Recognition of teaching innovation for Senior Lecturer
The award, created as a forum for the exchange of ideas in the area of Romantic pedagogy, celebrates pedagogical innovation and creative approaches that inspire. After submitting teaching materials, the finalists are selected to give 8-minute presentations at the NASSR annual conference and answer questions about their pedagogy.
Dr Hessell’s submission and presentation discussed incorporating indigenous writers and materials into the teaching of Romantic literature. She developed the content through a 2013 FHSS Learning and Teaching Grant and has yet to teach the course in this format.
Dr Hessell says that she owes a lot of her ideas to the resource, Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, A Guide to Teaching Maori Content in University Courses, by Dr Meegan Hall.
“I also had the good fortune to attend a Summer Seminar on Indigenous Cultures of Print at the American Antiquarian Society in Massachusetts in 2013, where I learnt a lot about global practices in this area. So those are the main things guiding my thinking in this area.”
Dr Hessell was selected as a winner along with academics from the University of British Columbia and the University of Colorado. They each received a $250 award, recognition at the NASSR banquet and their syllabi will be published on the Romantic Circles Pedagogies website.
"It was a nerve-wracking experience to present my teaching ideas to an international audience, but I really enjoyed representing FHSS and its excellent teachers."