Judy Brown
National Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award Winner

Early this year I was advised that I had been chosen as one of VUW's two nominees for the 2004 National Tertiary Teaching Excellence Awards. Initial disbelief turned to excitement and then, very quickly, to panic at the thought of having to produce an 8,000 word teaching portfolio.

Preparing the portfolio was not an easy exercise Ð far more gruelling than the PBRF!! We were expected to not only articulate our teaching philosophy but to also explain how we integrated that philosophy into our teaching practice. I also endeavoured to give a sense of my teaching highs and lows, personal development and lessons learnt over my 16 years at VUW. My first effort came in at around 20,000 words. With the help of Kathryn Sutherland at the UTDC, I managed to Òslash and burnÓ this to something around half that size.

I found the process of writing the portfolio extremely valuable. It was a great chance to reflect on my own conceptions of teaching and learning. I've read copious amounts on education theory and practice over the years and benefitted from active participation in the UTDC's teaching programme. Reflections on my own educational experiences and discussions with colleagues in SACL have also played a crucial role. Writing the portfolio provided an opportunity to distill 'Judy Brown's principles' out of all of this and share some of the writers who have particularly inspired me. These include authors such as Boyer 1990 (on the scholarship of teaching), Brookfield & Preskill 1999 (on teaching as discussion and critical reflection) and Freire 1984 (on dialogic education).

In June I had a phone call from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority to say that I had been successful and that an invitation to an Awards Ceremony at Parliament would be in the mail. I got off the phone in a state of shock, and spent the next few days worrying that I had imagined the whole thing!! It was great to have confirmation in writing and wonderful to find that the other VUW nominee Professor John Davidson had also been successful. We had a most agreeable evening at the Grand Hall of Parliament. It was great to meet the winners from other tertiary institutions and to share stories. I've also really enjoyed being able to follow this up by reading more about their teaching practices and philosophies in the recent booklet produced by NZQA.

I am extremely grateful for the support received from colleagues, past students, current students and the UTDC and would like to take this opportunity to thank various people who have c o n t r i b u t e d enormously to my getting this award. These include the various Heads of School who have put my name forward for teaching awards over the years (Don Trow, Tony van Zijl, Yvonne van Roy and Brenda Porter) and the great former and current colleagues who share my passion for 'dialogic' education and have provided a sounding board and given me so many ideas (in particular Hemi Toia, Philip Colquhoun, Alan Cameron and the late June Pallot). And these are also very special thanks to Michael Fraser, Pala Molisa and David Carter - who are now leaving me for dead in the 'dialogic' teaching stakes and who provided an awardwinning collaborative reference for me. Kathryn Sutherland (a rock through the whole process) and Stephen Marshall of the UTDC also need to be singled out. Thanks also to the countless unnamed past and present colleagues and students who have supported my teaching efforts over the years!!