Contribution to Teaching and Learning Management

Teaching Philosophy 

Albert Einstein said: “Everybody is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid”.
I strongly believe that an active and prosperous society is achieved through a proper education system, where an individual receives the vital skills and tools to build a successful life. Such a proper education system needs to continually encourage students to critically think about the given scenarios and the real-world challenges and find innovative solutions for problems similar to those that they encounter in their day-to-day life. I believe, as an academician, our duty is to prepare and foster students who are able to think logically, creatively, critically and independently with the ability to connect, rationally argue and reason their own findings.

Teachers have the most significant job in the world and make the greatest impact on a society’s development by influencing the future and well-being of other people. This is exactly the value that my parents have taught me. Both of my parents were teachers, giving me the privilege of growing up in a family in which education has always held high value and was considered a key success factor. All the above-mentioned points and my own interest in actively contributing to society provoked me to start dreaming of my career as an academician.

I started my career in the education industry by founding and running a technical and vocational institute in the domain of ICT in 2007. Running an educational institute not only developed my teaching and mentoring skills but also my leadership and administrative competencies. Through my long experience as a mentor at vocational institutes, tutor at high schools, instructor of several academic workshops, director of the institute and a lecturer at Monash University, The University of Auckland, Massey University, Manukau Institute of Technology, NZIE, Techtorium, and currently at Unitec Institute of Technology - Te Pūkenga, I have found that interdisciplinary environments encourage the use of research development skills as well as teaching innovations. I have always felt passionate during my previous teaching and mentoring experiences, and I am keen to explore teaching opportunities in collaboration with industries. Having these passionate and industry connections empowered me to successfully lead the capstone project at Unitec resulting in winning the Unitec Teaching Excellence Award in 2023. I am an active learner myself by enrolling on badges and online courses to enhance my teaching and leadership skills.

Going forward, one of my main resolutions is to further develop project-based learning and industry-based learning (Capstone Project), by embedding cultural and community values and building robust industry connections. My goal as a mentor is not only to ensure that my graduate students develop strong foundations in computing and IT and are able to think critically in solving complex problems but also to enhance their interpersonal skills via different group and individual activities.

In the classroom, my teaching strategy has always involved connecting theoretical concepts with practical and daily life applications through the design of homework problems, assignments, presentations, projects and laboratory exercises. In an outcome-based learning environment, I will assure that the students fulfil the learning outcomes of every course I am teaching, while the focus is on collaboration rather than competition. I have been using different teaching techniques such as flipped learning, problem-based learning and active learning in my teaching style. I strongly agree with the article by Alison King titled “From Sage on the Stage to Guide on the Side”, espousing a shift of focus from a teacher-centred to a learner-centred model; however, I always consider job market requirements while designing and delivering my content. In my capstone class, students are strongly encouraged to design and deliver workshops. These workshops aim to share their exemplary methods with fellow students while receiving guidance and assistance under my supervision.

In my classes, there is no single solution and there are no existing wrong answers. Nevertheless, the students are always inspired to explore new pathways. I always try to create a positive atmosphere, where students are encouraged to ask questions and participate in discussions. At the same time, their mistakes are treated as opportunities to explore misconceptions but not as reflections on student abilities. In the capstone class, students are expected to deliver weekly presentations on their project progress. Additionally, they are obligated to engage in their peers' presentations, offering constructive feedback and suggestions to provide mutual support.

I believe that the young generation is full of energy and passion which require special attention to be groomed. While students constitute around 25% of our population; they are 100% of our future, and it is my ultimate dream to contribute to a world where fishes are no longer forced to climb trees.

Te Noho Kotahitanga in Teaching

I am the capstone project coordinator and course leader, and in collaboration with other Unitec staff, students and external industry people, I implement Te Noho Kotahitanga in teaching and learning, and I have demonstrated continuous high performance and outstanding student satisfaction over the previous semesters. as described below: 

Te Noho Kotahitanga is a partnership document created in 2001 to express Unitec's commitment to the Treaty of Waitangi.

1. Referring to the student's feedback (9.7 - Student Course Survey - Semester 1, 2023), I successfully developed and created a culture of respect for all students and stakeholders, well aligned with Ngākau Māhaki (Respect).

2. I have implemented Mahi Kotahitanga (Cooperation). I built an ecosystem where students, educators, academic supervisors, startups, industry partners, alums and almost all other Unitec teams collaborate and contribute to students' employability enhancement and lead them to successful outcomes. As a part of the Capstone Project, I collaborate with:

• School lecturers as supervisors/sponsor

• Other schools at Unitec as sponsors (internal)

• Startups and industry partners (external) as sponsors, mentors and workshop instructors

• Career Development and Industry Workforce Team at Unitec

• Library and Learning Commons Team at Unitec 

• Learning and Achievement Team at Unitec

• Māori Support Team at Unitec

• Student Support Team

• Our successful alums

3. By implementing a stakeholder satisfaction index, peer review and self-evaluation system, progress review and open workshops run by students themselves, everyone in the Capstone Project is a guardian tasked with maintaining beneficial relationships/work methods and sustaining the knowledge we work with, including me, workshop instructors (internal/external), students, supervisors, sponsors, assessors, and moderators, well aligned with Kaitiakitanga (Guardianship).

4. The Capstone Project provides authority for others to lead responsibly and with the obligation to all. Capstone students exercise leadership and project management in partnering with whānau, other students, the community, industry stakeholders and the school. During the COVID-19 lockdown, our Capstone students urgently needed access to the lab and equipment to complete their projects and graduate. I implemented a shared responsibility and collaborative approach, obtained all necessary approvals from the security and incident team, adhered to COVID regulations, formed student bubbles, and established a lab access schedule under my supervision, well aligned with Rangatiratanga (Authority and Responsibility).

5. I built a space for an equal proportion of knowledge and resources, where students have the opportunity to learn from diverse ways of learning and equal access to resources by choosing their desired projects, team members, supervisors, and sponsors with the availability of lots of mentorships, and supports and flexible schedule, well aligned with Wakaritenga (Legitimacy).

In a nutshell, I firmly believe the Capstone Project is a real example of the best implementation of the Te Noho Kotahitanga and could be a great model to be delivered at the national level or in other countries.