Rate My Professor Lisa Yorke

Lisa Yorke serves as Senior Professional Practice Fellow in the College of Education at the University of Otago, with affiliations to the Humanities Division. Based at the Dunedin campus, she can be reached at DDI +64 3 471 6412 or via email at lisa.yorke@otago.ac.nz. In her role as Kaiāwhina Māori for the College of Education, Lisa Tātāna-Yorke provides comprehensive support to Māori students and staff. This includes academic and pastoral support, advocacy, guidance on scholarships, and cultural advice to help them navigate university life within the Division of Humanities.

Lisa Yorke coordinates the EDPR231 paper, Te Aka and Learning Languages, for the Dunedin campus, alongside Julie Milligan for Southland. The paper structure emphasizes professional studies on the contextual development of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori in the New Zealand educational context, delivered through lectures and tutorials. She is also a key member of the research team for the project titled 'Manaakitia te reo: Tauira perceptions towards maintaining te reo in higher education'. This two-year project, funded in 2025 by the Teaching & Learning Research Initiative and hosted by Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka at the University of Otago, involves Tautemaria Silva as Te Kaiwherawhera Matua, Julia Wilson, Ana Kirk, and Lisa Yorke. It collaborates with Mel Veituna of Ngā Taiātea Wharekura as a research partner. The project identifies barriers and enablers to the use of te reo Māori in universities, particularly for proficient students entering institutions built by Pākeha. It provides guidelines for universities and disciplines to enhance support for te reo Māori, develops strategies to revitalize the language in these environments, and explores transforming universities into safe spaces where undergraduate qualifications can be assessed in te reo Māori. Methods include wānanga sessions with Year 13 students from a focused wharekura and university students across Aotearoa, using audio and video recordings to capture and analyze data across phases, comparing secondary and higher education perspectives.