The Faculty of Education’s Dr Dawn Garbett received a Sustained Excellence award at the National Tertiary Teaching Excellence awards ceremony in Wellington on 16 July.
Dr Garbett,, Associate Dean Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Education, was among the nine academic staff to receive Sustained Excellence awards of $20,000 each.
According to Raewyn Dalziel, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at The University of Auckland, "Dawn Garbett is a highly popular, lively and compassionate teacher who cares deeply about her work to create confident, able teachers of science".
Although she has been teaching for 15 years, Dawn believes that she will always have more to learn about teaching, an inspiring prospect for her. Dawn bases her teaching on the belief that learning is highly individual, with her goal being to challenge "student teachers to construct their own understanding of what it is to be effective professionals in a complex environment without losing sight of their vision".
She considers the strength of her teaching to be her "commitment to look honestly and critically at all aspects of my practice". Student and peer evaluations and comments demonstrate Dawn’s commitment to teacher education, from early childhood to secondary, her leadership qualities and her critical reflection. Dawn’s sustained excellence is demonstrated in her "teaching practice, research on teaching and learning and leadership".
The Minister for Tertiary Education, Pete Hodgson, told the awards ceremony it was "a real pleasure to see recognition for excellence in tertiary teaching. Between them these ten people influence the learning of thousands of students and their excellence is therefore hugely valuable for New Zealand".
