Rate My Professor Tara Winters

Tara Winters is a Senior Lecturer and Programme Director of the Bachelor of Fine Arts at Elam School of Fine Arts and Design, part of Te Waka Tūhura at the University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau, Aotearoa New Zealand. She holds an MFA from the University of Auckland and has built her academic career at this institution, taking on roles such as Director of Undergraduate Studies and Assistant Dean for Learning and Teaching – Māori. Winters' research specializations center on art and design pedagogy, encompassing pedagogies of creative practice, student well-being in creative disciplines, the integration of digital pedagogies into studio-based teaching, and conceptualizations of the contemporary university as a studio. Her work addresses critical aspects of higher education in the creative arts, including emergency remote teaching during disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic and fostering academic resilience among studio learners.

Winters has authored several influential publications, including 'Emergency Remote Studio Teaching: Notes From the Field' (2021, Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology), 'Academic Resilience as a Concept for Creative Arts Higher Education' (2022, Journal of Art & Design Education), 'Affective and Psycho-Social Dimensions of Creative Learning' (2025, Journal of Further and Higher Education), 'Facilitating Early Research Experience in Art and Design Undergraduate Programmes' (2015), and contributions to proceedings such as 'Something Has Changed: Gauging the Contemporary Climate of Studio Instruction' (AMPS 2021) and 'Metalearning as Reflexive Practice in the Art School' (AAANZ 2023). She actively engages in the academic community through presentations at conferences like ACUADS, AAANZ, and AMPS, and holds significant editorial and leadership positions, serving as Principal Editor of the International Journal of Education Through Art (IJETA) and as a member of the InSEA World Council for 2023-2025. These roles underscore her impact on advancing pedagogical innovation and international dialogue in art education.