This year’s keynotes at Talking Teaching
Talking Teaching is fast becoming a premium event in the New Zealand teaching and learning calendar. It follows on from the Academy symposium on November 28 and 29. It is now such a popular fixture that registration has already closed, with the maximum enrolment of 250 having been reached.
The theme is ‘Diverse learners – Inclusive teaching’, one that is becoming ever more important, as tertiary student rolls become increasingly diverse, and students and staff from many backgrounds face the challenges of connecting. The two keynote speakers will address the theme in different ways. They are both Prime Minister’s Award winners: Dr Te Taka Keegan from Waikato University (2017) and Faumuina Associate Professor Fa’afetai Sopoaga from Otago University (2018).
Te Taka will open an interactive thematic session focusing on ‘Using humour in teaching’. He says that ‘I believe an important part of teaching is being able to connect with your students. One way to make that connection is through humour’. This session will put a smile on your face. Whether you’re someone who is always serious, or comfortable with dropping jokes, entertainment through humour provides an avenue to improve teacher-student relationships. Te Kaka intends to generate a discussion on some techniques and examples where this has appeared to work for him and others.
Faumuina teaches and is Associate Dean (Pacific) in the Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago. She will deliver a showcase presentation on how ‘Our past shapes the journey for our future’. Faumuina’s approach to teaching ‘is to inspire, develop connectedness and mutual trust, and encourage and enable students to learn in contexts that are often outside their comfort zone’. Her favourite thing about teaching is influencing and inspiring the next generation of health professional workers. She will relate what she has learned from being a student to being a teacher, how she learns best and how she feels she can best facilitate the learning of students. This is a session not to miss.
