Other Activities

Teaching & Supervision

The way I understand and approach teaching is expressed in the following guiding principles.

• I intend the learning experience to provide challenges in a manner that gives enjoyment and satisfaction to individuals.
• I believe in the value of active learning and develop my teaching material and strategies to have large components of active learning.
• I believe that transparency is important in creating an effective teaching environment. Thus, I think it is important that aims, as well as learning outcomes are clearly communicated. I believe that learning outcomes are particularly valuable to students as these express the skills, knowledge and/or behaviour that the student has to achieve.
• Over and above the discipline specific skills and knowledge, I plan and execute my teaching to (further) develop transferable skills in the areas of team-working, oral and written communication, business awareness, problem-solving, IT literacy.
• A further guiding principle is the value of creating good rapport between the students that I teach and myself. Generally I find that people work harder and more conscientiously at things that hold their interest and when they feel they are being treated seriously and as equals.

Between 2000 and 2006, I taught at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at the University of Auckland (NZ), University of Reading (UK) and University of Edinburgh (UK).  In addition to courses in research methods courses, I have taught ‘Introduction to Marketing.’ I have taught classes with as few as 5 students, to as many as 350 students.

I have supervisory experiences at PhD, MSc/MCom and BSc/BCom levels and have in the past acted in the roles as main supervisor, co-supervisor and informal supervisor. Although I am not currently employed by a University, I continue to be active in research supervision and I am always on the lookout for interesting PhD projects that I can become involved in. Wonders of modern technology mean that I can live in New Zealand and still work with students based anywhere in the world. My previous experiences of doing so have been very positive and resulted not only in successful project completions, but also publications based on the research. 

Further to ‘distance supervision’, I am also very keen to host visiting students (and postdocs /colleagues) at HortResearch in Auckland (NZ).  Please contact me if this is something that interests you.

Back to top >