When her father became too ill to work, a young Dr Moeed was told that the family could no longer afford to put her through medical training. She chose to pursue a teaching career instead—and she has never looked back, having recently been recognised by Victoria with a prestigious Teaching Excellence award.
Born and raised in India, Dr Moeed was one of just 70 students from more than 7000 applicants to be accepted onto a Bachelor of Education course in her home town of Lucknow. She was then awarded a scholarship to do her Masters of Education, and once it was completed she moved to New Zealand in 1975.
Her first experience of the New Zealand job market was challenging. “I tried to apply for a job in a secondary school, but couldn’t get past the receptionist—she said they didn’t want an Indian on their staff because they’d had ‘problems’ with teachers from other cultures,” says Dr Moeed. “So fortunately I never ended up working there! But that was the only negative thing that has happened over my 40-year teaching career in New Zealand.”
Since then Dr Moeed has been offered every job she’s applied for. Until she joined Victoria in 2000, she taught science in primary and secondary schools in Wellington, including a period as head of science at Upper Hutt College. She also trained to be a playcentre supervisor. Having experience from early childhood to tertiary education has proven hugely useful in her current role. “I have taught children—and now adults—of all ages. You need to care about the learner and about their learning, and—most importantly—you must make sure they can see that. If they know you’re passionate about their learning, they will come to the party. The age of the student doesn’t matter in that respect.”
Her PhD, undertaken while she was working full time at Victoria, focused on teaching science investigation in New Zealand secondary schools, especially the connections between motivation to learn, learning and assessment. “People are whole—you can’t just research learning and forget about the person and what motivates them,” she says.
“Unfortunately assessment has too great a role to play these days. If you only teach them what you’re going to assess, they might be able to perform that task and that’s it. But if you teach them so that they understand, they’ll be able to perform that task as well as a whole lot more. You have to relate information so that pupils understand what you’re teaching them, rather than simply recite it back to you.”
The other key to being a good teacher, Dr Moeed believes, is finding a way to connect with every student. “It’s very important to get to know each student and to allow them to get to know you. I’ve always done that subconsciously but never actually realised this until a student told me he really appreciated the effort I made to include every student in my lessons.”
Since her decision to study teaching, Dr Moeed has never looked back. “Teaching is definitely ‘me’—I think I have found what I really love. I really enjoy it. It’s a way of life for me—whatever I do in everyday life, I’m always thinking about the learning opportunity an activity offers.”