Sarah is leading innovation in the field of Chemistry teaching at UC. She has fostered strong links between students and staff across Colleges, working closely with colleagues in Fine Arts to develop science communication projects, as well as developing an award-winning series of introductory videos for Stage 1 Chemistry laboratory classes. Her teaching spans all levels of Chemistry from introductory undergraduate students to research students. Her overall aim is for her students to be inspired, not only by the material but also in the attitude and enthusiasm that she brings to the subject. Feedback in her teaching evaluations indicate she is meeting this aim: "Amazing lecturer! Made me interested in the lecture content, very very helpful towards students and made the lectures very clear." (CHEM 300 level student)
Sarah takes an experiential approach in her classes, using scaffolding to enable students to direct their own learning pathways and develop good habits. Her strong commitment to continuing professional development for postgraduate students has been a key area of engagement in her role as postgraduate coordinator for Chemistry. She aims to inspire other teachers through her leadership both by setting a strong personal example and in mentoring colleagues both locally and internationally. She shows consistent commitment to science education through her leadership in qualification reviews in the Colleges of Science and Engineering, and to pedagogy through her completion of the Postgraduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching and Tanagata Tū, Tangata ora courses. She achieved Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2018.
With a continuous goal to master and deliver teaching material in a manner that inspires her students to discover more, she says: "My approach to teaching can be summarised as ‘kāore he mutunga o te ako’ - there is no ending to learning."
