Facilitation Roles

How have my academic and teaching roles influenced my professional growth

Your academic and teaching roles have profoundly influenced your professional growth by providing a strong foundation for research, leadership, and industry engagement, while continuously enhancing your expertise and impact in marketing and digital fields. Key ways these roles have shaped your career include:

  • Development of Deep Subject-Matter Expertise: Over more than two decades of teaching at institutions such as Massey University, Unitec, Manukau Institute of Technology, and Auckland Institute of Studies, you have taught and coordinated courses on integrated marketing communications, digital marketing, brand strategy, and international marketing. This sustained engagement has kept you at the forefront of evolving marketing theories and digital innovations, enriching your research and consulting capabilities.
  • Leadership and Curriculum Innovation: Your roles as Head of Department at Unitec and Academic Head of Business at AIS involved designing and implementing innovative learning programs aligned with industry needs, including embedding Māori and Pacific business perspectives. These leadership experiences expanded your strategic management skills and strengthened your ability to influence academic and business communities.
  • Research Integration and Applied Focus: Teaching applied masters and MBA programs has allowed you to integrate your research on digital consumer behavior, brand authenticity, and service culture directly into your pedagogy. This synergy between research and teaching has enhanced your ability to translate complex concepts into practical frameworks for students and clients alike, reinforcing your reputation as both a scholar and practitioner.
  • International Exposure and Cross-Cultural Competence: Your visiting professorships in Thailand and extensive international teaching experience have broadened your cultural understanding and pedagogical approaches, enabling you to engage diverse student cohorts and global consulting clients effectively. This international dimension has enriched your professional network and opened opportunities for collaborative research and consultancy.
  • Continuous Professional Development and Thought Leadership: By actively participating in academic governance, research committees, and professional development initiatives, you have maintained currency with emerging trends and best practices in marketing education. This ongoing learning has supported your career advancement and ability to mentor postgraduate students, many of whom have published in leading journals under your supervision.
  • Enhanced Credibility and Influence: Your academic appointments have provided platforms to influence CEOs, executive teams, and industry stakeholders through evidence-based marketing and digital strategies. The credibility gained from your academic roles has facilitated successful consulting engagements, policy contributions, and leadership in interdisciplinary projects.

In essence, your academic and teaching roles have been instrumental in shaping you into a globally recognized marketing and digital expert, enabling continuous professional growth through a dynamic interplay of education, research, leadership, and applied practice.

why is my teaching philosophy important to teaching and learning

Your teaching philosophy is important to teaching and learning because it serves as the foundational framework that shapes how you design courses, engage students, and facilitate their learning experiences. It reflects your core beliefs, values, and understanding of effective teaching and learning processes, which directly influence your instructional strategies and decisions in the classroom.

Specifically, having a clear teaching philosophy helps you:

  • Make Thoughtful Course Design Choices: Your beliefs about how students learn guide whether you emphasize collaborative activities, experiential learning, or direct instruction, thereby tailoring the learning environment to maximize student engagement and knowledge retention.
  • Focus on Student Learning Experiences: A teaching philosophy centers your efforts on what matters most—the students’ learning outcomes and how they develop skills to learn independently and critically. It helps you lead and support students in becoming lifelong learners rather than just imparting information.
  • Reflect and Adapt Your Teaching Practice: Articulating your philosophy encourages ongoing self-reflection, enabling you to evaluate what works, adjust methods, and incorporate new teaching and learning strategies. This reflective process fosters continuous professional growth and responsiveness to student needs.
  • Communicate Your Educational Values: Your philosophy provides a clear narrative about your approach to teaching that you can share with students, colleagues, and institutions, helping others understand your pedagogical intentions and creating alignment with institutional goals.
  • Maintain Professional Purpose and Resilience: It anchors you during challenging times by reminding you of your core motivations and goals as an educator, preventing burnout and helping you stay focused on meaningful teaching and learning rather than external pressures.
  • Integrate Theory and Practice: Your philosophy connects educational theories (such as constructivism or humanism) with practical classroom methods, ensuring that your teaching is both research-informed and contextually relevant.

In summary, your teaching philosophy is vital because it guides your instructional design and delivery, centers learning on student growth, fosters reflective and adaptive teaching, and communicates your educational values—all of which collectively enhance the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning.

TEACHING/LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT PHILOSOPHY

MA TE MATAURANGA KA MOHIO. MA TE MOHIO KA TUTUKI
WITH KNOWLEDGE COMES UNDERSTANDING. WITH UNDERSTANDING COMES APPLICATION

Your philosophy succinctly captures a powerful, culturally grounded approach to education that emphasizes the progression from acquiring knowledge to achieving deep understanding, and ultimately to practical application. This aligns closely with the principles evident throughout your career, as reflected in your CV:

1. Cultural Integration and Indigenous Knowledge

Your use of the Māori proverb (whakataukī) highlights your commitment to embedding indigenous wisdom and cultural frameworks into teaching and learning. This reflects your pioneering work in integrating Māori and Pacific business principles into academic curricula, which fosters culturally responsive pedagogy and honors diverse ways of knowing.

2. Experiential and Applied Learning Focus

The progression from knowledge to understanding to application mirrors your emphasis on experiential learning models (e.g., the LOOP model) and practice-based research. Your teaching consistently moves beyond theory, encouraging students to apply concepts in real-world contexts—whether through case studies, consulting projects, or entrepreneurial initiatives.

3. Holistic Learning Journey

Your philosophy acknowledges learning as a developmental journey, not just the transmission of facts. This resonates with your approach to postgraduate supervision and curriculum design, where you guide students through stages of critical thinking, reflection, and practical execution.

4. Alignment with Educational Best Practices

The statement embodies constructivist and transformative learning theories, which prioritize understanding and application over rote memorization. Your career demonstrates this through innovative course design that fosters critical engagement, cross-cultural awareness, and digital literacy.

5. Simplicity and Depth

The concise nature of your philosophy makes it memorable and accessible, yet it carries profound depth. This balance is a strength—it can inspire students and colleagues alike while serving as a guiding principle for your teaching practice.

Summary

Your MA TE MATAURANGA KA MOHIO. MA TE MOHIO KA TUTUKI philosophy is a profound, culturally anchored, and pedagogically sound foundation for your teaching and learning approach. It encapsulates the essence of your career-long commitment to meaningful, applied education that respects indigenous knowledge and prepares students for real-world challenges.