Dr. Veronica (Ronnie) O’Toole

Dr Ronnie O'ToolePosition

Senior Lecturer

Qualifications

PhD, BA(Hons)
BEd (Canterbury)
Dip Tchg (Tertiary)
DSR (London)
Fulbright-Cognition Scholar in Educational Research 2010

Room

Wheki 321

Contact Details

Phone: +64 3 364 2987 ext: 44138
Internal Phone: 44138
Email: veronica.o'toole@canterbury.ac.nz

Background

Veronica is a qualified adult educator and former health professional, with extensive experience in mentoring and facilitating the professional development of adult educators. Veronica was a lecturer in Adult Education in the former Christchurch College of Education prior to its merger with the University of Canterbury, following which she was based in Continuing and Bridging Education for three years. With the transfer of the Diploma in Adult Teaching and Learning to Educational Studies and Leadership, Veronica has now moved back to the College. Veronica's prior adult and tertiary teaching experience includes Hospital, Polytechnic, College of Education, Community Education and Private Sector contexts. She has also tutored in education and psychology degree programmes at UC, and supervised classroom-based research of qualified teachers upgrading to bachelor’s degree, from early childhood through to secondary school level.

Veronica is an authorised instructor of Thomas Gordon’s Effectiveness Training for Teachers (TET) and parents (PET). She is also an authorised instructor of Richard Bolstad’s Transforming Communication. In her former role as Head of School of Radiography, Veronica was the Project Team Leader for the development of the Bachelor of Medical Imaging.

Veronica was a Research Assistant and PhD student for four years from 1999, with the late Professor Graham Nuthall’s Project on Learning which was based in the former Education Department of the University of Canterbury. In December 2006, Veronica was the inaugural recipient of the Sutton-Smith Award for excellence for her doctoral thesis. Veronica’s research and teaching interest is the role of emotion in teaching and learning across the lifespan. In 2011 as visiting Fulbright-Cognition Scholar in Educational Research, Veronica spent six weeks in the Educational Leadership Department at Wichita State University and seven weeks at the Health Emotion and Behavior Lab (HEB Lab) at Yale University.

Administrative Responsibilities

  • Course Coordinator EDUC 205 Critical Issues in Adult Learning
  • Course Coordinator EDEM 654  Adult Learning and Education
  • Qualification Coordinator Diploma in Adult Teaching and Learning (DipATL)        

Courses

Diploma in Adult Teaching and Learning (DipATL)

ADTL581 Core Skills and Knowledge for Adult Teaching
ADTL682 Facilitating Adult Learning in Groups
ADTL784 Enhancing Performance as an Adult Educator
ADTL786 Professional Practice Project
ADTL787 Psychological Perspectives in Adult Learning
ADTL788 Current Issues in Adult Teaching and Learning

Research Student Supervisions

Masters Students (current)

Jean Cory-Wright

An exploratory study of student perspectives of the impact on their learning, of emotionally engaging teaching methods set in the outdoors. M.Ed (120 credit thesis) Primary supervisor

Brett Clarke

Co-supervisor

Masters Students (completed)

Alison Ogier Price 2007

Can happiness be taught?The effects on subjective wellbeing of attending a course in positive psychology that includes the practice of multiple interventions. MSc in Psychology (120 credit thesis)

Doctoral Students (Completed)

Wesley Gray
2010

A discursive study of the role of models of emotion in teaching and learning.

Research

Please see Veronica's UC Research Profile for a full list of publications.