically opposed attitudes to the native
peoples of the Americas. A snapshot of colonial Spanish-American attitudes reveals one example of the complexity and diversity of
From HIST248: Silver, Sugar, Slaves: The Atlantic World, 1415-1825
http://redescolar.ilce.edu.mx/redescolar/efemerides/enero/las-casas.jpg
Accessed 17/03/10
New Laws of the Indies (1542)
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/earlyamericas/online
/exploration/images/object82_t.jpg
Accessed 02/08/2011
Bartolomé de Las Casas
(1474-1566)
Lawrence A. Clayton, Bartolomé de las Casas and the
Conquest of the Americas (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), p.153.
ISBN: 978-1-4051-9427-0
belief common to all societies and cultures. The informed synchronic perspective warns the historian against both presentism and the
simplistic reification of all historical periods or moments. Students are directed towards sixteenth century Spanish sources asserting
respectively Native Americans’ astonishing civilizational achievements, barbaric religiosity, innate goodness and bestiality. Such
startling paradoxes encourage (Gadamerian) learner dialogue with the topic and, in this context, with each other.
The diachronic/genealogical perspective relative to this material is modelled in a later class which, on the basis on this previously
attained synchronic/archaeological knowledge, demonstrates changes in Spanish American attitudes to native cultures. It becomes
clear that the latter are either ignored or incorporated fictitiously into historical narratives designed to serve the objectives of the
colonisers. In the instance addressed in the slide below a rebellion led by the last surviving member of the Incan royal family, ruthlessly
suppressed by colonial powers in 1780, was later appropriated by the descendants of that regime as they attempted both to establish
9
a legacy of independence from foreign control and to gain traction with revolutionary elements within their own polity.
The Spanish experience (in both its synchronic and diachronic aspects) provides an example with which later instances of European
(Portuguese, English, Dutch and French) colonial engagement with the Americas can fruitfully be compared. In terms of Biggs’ SOLO
taxonomy, students are at this point attaining the final stage of qualitative learning, the “extended abstract”. This is indicated by the
application of the subsuming explanation of the particular topic – sixteenth century Spanish attitudes to indigenous Americans – to
broader or extrinsic phenomena. As Biggs puts it: “The coherent whole is conceptualized at a higher level of abstraction and is applied
to new and broader domains”.9
All summative and formative assessment items are designed to provide an opportunity to acquire, practise and evidence those
essential skills and sensitivities of the historian which are demonstrated and practised in all classes. In all classes and modes of
assessment, students are encouraged to emulate this model. Final exams provide the opportunity for students to exhibit their
competency in, and familiarity with, the exercise of this scholarly-social, discursive, reflective skill set. It is also an important
opportunity for these skills to be practised and improved.
9 J. Biggs, Teaching for Quality Learning at University (Buckingham: Open University Press, 1999), p. 39.
10
In teaching, I am inspired with fatongia (duty, obligation, profession) to pass on the treasures of the generation of the past to our future
generations. This article talks to the values that guide my teaching and gives examples of how I practise them.
Values that guide my teaching
Dr Timote Vaioleti, Senior Lecturer, School of Maori and Pacific Development
My teaching is influenced by Ako, a concept which has been widely written on in Aotearoa by Pere (1994),
Bishop (2008) and others. Ako first appeared in the English literature as a Tongan word (Martin, 1827,
1991) and is defined by the Tongan communities as holistic and purposeful learning applied for the benefit
of the collective with its ultimate goal being the achievement of good relationships, balanced existence,
contentment and harmony with one’s God/s (Vaioleti, 2001, 2011). Ako enhances spiritual and physical
wellbeing of the fonua (whenua) (Martin, 1827, 1991; Vaioleti, 2001, 2011). Fonua includes people, their
culture and language (Epeli Hau’ofa in Vaioleti, 2011). For me as a teacher, Ako embraces the mind, heart,
physical geographies and spiritual worlds, language, rituals and practices, and knowledge of the past and of
the future. In this sense, learning and teaching must coexist if Ako is to be achieved. Ako provides hope and
contributes to making the world a more equitable, balanced and harmonious place (Vaioleti, 2011). A current Masters student made
the following comment:
His commitment to transforming society is evident not only in how he talks but in the way he acts as well,... He
gives hope that this world can be transformed perhaps a little at a time but none the less that it can happen.
