Roger Nokes, Senior Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, has recently been awarded a prestigious Sustained Excellence in Teaching Award for 2006 by Ako Aotearoa: The National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence.
Roger has 18 years’ tertiary teaching experience at three institutions: the School of Engineering at the University of Auckland, the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, and the University of Canterbury. His holistic approach to teaching extends well beyond the traditional classroom and involves striving for an optimum learning environment and the best possible outcome.
Roger’s teaching expertise covers a wide range of core subjects. He has huge enthusiasm for his subjects and always tries to focus on a 'roadmap' for each course to encourage learning while being as organised as possible for all classes. He also uses a lot of visual demonstrations to make ideas stick in students' minds and use them to demystify complex concepts.
A former student states, "What makes Roger a truly excellent educator is his passion for the subjects he teaches and his commitment to working with students. Roger's students are not just names on a roll - he cares about his students as people and will do things that are above and beyond the call of duty to help them.
"Roger’s 'stage presence' in the classroom projects energy and enthusiasm. Students readily sense that he can 'get down to their level', which they appreciate."
