Our website uses cookies

We are continually striving to enhance our website for our users. To do this, we use anonymous data provided by cookies to understand your interaction with our site. By clicking “accept,” you agree to our use of these technologies for marketing and analytics purposes. See Privacy Statement

Academic Staff

Ngā Kaimahi Mātauranga

Top Banner_Blue_Te Rito Maioha Primary Pattern
  1. Home
  2. Academic Staff
  3. Dr Lakshmi Chellapan

Dr Lakshmi Chellapan

Senior Lecturer

Pūkenga Matua

Christchurch | Ōtautahi

Role

Lakshmi is currently teaching in the Postgraduate and Bachelor of Teaching (ECE) programmes. She is a visiting lecturer for Bachelor of Teaching (ECE) and Graduate Diploma tauira. She teaches the Leadership course for the Postgraduate Diploma and CHD2 for the Bachelor of Teaching (ECE).


Education Background

Lakshmi has been an educator for more than 20 years. She has taught in various educational institutions both in Malaysia and New Zealand. She has worked as a primary and secondary school teacher, teacher trainer, lecturer and early childhood teacher. The highlight of her career was when she got her New Zealand teaching certificate and started her journey as a guest lecturer and an ECE-Kaiako in New Zealand. Lakshmi was then offered a position as a lecturer for the Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education at a private institution in Auckland, where she also supervised master’s students, before Covid hit globally. She then worked at a secondary school as an ELL teacher before starting her journey at Te Rito Maioha as a lecturer.


Research Background

As a qualified primary and secondary English teacher and researcher, Lakshmi is interested in teacher education and educational development. Her research interests lie in the broad area of blended learning and innovative teaching. In particular, she is interested in research that helps educators improve pedagogical approaches to teaching and assessment to increase student academic achievement. She is also interested in exploring the rationale and passion for working with children in early childhood education (with a particular interest in migrant and international students). Her current research focuses on Home-based Education and Care and ECE Migrant Teachers Adapting to Biculturalism Curriculum in Aotearoa.


Teaching Interests

In her previous work as a teacher and lecturer in Malaysia, Lakshmi has achieved many successes and honours. Since her appointment at Te Rito Maioha, she has been involved in various courses as a facilitator, assignment marker, student support, overviewing online conversations and student visits for the Bachelor of Teaching (ECE). She wanted to gain as much experience as possible before setting out to become an ECE teacher and advocate for young learners. To become an ECE teacher for young people, she used to envisage and mentally prepared herself to be a future advocate in this field. Attaining an advocate for ECE is a lifelong process and she has meticulously used every teaching opportunity that came her way to understand what student teachers need, how to communicate ideas and knowledge to them, how to observe and learn from them, and how to be actively aware of new developments and trends in the field of ECE and teaching.


Recent Publications

Chellapan, L (2013) “If you talk it is just talking, If I talk is that bragging”? Perspectives of parents with young gifted children in New Zealand. The New Zealand Journal of Gifted Education.

Chellapan, L; Van der Meer, J. (2013) “To flip or not to flip that the question” http://www.jofdl.nz/index.php/JOFDL

Chellapan, L; Van der Meer, J. (2016) Challenges in implementing the flipped classroom model in higher education. In Handbook of research on active learning and the flipped classroom model in the digital age (pp. 352-365). IGI Global.

Bottom Pattern