Because teaching is a very humanistic activity, I draw on ‘ofa (aroha) as a strategy of Ako urging me to be compassionate in my
approach. It guides me to display warmth and openness, and to be respectful of what students have to contribute to the learning
environment. Ako draws on ‘ilo (tikanga), my guiding ethics that sets the blueprint of how all those involved in the learning
relationship will behave towards each other. In many situations, I adjust my expectations of student behaviour. For example, in
mainstream contexts, students refer to me by my first name. In contexts where Māori and Pacific students dominate, I am often
referred to as “Matua”- effectively meaning “Father”. We recognise this. Ako is fluid and is contextually defined; ‘Ilo helps this
negotiation.
Ako also draws on poto (pono) meaning faith, integrity and wisdom. A teacher that is poto shows leadership and is active in creating
an environment that is conducive to good relationships and academic learning. My teaching context is mediated by acknowledging
the integrity of all as individuals and as part of a collective. Academically, my teaching is guided by the course objectives, graduating
profiles as well as my understanding of tacit knowledge of fonua (Hau’ofa in Vaioleti, 2011). For me, addressing injustice is critical, and
I see this goal as a moral fatongia of Ako as well as a legal requirement of the Education Act 1989 that requires Universities to be the
conscience and critic of society.
Fatongia encourages professionalism and reciprocity. It is important for me that learners contribute to the process of learning. Debate,
discussion and other communication that can lead to robust discernment skills are vital for 21st century realities and must be part of
teaching and learning. As Dewey (1916, 1944) suggests, education is not a preparation for life but is life itself, therefore democracy
must be practised in education and not held off until the world of work. In teaching, I try to demonstrate/exercise poto a good result
of Ako.
A student stated:
I enjoy (Timote’s) easy going nature and genuine value structure (3rd year student, 2012).
Qualities of ‘ofa, poto, ‘ilo, fatongia and fonua are espoused in the Ministry of Education’s Pacific Plan 2013 – 2017. Ako aims to guide
students in a lifelong journey of gainful citizenship, good relationships, harmony and contentment (Vaioleti, 2001, 2011).
11
Teaching practice
My teaching practice is informed by the practical and moral philosophy of Dewey (1916, 1944), the humanistic approaches of Rogers
(1988) as well as the constructivist understanding that is articulated in Vygotsky’s (1978, 1986) social constructivism. However, for the
critical, cultural and spiritual qualities of my practice that are more aligned to the values of Ako, I look to the works of Thaman (1988),
Pere (1994), Smith (1997), Freire (1976, 1994) and hooks (1989, 1994).
There are higher level influences in my practice however. They include international trends, community needs, te reo Māori me ngātikanga-ā-iwi and obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Because the majority of my teaching has been for professional (teaching)
qualifications, the NZ Teachers Council requirements are a focus. All these have been carried out under the over-arching values and
goals of the University, epitomised through the graduate profiles and papers I teach. For example, the paper Teaching Learning and the
Curriculum (TEPS704) that I co-teach has the following nga whāinga paetae (LO/Objectives):
• Develop a personal teaching philosophy and pedagogy
• Develop and apply the skills of critical reflective practice;
• Extend their understanding of current theorizing of teaching;
• Extend their understanding of current theorizing of learning;
• Develop theoretical and practical understanding of the diverse nature of learners;
• Develop understanding of ways culture, gender and class impact on learning and teaching;
• Examine issues facing young people in Aotearoa from theirs and others’ perspectives;
• Further awareness of ethics and accountability issues within personal, professional and legal frameworks.
The teaching to and assessments of the above objectives will be influenced by the values that I have outlined. Also, to ensure strong
fusion between the students’ prior learning and my practice (to achieve the objectives), I establish their learning interests at the
beginning of my papers.
I constantly endeavour to synergise my research with my teaching to make my practice more meaningful and consequently, more
enjoyable and authentic. For example, my LOs encourage the development of teaching philosophies and recognising how culture,
gender and class impact on learning, both research and publication areas. The LOs also encourage theorising on one’s own teaching
and awareness of one’s ethics and accountability. Many of the papers I teach have similar social and learning outcomes which align
with my personal and professional values. In this way, I align my sense of self with my teaching practice. This congruence gives me a
sense of authenticity that contributes to my enjoyment of my profession and sense of contentment as a teacher.
