Are you keen to submit a nomination (or more than one!) for your amazing colleagues, but not sure how to write something that will really stand out and show your nominee in the best light?
It’s important to give the judges the right information and enough for them to get a good picture of the nominee to make an informed decision. Remember, the judges might not know the nominee personally so they will use your nomination to help make their decision on the selection of finalists and winners.
CLICK THROUGH TO THE NOMINATION FORM HERE
Tips for writing a strong nomination
- Read the criteria carefully for the category that you think best suits your nominee’s contribution and/or achievements
- Give clear evidence of how they have met the criteria – note that in many categories they don’t have to meet ALL the criteria, just a strong demonstration of one or more areas
- Include a link to our values – how has the nominee demonstrated one or more of our Te Noho Kotahitanga values? We are a values-based organisation so this is important
- Personal/professional qualities that make your nominee stand out
- You can submit your nomination as an individual, or get together with a group to write a strong submission
- The judges also appreciate different perspectives, so more than one nomination for a person or team is welcome
Examples of strong nominations
The below examples meet all of the above and give the judges a clear picture of the contribution the nominee has made. Both of these nominees were selected to win an award last year.
Excellence in Support nomination for Anne McKay:
The School of Healthcare and Social Practice would be at a loss without the effort and support of Anne MacKay- Te Puna Ako, we believe that she is Kaitiakitanga at its best. She has and is core to the support that has enabled us to reach the requirements of TKK, ensure we are compliant, our programmes meet the needs of students, that we are upskilled and are ready for changes that occur.
Although Anne sits outside of our team she has built a strong relationship with our School/staff and to be acknowledged by the School as a whole shows how extraordinary she really is. Anne has an amazing energy and with this she moves swiftly across all programmes and across all staff to meet their needs.
When staff were firstly required to go on line, Anne came in with her friendly approach and made it seem like an exciting adventure, a game, a skill which drove a rush of excitement across the staff floors. The environment was non- threatening and the staff took to it with both hands. She has continued to work with staff across their programmes to upgrade assessments, up grade Moodle pages, teach them how to better prepare, present, as well as wrap around a whole team to lift their capability, the list goes on in regards to what she has inputted into the school.
We know that this is work that may seem to be in her job description but she goes beyond this to ensure we are at our best. Staff would not glean from her knowledge and skill if she had not invested time to get to know us and build the relationships required to bring about positive change. The team wish to acknowledge her for the work she has contributed.
Innovation in Teaching nomination for Lee-Anne Turton:
As a teacher educator, Lee-Anne is always looking for authentic and innovative approaches towards learning, teaching and assessment across the Early Childhood programme. She shows leadership of innovative pedagogies demonstrated through creative curriculum development, contemporary assessment design, and her deep understanding of digital technology to enhance learning.
Lee-Anne brings her personal creative art practice with a focus on sustainability, to support small world play across learning domains within early childhood education. Her innovative design around the concept of “Loose Parts” encourages student teachers and other early childhood educators in the community to find sustainable resources to create play opportunities for children. As well as embedding this practice in her teaching and assessments, she runs workshops (both face-to-face and online) that challenge teachers to be more creative and innovative in their practice. She shares her experiences in creating loose parts resources with the early childhood community through Instagram as well as in conference presentations. Lee-Anne’s work on “Loose Parts” is informed by products she builds collaboratively with her father called ‘Chip off the Old Blocks’.
Innovative assessment design is important to Lee-Anne. An example is a level 6 course where learners create a re-purposed “loose parts” resource to support children’s learning and then market it to “stakeholders”. Rather than students standing in front of the class to present their play model, the classroom becomes a market for the day. Students share a supporting pamphlet which shows the research informing their play product design. The classroom comes alive with authentic conversations. The customers include other lecturers, peers from other classes, ECE teachers and learning advisors.
Lee-Anne also continues to support her colleagues to explore innovative and authentic assessment experiences for student teachers. For the past year Lee-Anne has led the development of the new Bachelor of Teaching (ECE) for accreditation with the NZ Teaching Council. She created an excellent stakeholder-led concept encouraging each team member to connect with an early childhood teacher to design their assessments, which connected Early Childhood Centres directly to student learning. Lee-Anne is seen by staff, students and teacher educators as a leading innovative practitioner.