Zara Rafferty, Recreation and Leisure Studies
Zara Rafferty is a Continuing Lecturer in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies within the Faculty of Health. She is described as charismatic, passionate, and engaging. She builds great rapport with her students, evidenced by the number of students who stay after her lectures to greet and interact with her. One student says, “you can effortlessly see Zara’s charisma through her pedagogy; she communicates the subject matter with passion and transparency. Zara focuses on ensuring quality education is accessible to all students by completing many mental health-related training programs”. Zara dedicates time and effort into accommodating student needs and ensuring her courses are designed with inclusion in mind. One student describes how Zara creates a supportive classroom culture: “Zara’s impact on student learning is that she is personable, making her approachable when you have a question or a concern”. Zara makes an effort to promote engagement and deep learning through strategies such as gamification, simulation, case-based learning, and interactive prompts. Students offer glowing endorsements and a tremendous amount of affection when discussing her teaching: “Zara has shown me what passion for teaching really looks like and that when you love what you do you never work a day in your life”.