Introduction

Kia ora, I am Michelle Ashbury and I work in the department of Foundation Learning. I am a lecturer on the Certificate of Foundation Studies Trades programme, although the title 'lecturer' has never really sat well with me - it brings to mind images of someone standing at the front of a room and delivering a talk to students, which is very far removed from the work I do with my students.
The students on this programme are 16 and 17 years old, and have all disengaged from school for various reasons. They come to do this course to learn new practical skills, develop good work and study habits and decide on a future pathway. Most of them really hated traditional  classroom learning, so one of my challenges is to deliver a programme  in a way that is very different from their schooling.
As well as teaching, my role is to mentor and provide learning support to these students, who often have a raft of  issues in their lives that have got in their way of success at school. I also coordinate the programme, out together the timetables, liase with other Polytech departments, external agencies and industry experience providers.

I am keen to get started on the Graduate Diploma. I am really interested in learning as much as possible about teaching and learning, and experimenting with different methods of delivery and student engagement. I am especially keen to look at how factors such as confidence and social issues impact on people's ability to learn and how this can be turned around.

I am the mother of two beautiful girls and am married to Tony - my family come first and foremost in my life! I also love the outdoors and travel.  I have lived in several countires including Japan and Korea and really love being immersed in different cultures. I have a background in youth work, outdoor education, adult literacy tutoring and  ESOL.

Josephine and Mila



Photograph by Dani Jeske/Animals Animals-Earth Scenes



This is an ayeaye, from Madagascar.  My 9 year old daughter Josephine came home from school one day and had been studying animals - we Googled it together and she told me about what she'd learned. I learn a lot from my students, my family and other people around me.