Kia Ora, my name is Julie Grant. I have just started working at the Otago Polytechnic in February 2011 as a lecturer in the Diploma of Outdoor Leadership and Management. We offer a Level 3 and 4 program which is run through the Otago Institute of Sport and Adventure.
I am excited to be developing and sharing knowledge in this new role and see this flexible learning paper as something that will help me to create the best course I can for my students while learning new skills myself.
I grew up in Dunedin and after a year abroad complete a degree in Physical Education. Since then I have spent the last eight years working in the outdoor sector and having adventures all over the place, both in New Zealand and overseas. I feel really fortunate to work in a field which aligns with my passion for the outdoors, which is a amazing office to operate in.
However this is an office that is unpredictable and you never know what it will throw at you. You need to be able to be flexible in your teaching and always have a Plan B. Weather, flooded rivers, injuries, people factors, terrain, tsunami warnings and many other elements may cause you to adjust what and how you are teaching or facilitating.
Working in the outdoor education sector there is a lot of emphasis on learning through experience or doing and then reflecting on this experience. Facilitating experiences can often be very creative and interactive and discussions or plans are often adapted to cater for the students needs or energy levels.
My goals for this course is to gain some more skills and knowledge around alternative ways of being flexible and catering to the students within the Polytech learning environment. This includes understanding technology that is available to aid in student learning/practice as this is an area that I have had less experience.
In the outdoors it is easy to keep students engaged as activities are often high impact and fun, and people enjoy to talk about and take the learning from these experiences. I am interested to develop skills and resources to help me become more flexible in my new role where at times the students will be in a classroom environment.