Teaching is such a deeply human activity that connects one with others
cognitively, emotionally and spiritually. It is a privilege and in the spirit of Ako
I reciprocate that with academic, emotional and spiritual nurturing. The picture
to the right, is from the workshop I facilitated on pedagogy and research
methodology during the Kiwa’s inaugural colloquium held at the University
of Waikato on the 12 of November 2013. It captures the heightened sense
of engagement, enjoyment and enlightenment that I and the participants
experience when common meanings were reached, fused and internalised. My
practice in the above learning situations were underpinned by Ako, ‘ilo, poto,
fatongia and fonua.
12
Table 1 below, indicates how I practise the above concepts. I use them to guide assessment, inclusive content, social interaction
and others but have chosen ‘diversity’ to demonstrate how I use the values in my practice. The matrix is Founga Ako (the way of
Ako) inspired by Sheets (2005) and a key outcome of my doctoral research. My pedagogical behaviour as the teacher (TPB) in the
classroom should result in learners displaying behaviours under SLD.
Table 1. Founga Ako: Application of my values to classroom practice.
‘Ilo
Poto
Fatongia
Fonua
Show compassion
for all – abilities,
ages, gender,
health, social,
religions and their
manifestations.
Show clear vision of education
& teaching, awareness of global
& local issues. Use different
theories to design contents and
pedagogies. Long term vision
and ethical in profession & in
planning.
Use Western, Māori
and others knowledge
& pedagogies. Use
bigger picture ‘ilo to
guide talanoa & other
concepts in teaching &
cognitive learning.
Develop and use
sound & challenging
content and
pedagogies to
suit all learners.
Professionally develop
self. Use equitable
principles.
Include Māori,
Pacific & other
culture, language
in content &
pedagogy to
enhance sense of
belong & preserve
them.
TPB
SLD
Ako - Diversity
.
‘Ofa
Compassion for
other students,
teachers & others
even those different
– ‘ofa for all things.
Sense of belonging.
Aware of self & others’ identity,
culture, politics, language,
religions & history. Share own
meaning and goals. Ownership of
pedagogy & curriculum lead to
enhanced esteem & success.
Guide interactions with
ilo, take part in social,
spiritual activities
respectfully. Add value
to class learning and
welfare.
TPB – Teacher Pedagogical Behaviour; SLD – Student Learning Displays
Fulfil fatongia to
teacher, school,
parents and
community. Support
learning of peers &
contribute to class
culture.
Practice own
culture, language,
supports church
& community
endeavours. Learn
about others.
Source: Vaioleti (2011, p.256 - 258)
In the framework above, SLD provides rich information that I can use to inform my practice in the subsequent classes. Improvement in
practice is ongoing and must encompass the changing realities of students, content and other contextual matters. I design my practice
to engage the students in a more balanced and holistic way. One student made the following observation:
He is well organized in his lesson plans; structured in his thinking and I think what I like best is when he includes a
poem or a deep message which reminds us of the spirituality of being human. It doesn’t happen often expect in a
classroom at a University to be grounded in spirit let alone find ways to balance that in an academic lecture (3rd
year Student, 2013).
Another student shared the following:
When he leads a lesson, you really get the impression that you’re actually learning more than you can put into
words or write on paper. I felt engaged and interested every time Timote gave a lesson to our class. His teaching
makes you feel like you have just as much wisdom inside you, and he gives you the key to unlock it (3rd year
Student, 2012).
13
Concluding comments
Teaching energises me and it is a privilege. It is my intention that the values that underpin my teaching will spill over into my practice
making the students’ learning holistic, rich, relevant and worthwhile. At the end of my courses, I hope that my students will be
equipped with sound critical analysis, and have confidence to initiate innovative approaches that will make a positive difference to the
lives of their own students or the communities with whom they will be working.
References
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An Introduction to the philosophy of education. New York: Macmillan.
Dewey, J. (1944). Democracy and education. New York: The Free Press.
Freire, P. (1976). Education: The practice of freedom. London: Writers and Readers Publishing.
Freire, P. (1994). Pedagogy of the oppressed (20th anniversary ed.). New York: Continuum Publishing.
hooks, b. (1989). Talking Back: thinking feminist, thinking black. Boston: South End Press.
hooks, b. (1994) Teaching to Transgress. Education as the practice of freedom. New York: Routledge.
