BOP Polytechnic tutor ‘flipping brilliant’

BOP Polytechnic tutor ‘flipping brilliant’

Mike Scott, an electrical tutor at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic was one of only 12 educators to be awarded a prestigious 2014 Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award in Wellington last night.

Presented by the Minister for Tertiary Education, Hon Steven Joyce, the Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards celebrate New Zealand’s finest tertiary teachers - as recognised by their organisations, colleagues, learners and broader communities.

Mike has worked at the Polytechnic for eight years and has introduced a number of innovative teaching methods to increase student engagement and success. His latest endeavour is the introduction of the flipped classroom. This idea goes away from traditional teaching and involves the students watching videos that he produces as homework and then completing tasks in the classroom. These tasks range from completing an activity pack of questions to producing a room-sized picture of a circuit on the floor using masking tape.

Mike was overjoyed with his award and thoroughly enjoyed the night hosted by Ako Aotearoa – The National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence.

“It was a great event. I was really nervous, but winning the award was absolutely fantastic,” said Mike. “It has given me the confidence to carry on with my slightly ‘unconventional’ teaching style.”

Dr Alan Hampton, Polytechnic Chief Executive, said Mike’s award was a well-deserved recognition for a superb educator.

“Mike has the special capability to understand opportunities and technology to improve the learning experience and outcomes for our students. More importantly, he is able to stand in the students’ shoes and understand their perspective and needs.

“He has also motivated his colleagues to critically reflect on their practice and has supported and mentored their own journey of change and development.”

This is the fourth time Bay of Plenty Polytechnic staff have received one of the prestigious Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards over the past six years.

Mike intends to invest his prize money in setting up an audio visual studio to produce videos and other interactive material to enhance his students’ learning.

“I’ve always enjoyed working with technology and it’s great to be able to integrate that into my teaching. I don’t believe we will ever better the concept of a teacher within a classroom, but I do see a revolution in the role that they play and the activities that the students carry out. I think the next big step will be augmented reality in the classroom and I want to be at the forefront of that movement.”

Ako Aotearoa aims to recognise and celebrate excellence in tertiary teaching and share good practice that has a proven benefit for learners. A total of 12 awards for Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching (worth $20,000 each) were presented: 10 in the General category, and a further two awards presented to teachers in the Kaupapa Māori category.

The Prime Minister’s Supreme Award, valued at $10,000, is an additional award that is presented to one of these 12 awardees. The 2014 Supreme Award for Tertiary Teaching Excellence went to Dr Karyn Paringatai (Ngāti Porou), lecturer at Te Tumu – School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies, University of Otago.

The Supreme Award, considered the pinnacle of this annual event, recognised Dr Paringatai’s 12 years of teaching learners from a wide variety of backgrounds to become a whānau of champions for the revitalisation of te reo Māori.

The Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards recipients for 2014 are:

Twelve awards for

Kaupapa Māori category:

· Ēnoka Murphy
Pūkenga, Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao
Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato / The University of Waikato

· Tākuta (Dr) Karyn Paringatai (also Prime Minister’s Supreme Awardee)
Pūkenga, Te Tumu – School of Maori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies
Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo / University of Otago

General category:

· Bachelor of Culinary Arts Teaching Team: Stephen Ellwood, David Gillespie, Antony Heptinstall, Daniel Pfyl, Adrian Woodhouse

School of Hospitality
Otago Polytechnic

· Andy Ballard
Senior Lecturer - Management, AUT Business School
AUT University

· John G Davies
Senior Lecturer, Department of Performing and Screen Arts

Unitec Institute of Technology

· Professor Charles Fleischman
Undergraduate Coordinator – Civil & Natural Resources Engineering
University of Canterbury

· Dr Rainer Hoffman
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Lincoln University

· Caro McCaw
Principal Lecturer and Academic Leader, Communication Design
Otago Polytechnic

· Kyhlee Quince
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law
The University of Auckland

· Judith Roddick
Principle lecturer, School of Nursing
Otago Polytechnic

· Mike Scott
Academic Staff Member and Programme Coordinator
Bay of Plenty Polytechnic

· Teresia Teaiwa
Lecturer, Pacific Studies
Victoria University of Wellington

Ends.

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