Hi,
I am the Programme Manager, Senior Lecturer for the Diploma in Outdoor Leadership & Management Level 5, at the Otago Institute of Sport and Adventure, Otago Polytechnic.
My employment at Otago Polytechnic started in 2001 full time, however I contracted to the Sports Institute since 1999 and wrote the first certificate outdoor programme to start at the Polytechnic in Dunedin. Since then it has now evolved to a Diploma and hosts up to 34 students each year. I am privileged to be working with amazing, inspiring colleagues.
Prior to working with the Otago Polytechnic I have worked at places like the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre, Army Adventurous Training Centre, Department of Conservation (Search and Rescue Team) and New Zealand Antarctica Programme. I ran a business named Wild Earth Adventures, of which I started in 1995 and sold in 2002, teaching a range of pursuits, ie mountaineering, white water and sea kayaking, rock climbing, tramping, mountain biking and team development programmes.
I am president of a professional organisation named the N.Z. Outdoor Instructor Association (N.Z.O.I.A.) (www.nzoia.org.nz ) and assess national qualifications in rock climbing and sea kayaking. My Qualifications are; NZOIA Level 2; Alpine, White-Water Kayak, Sea Kayak, Rock Climbing, Bush and Outdoor Safety Management. NZCA Coaching level 1, Diploma in Adult Teaching and Post Graduate in Outdoor Education.
I have a family, two girls; one 15 yrs old, the other 22 and the older is about to become a first time Mum. We have two dogs and two cats and live in a great place near the harbour.
Key goals for this course are to broaden my understanding on the pedagogy of outdoor education and how I can apply better flexible techniques to the programme I run at the Polytechnic. I am interested in wider and deeper comprehension of what my students may require and I want to be able to unlock their potential in an inspirational and energetic way. I intend to complete a Masters in Outdoor Education and I want to also take my learning from this course with me into my research. My teaching environment is dynamic. This requires me to be flexible with the way, how and what I deliver. I often wonder how flexible my students learning capabilities are in these situations, and how can I help them better help themselves to become open to their learning opportunities.