Martin, J. (1827). An account of the natives of Tongan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean Vol 2. London: Constable.
Martin, J. (1991). Tonga Islands: William Mariner’s account (5th ed.). Vava’u, Tonga: Vava’u Press.
Pere, R. (1994). Ako: Concepts and learning in the Māori Tradition. Wellington, New Zealand: Te Kōhanga Reo National.
Rogers, C. (1980). A way of being. Boston, MA: Houston Mifflin
Rogers, C. R. (1969). Freedom to learn. Columbus, OH: Merrill.
Sheets, R. (2005). Diversity pedagogy: Examining the role of culture in the teaching-learning process. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Thaman, K. H. (1988). Ako and faiako: Educational concepts, cultural values and teachers’ role perception in Tonga. Unpublished PhD
Thesis, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji.
Vaioleti, T. M. (2001). We left our islands, people and culture to educate our children in New Zealand. Paper presented at the Educating
Pasifika Positively 2001 Conference (10th April). Auckland, New Zealand.
Vaioleti, T.M. (2011). Talanoa, Manulua and Founga Ako: frameworks for using enduring Tongan educational ideas in Aotearoa New
Zealand. (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. (1986). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.
14
Teaching values, valuing teaching
Dr Colin McLeay, Senior Lecturer, Geography, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
The first time I wrote about my values around teaching was when I was completing a teaching portfolio
as part of the requirements of the Postgraduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching. I remember it took
several days of thinking, writing, editing, pondering and reflecting before I began to get close to what
I felt was a suitable expression of my approach to teaching. The struggles I experienced in my writing
stemmed from the need to express ideas, concepts, beliefs, values that always existed as ‘background
noise’ in my teaching; that is, I was trying to formalise values and practices that I carried with me but
that I had never been asked to articulate. I had to decipher the nature of the values that shaped my
teaching, and then decide on how to express these beliefs and practices in a formal document. After
much reflection I accepted that three themes are central to my approach to teaching – my upbringing,
my subject area, and my experience of classes and teachers. In the text that follows I will attempt to
tease out the relevance of these three facets.
I agree with Parker J. Palmer’s argument that the personal cannot be divorced from the professional. I am very much aware that my
parents, my schooling, my experiences have influenced my approach to teaching. Without going into details of my family, I think
it fair to say that my mother’s influence in my life was more overt than that of my father. Graduating with a Master of Arts from
the University of New Zealand in 1950, my mother enjoyed a successful career as a secondary school teacher. Comfortable in the
company of teenagers, my mother worked hard to make a positive difference to students with whom she had contact. My father’s
educational experiences contrast with those of my mother - when my father was in his early teens he left school so he could work on
the family farm. My father’s career as a farmer was interrupted by time spent overseas during World War Two. It was during his time
overseas that he embraced reading – I recall him telling of how he enjoyed Banjo Paterson poems as they were sufficiently short to be
read during quiet times while on sentry duty. I recall my father always having books ‘on the go’ – in addition to his daily consumption
of The New Zealand Herald, and his subscription to such farming publications as Straight Furrow, my father was a regular visitor to the
local public library.
Without traversing into the complex debates as to the specifics of nature and nurture in shaping individual identity, I am comfortable
with, and take comfort in, the beliefs, values and expectations which my parents instilled in me. The complex combination of
experiences, lessons, guidance, advice and example shape who I am as a brother, husband, father and teacher. These four identities
are not discrete – the philosophy that shapes me as a brother is the same as that which guides my place as a husband, my approach
as a father, and my work as a teacher. My personal philosophy and my approach to teaching are not autonomous; the personal is not
divorced from the professional. It is difficult to provide clear examples linking the personal and the professional, but I would like to
outline three facets that may shed some light on this interaction.
First, my mother’s long-standing and oft-cited suggestion that I should be ‘shaped like a question mark’ continues to resonate as I
go about my day-to-day activities, visit unfamiliar places, read fiction and non-fiction literature, and relax with film and television.
