Senior Lecturer, Department of General and Applied Linguistics, University of Waikato

"I believe that effective teaching is part of a cycle of learning, consultation, preparation and reflection that begins long before a class meets for the first time".

Diane has been involved in tertiary teaching since 1993 when she moved from a Dean/Head of Department in a secondary school to become a teacher at the University of Waikato’s Language Institute. Most of the courses she teaches are in the area of applied linguistics.

Diane was involved in initiating the Whakapiki I Te Reo programme which has evolved and become the basis for programmes now offered by a number of institutions throughout New Zealand. She believes that teaching should be dynamic, interactive, creative, flexible, enjoyable collaborative and relevant.

Her focus is to provide an example of lifelong learning, encouraging learners to see the completion of each course not as an end, but as the beginning of a journey that can lead to a variety of interesting and exciting discoveries and experiences.