Faculty Teaching Excellence Awards

To recognise and reward teaching excellence at Waikato, every year the University gives staff and students the opportunity to nominate people who they think deserve consideration for a teaching award. In 2012, FTEA nominations are open from 6 August 2012 to 7 September 2012. Staff and students can nominate any member of staff or team with teaching responsibilities by completing a short online form at: http://www.waikato.ac.nz /hrm/nomination/.

Once five recommendations are received for an individual or teaching team, and as long as a teaching excellence award has not already been granted to the person or team within the past six years, then they are asked if they would like to accept the nomination. Each Faculty (and Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao) is able to confer up to two teaching excellence awards each year with a monetary value of $2000 (to be used for scholarly activities). This includes automatic nomination for a University Teaching Excellence Award, from which four awards are made each year with a monetary value of $3000 and automatic nomination for the Ako Aotearoa National Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award (which attracts an award of $20,000 and additional $10,000 for the Prime Minister's Supreme Award).

Eligibility

All current University of Waikato teaching staff (individuals and teaching teams) are eligible for nomination but no-one can receive a subsequent award within six years of receiving a Faculty or University teaching excellence award.

Criteria

Faculties use their own processes to finalize the selection of candidates. Faculty coordinators liaise with the TDU and PVC (Teaching and Learning) to set up panels for judging Faculty Awards. There will be a TDU representative and PVC (Teaching and Learning) on each Faculty panel.

The length of portfolios submitted may vary between Faculties. Criteria will be based on the teaching portfolio headings published on the Ako Aotearoa website (http://www.akoaotearoa.ac.nz/awards) for national Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards. Nominations should be systematically evaluated on each criterion.

Currently for teaching excellence awards these are:

Design for learning
Facilitating learning
Assessing student learning
Evaluating learning and teaching
Professional development and leadership

Currently for teaching excellence in a kaupapa Māori context awards these are:

Mana - Leadership and Professional Development
o Rangatiratanga - leadership
o Kaupapa Māori – Māori concepts
o Mātauranga Māori – Māori knowledge
o Ūkaipōtanga - Loyalty
o Whanaungatanga – Relationships
o Kaitiakitanga – Guardianship/sustainability
Whakaakoranga – Teaching Excellence - Design for Learning, Facilitating Learning
o Kairangi - Excellence
o Pūkengatanga - Skills
o Manaakitanga – Concern for colleagues and learners
o Kotahitanga – Collaboration.
Mātaki – Assessing Student Learning, Evaluation of Learning and Teaching
o Ākonga - Learners
o Kaiako - Teaching
o Taunaki – Evidence

Support and Resources for Nominees

Teaching Development Unit staff are available to support and coach nominees in the preparation of Teaching Portfolios.

The Teaching Development Unit will offer two workshops on Compiling a Portfolio for nominees. These will be held on Monday, 12 September (1.00-4.00) and Friday, 16 September (9.00-12.00). To register, email Preetha Pratapsingh at tduadmin@waikato.ac.nz.

Additionally, the following portfolio development resources and sample portfolios are available online:
Ako Aotearoa National Teaching Excellence Awards information and criteria:
http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/awards

Portfolio pointers: http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/download/ng/file/group-5/portfolio-points-preparing-and-presenting-high-quality-teaching-portfolios.pdf

Resources for portfolio preparation and samples: http://www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu/resources/teachingportfolios.shtml

University and National Teaching Excellence Awards

Nominations for the University Teaching Excellence Awards should be made on the appropriate University nomination form (found at http://www.waikato.ac.nz/hrm/staffawards) attached to evidence and reflection portfolios which address Ako Aotearoa criteria. Teaching excellence and emergent teaching excellence (where the staff member has less than six years' teaching experience) nominations should be made on the Teaching Excellence Awards Nomination Form; kaupapa Māori context nominations should be made on the Teaching Excellence in a Kaupapa Māori Context Award Nomination Form. Nominations require the support and signature of the Dean. Nominations must be submitted to Mike Bell (mikebell@waikato.ac.nz) by Monday, 31 October 2011.

The Staff Awards Committee convenes in early November to recommend recipients for University staff excellence awards to the Vice-Chancellor. Awards are presented at the Staff Awards Ceremony on 1 December 2011. Communications and External Relations will be provided with a list of award recipients so that they can assist with promotion of this event, publication of recipients' details, and plan for nominations to national Teaching Excellence Awards in the following year.

Recipients of up to three University Teaching Excellence Awards and one Teaching Excellence in a Kaupapa Māori Context Award will automatically become the University nominees for national Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards. The Teaching Development Unit (TDU) will ensure that evidence and reflection portfolios comply with requirements for the national award (details of which are published on the Ako Aotearoa website by the beginning of the year in which nominations are called and may change from time to time), that other documentation required for the national award (currently a cover sheet signed by the Vice-Chancellor for each nomination and a teaching history form completed by each nominee) is prepared, and that arrangements are made with Communications and External Relations to prepare nominations for duplication and binding in time to send to Ako Aotearoa to meet their deadline (usually 31 March).

Responsibilities for Nominees

The responsibilities of and information for nominees is outlined in the memo at: http://www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu/nominee_obligations.pdf

It is expected that recipients of Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards will "share, present and promote good practice within their own and other institutions". It is therefore incumbent upon recipients to support others in the preparation of evidence and reflection portfolios, including publication of their own successful portfolios to serve as exemplars for future nominees. The TDU will discuss opportunities for previous recipients to assist with the promotion of teaching excellence.

Information for the Faculty Teaching and Learning Coordinator

The Teaching Coordinator is the main point of contact in the local Faculty selection processes. They are responsible for organizing the Faculty selection processes, in collaboration with the Dean, and for communicating with the nominees, the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) and the Teaching Development Unit. The specific responsibilities of the Teaching Coordinator are outlined in the document at: http://www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu/coordinator_info.pdf

Useful Links

Nomination forms
Online nomination form for the Faculty Teaching Excellence Awards: http://www.waikato.ac.nz/hrm/nomination/

Nomination forms for the University Teaching Excellence Awards and Teaching Excellence in a Kaupapa Māori Context (to be attached to the portfolio and any other supporting documents): http://www.waikato.ac.nz/hrm/staffawards/index.shtml

General information
Faculty Teaching Awards (purpose, process, criteria): http://www.waikato.ac.nz/hrm/staffawards/index.shtml

Ako Aotearoa National Teaching Excellence Awards: http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/awards

Information for the nominee: http://www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu/nominee_obligations.pdf

Information for the Faculty Teaching and Learning coordinator: http://www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu/coordinator_info.pdf

Resources for Portfolio Preparation
Portfolio pointers: http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/download/ng/file/group-5/portfolio-points-preparing-and-presenting-high-quality-teaching-portfolios.pdf

Resources for portfolio preparation and samples: http://www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu/resources/teachingportfolios.shtml