Tam has been teaching at Te Puna Wai o Waipapa – Hagley College for five years.

She is Head of the Social Sciences department, and her specialist area of teaching is History. Tam has worked in a number of schools around New Zealand, including at Hurunui College (Hawarden) and Tuatapere Community College (Southland).

Even those of you who know Tam may not know that before she started teaching, Tam lived in Italy for three years, working as a nanny, and then lived in the US for another three years, in banking. She is also the mum to three daughters; keeps very fit with running and, until injuries took a toll, martial arts. To say she is very busy is an understatement, as you’ll soon find out.

Tam is the epitome of a ‘life-long learner.’ She started out doing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in History, doing a couple of years at Canterbury and a couple of years at Otago University. She took four years to finish her undergraduate degree because there was “too much she wanted to study!” Tam was particularly interested in Social Anthropology, Geography and Philosophy, but eventually settled on History. After a few years teaching, she decided it was a good idea to go back to University, completing her Masters degree in Education, with a focus on knowledge-building pedagogy, in which students can create their own knowledge, rather than a more traditional way of teaching.

You might think that was enough years of studying, but it wasn’t! After a short break, Tam then started her Doctoral studies – and has recently defended her Doctorate of Education (EdD) this year, all whilst continuing to teach full time! This is an incredible achievement, and we are so proud of her. She just has a little bit extra work to finish things off, and she is really looking forward to graduating with her Doctorate in 2023. Wow!

Tam’s doctoral research has been to look at designing a useful, easy to implement framework for the delivery of integrated curriculum – think: how do teachers best use the resources that they have (including modern learning environments) to implement curriculum changes and have the best teaching and learning possible. She concluded that success focused much more on the teaching and learning than the space in which it was taught. She also looked at how best to implement change within schools, working alongside Senior Leadership Teams. The feedback that she has received on her thesis has been phenomenal, with her examiners praising the immediate usefulness and practical implementation strategies that she put forward.

Unsurprisingly, there’s still more! Tam assures me that she enjoys watching TV and movies, but I’m not sure how she has time for any of that. As well as her full-time teaching job, she also: 1) is doing micro-credentialling through Victoria University about mentoring teachers; 2) is on PPTA advisory groups for middle leadership and professional development; 3) serves on the board of a Charitable Trust (Gather Foundation), linking curriculum to playground design for several Primary schools in lower socioeconomic areas; 4) volunteers for Waimakariri Civil Defence Sector Post, helping out with local emergencies; and 5) is actively involved in the Ōtautahi Futures Collective group looking at strategically thinking and planning for the city! Phew!! She does all of this because she really wants to ensure that other teachers are well-supported and to give back to the wider community.

As for her time at Hagley, Tam says, “I love Hagley.” She loves that people who work here genuinely care about each other; that you can see how important relationships are to people; that there is a high degree of agency in leading a department, and so much more. Plus, she just loves the students. As someone who has struggled for a long time with dyslexia, Tam completely understands the need to find individual ways of teaching students. She loves that we treat our students as individuals, as young adults, and that we live our values.

What an incredible life! Thanks for sharing your story with us, Tam, and massive congratulations on your Doctorate!