CELS191 Teaching Team
Te Whatu Kairangi Group Award
National leaders in tertiary biology education
The group of individuals recognised for their achievements from Health Sciences First-Year Te Whare Wānanga o Ōtākou | University of Otago includes:
- Dr Lisa Russell
- Andrea Brown
- Dr Kim Watson
- Dr Keith King
CELS191 Teaching Team group members (left to right): Andrea Brown, Dr Kim Watson, Dr Lisa Russell and Dr Keith King.
Like the metaphor of the Ōwheo stream and its tributaries, which weaves through the team’s portfolio, the learning and student support initiatives outlined, when added together, become something remarkable. The CELS191 Teaching Team is a national leader in biology education at tertiary level.
This group of experienced and emerging educators work together to create a learning environment which suits the needs of all the learners in their large first year course. They provide specialist support and pastoral care for Māori and Pacific ākonga/learners, under-prepared adult learners, international students, neurodiverse learners, and students who have failed courses. Importantly, they achieve outstanding student success rates. One commented in 2022, “The team…were wonderful … I was completely lost and I don’t think I would have stayed at university if it wasn’t for them.”
The team have developed a comprehensive range of additional learning resources and provide tailored and highly effective remedial teaching to assist the transition from failure to success. They are also committed to educating teaching fellows and an inclusive range of laboratory demonstrators, with a deep philosophy of student care, and work alongside them to train them as effective educators.