That is, I consider myself to be a life-long learner – the questions I asked as a youngster have been refined as I developed (formal)
skills as a critical social scientist. Second, I try and embrace my father’s realisation of the value of journeys. In his travels as a soldier
and a citizen, as in his life, my father took time to enjoy the journey, comfortable in the knowledge that a good journey would result
in a suitable destination. Thus, whether I am taking a journey to physical places or through intellectual spaces, I try and recognise
the particularities of the path being taken. Third, like the positives my parents got from working with others, I enjoy teaching and
interacting with students. I want students to have an educational journey that shares my enthusiasm for the pleasure of learning and
15
for engaging with unfamiliar people and places. Indeed, I believe an interest in and concern for people and place are central to my
personality and my chosen subject. I believe that by studying that which is enjoyed, by combining aptitude with passion, students will
be well-skilled to arrive at what Sir Ken Robinson calls their ‘element’.
My approach to the ways in which I teach my subject area is underpinned by a belief that engagement with human geography is
important for understanding contemporary society. Thus, despite changes that suggest we are part of a ‘global village’, the world still
consists of a multitude of different countries, religions, languages, and customs, with each of these elements constantly in flux and
each influencing the other. Facilitating understanding and explanation of the diversity of these places and people is my goal as a
teacher and student of human geography. I aspire to provide students with an environment in which they learn to learn in a positive
way, empowering them with confidence to maintain life-long learning.
I believe in the intrinsic value of knowledge. When I teach I do so with a belief in the relevance of my material to the understanding
of society. I want to communicate with students because I feel the knowledge and passion I can impart will make students better as
individuals and, by association, better able to make positive contributions to the places in which they find themselves and the people
with whom they interact. In contemporary Western society, where economics tend to dominate discussions of societal wellbeing, I
believe it is important to retain a belief in the importance of place-based social relations; I believe in the positive potential of human
geography.
I have had the good fortune to be taught by people I consider to be very good teachers. In undergraduate and graduate papers I had
the opportunity to learn from a host of different staff members. Some of this learning was via formal paper content, and some of it
was informal appraisal of how and why material was being taught. Thus, while specific examples of memorable teaching moments
have stuck with me, a more significant influence has been the overall ‘tone’ of a given lecturer. Such ‘character’ might relate to
interaction with students, lesson structure, assessment types, or feedback quality. Since becoming a staff member at the University of
Waikato I have benefitted from talking to academic peers in TDU workshops and teaching network meetings. I inevitably come away
from TDU sessions with new ideas on ways to rejuvenate teaching, assessment and classroom management.
It is likely that it is no coincidence that in this brief reflection on my teaching values I have committed more words to my upbringing
than to the other two aspects underpinning my teaching values. The text above highlights the centrality of my belief that the
personal cannot be divorced from the professional; that is, I think it is beneficial for teachers to ‘play to their strengths’. Everyone has
a particular set of experiences and skills they bring to their teaching; rather than denying these life worlds, I think teachers do well to
employ approaches and methods that draw on these (embedded) values. I do not teach in the same way as my colleagues, but I teach
in a way that is true to what I believe and the values I carry about people and places in contemporary society.
16
Recognising my teaching
philosophy
Dr Michael P. Cameron, Senior Lecturer, Economics, Waikato Management School
A senior colleague of mine approached me recently and asked me how to write a statement of a teaching
philosophy. They had been asked the question by a friend who was returning to academia after some time in
a full-time research position. Naturally, they thought I was a good choice to pass this question onto. After all,
I have received awards for my teaching. I’m afraid the advice I gave them was factually accurate, but none too
helpful: “A statement of teaching philosophy is a self-reflective statement of your beliefs about teaching and
learning”. Of course, that says nothing about how to write one, only what one is.
Why would I give such useless advice? Thinking now about the advice I gave, I realise that there wasn’t much
more I could do to help. A teaching philosophy is essentially based on our own personal beliefs. It is inherently
individual and specific to each teacher – no magic formula or recipe for writing a statement of teaching philosophy exists.
Which explains why writing my own teaching philosophy as part of my teaching portfolio was one of the most difficult tasks I have
encountered as a teacher. I teach in a pretty diverse manner – using a wide and eclectic range of techniques that vary between
papers, especially between teaching large first-year classes and small graduate-level classes. Trying to distil my teaching practice into
a single statement turned out to be a major challenge. What common theme did my teaching have, given that each of my papers has
developed over time to have its own unique ‘personality’?
