DoctorTufulasi Taleni

Teaching:

My teaching philosophy is captured in a Samoan term known as – ‘Malamalama’ or ‘Malamalama’aga’ referring to the great value of knowledge, from life experiences driven by the motivation to learn.  It also comes from the implementation of the value of Tautua (service), serving the people in the community and families.  I feel that knowledge elevates and promotes wisdom (in Samoan, o le silafia maoa’e (exceptional knowledge)). 

Part of my teaching philosophy is also captured in the notion of the ‘heart’ of teachers to make a real difference for learners.  I feel that having great knowledge to share through teaching can be achieved by the implementation of the ‘heart’ that translates to the ‘love for learners’ - giving service to all students to become successful learners in the future.  Throughout my teaching in this space, I have carried through themes such as  –  ‘In order to teach you, I must know you’, the notion of tu’utu’u le upega ile loloto – casting the net into deeper waters, and ‘talatalaina ole upega lavelave – the untangling of the tangled net’.  I see the power that comes from relating to life experiences that contextualizes the content of teaching -  this helps students engage.  I feel that this is my greatest strength and it’s the reason why many of my students engage and connect to the content I teach.  A message (below) from one of my students this up:“ thank you for sharing your knowledge with us this morning. Having experienced disengagement of Pasifika students in my intermediate school placement earlier this year, it was so valuable to hear from you about ways to address this. Other students in my cohort have agreed that this was one of the most beneficial lectures we have had.

Thank you for inspiring me personally to improve my Pasifika cultural compentence for the sake of my future students.  (Student - PostGrad Dip in Teaching (Primary)

I have received the same kind of feedback (oral and written) throughout my teaching.  The ITE students see my way of engaging and connecting them to their practice.  This kind of pedagogical practice makes Pacific learners in the classroom engage in learning. I see the opportunity to share this pedagogical practice with ITE students to inspire them to do the same for Pacific students in the classroom. My teaching started in2016 when I officially began in my role at the College of Education as a Kaiarahi Pasifika and to date, has contributed immensely to the ‘untangling of the tangled net’ of Pasifika students’ disengagement and underachievement in education, through my contribution to the preparation of ITE students to teach/work with Pasifika students in schools, contributing to improving students’ pedagogical practices and also raising and strengthening their knowledge of Pacific students cultural understanding. This knowledge is uniquely important to ITE students for the development of programmes that reflect Pacific students’ culture, identity and language.  My key role is to prepare ITE students to be culturally responsive to the needs and aspirations of Pacific students and to raise their levels of engagement and achievement.  I coordinate and teach the EDEM659, Advancing Pasifika educational success. I have been involved from the beginning in terms of its development and delivery (8 years). I also teach in other Postgraduate courses such as Emotional Intelligence, Research Methodology (EDEM601), Motivating Learners (EDEM885) and courses that connect to the Bachelor of Teaching and Learning degree and the Graduate Diploma program. It is an honour to contribute to the teaching career of these future teachers. This is their tautua (service) to the community, to this country by helping children have a better start in their education and to raise their levels of achievement and engagement.  I also recognise the importance of utilizing research findings in my teaching, so my students see these strong messages coming through from research findings – they motivate students to apply these messages to their own teaching in the classroom.