Reflecting on our teaching practice is hard, particularly if like in my early days as a teacher you haven’t always fully understood the
reasons why you teach in certain ways. For me, it has often been about what has worked well in the past, combined with innovations,
both minor and major, that I thought will work for the future. Finding the commonality between diverse and developing practices
requires some concentrated reflective effort. It wasn’t until I invested that effort that I realised that the commonality between my
papers wasn’t so much the way they are taught, but the way I connect with my students in those papers, and how I use in-class
examples, workshops, and assessment tasks (and other activities) to connect students to the disciplinary content and theory. So
I finally recognised my current teaching philosophy, as written in my portfolio: “I believe that teaching is primarily about making
connections”.
Student engagement lies at the heart of all of my papers. Student engagement is inherently about connections – between me as
teacher and each student, between each student and the disciplinary content, and between students and each other. Facilitating these
connections is a fundamental part of my teaching, and underlies all of the teaching pedagogy that I employ. Recognising my teaching
philosophy and building on it has been a key part of my development as a teacher.
One final thought – a teaching philosophy should not be considered a static element of our teaching. As I have thought more about
my approach and how it has developed over time, I have come to realise that my teaching philosophy has evolved alongside my
teaching practice. As teachers, we should expect our philosophy to constantly change as we evolve as teachers.
17
Teaching Development Unit
Summer Workshops 2014
Date
Workshop
Facilitator
Duration
Venue
Mon, 10 Feb
Tertiary Teaching: Exploring Our Beliefs
Dorothy Spiller
9:30am – 12:30pm
B.G.24
Tues, 11 Feb
An Introduction to Course Design
Dorothy Spiller
1:30pm – 4:30pm
B.G.24
Wed, 12 Feb
Principles of Assessment
Dorothy Spiller
1:30pm – 4:30pm
B.G.24
Thurs, 13 Feb
Designing Assessment Tasks to Promote
Learning
Dorothy Spiller
The Marking Process
9:30am – 12:30pm
B.G.24
1:30pm – 4:30pm
Becoming a Reflective Practitioner
Dr Pip Bruce
Ferguson
9:30am – 12:30pm
Evaluating Your Teaching
Dorothy Spiller
1:30pm – 3:30pm
Tues, 18 Feb
Visiting Academic: Prof Brian Edmiston
Dorothy Spiller
to be announced
B.G.24
Wed, 19 Feb
Starter Strategies for Teachers
Dr Pip Bruce
Ferguson
9:30am – 12 noon
B.G.24
Fri, 21 Feb
Beginners’ Guide to Teaching and Learning for a
Sustainable Future
AProf Eva Collins
9:30am – 11:30am
B.G.24
Teaching and Learning for Sustainability
Education: a focus on pedagogy
Dr Chris Eames
1:30pm – 3:30pm
B.G.24
Mon, 24 Feb
Maximising Learning in Large Classes: The
Lecture Context (with guest academics)
Dorothy Spiller &
Dr Pip Bruce
Ferguson
9:30am – 12:30pm
S.1.03
Tues, 25 Feb
Research and Teaching (with guest academics)
Dorothy Spiller &
Dr Pip Bruce
Ferguson
9:30am – 12:30pm
B.G.24
Wed, 26 Feb
Tutors’ Day: Introduction to Tutoring
Dr Pip Bruce
Ferguson
9:30am – 3:30pm
LAW.G.02
Thurs, 27 Feb
Know Your Learners (facilitated by Student
Andrea Haines &
Maria Persson
1pm – 4pm
TL.2.27C
Mon, 17 Feb
Fri, 28 Feb
Learning)
Beginners’ Guide to eLearning
Expanding Your eLearning Horizons
WCEL staff
members
To register please contact:
Lissa Smith (extn 4839)
e-mail: [email protected]
9:30am – 12:30pm
1:30pm – 4:30pm
B.G.24
TL.2.27C
enhance your teaching
excite and engage your learners
educate effectively
visit the
TDU
The University of Waikato
Private Bag 3105
Hamilton 3240
New Zealand
Website: www.waikato.ac.nz
Teaching Development Unit
Centre for Tertiary Teaching and Learning
Phone: +64 7 838 4839, Fax: + 64 7 838 4573
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu
©The University of Waikato, December 2013.