Science Teaching Leadership Programme

My time away from the classroom has raced by and I am excited to be heading back to the classroom in term three. 

For the past 5 months, I have been a participant in the Science Teaching Leadership Programme facilitated by the Royal Society Te Apārangi and funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The focus of the programme is the Nature of Science; focusing on what Science is and how Scientists work. I have been lucky to have been hosted by Associate Professor Andrew Gorman and based at the Geology Department at the University of Otago.

During my time away from school, I have had the opportunity to visit the Catlins Area with university students to learn about Geological features of the area. I have spent 3 days at sea on the Polaris II research vessel mapping the ocean floor about 35km off the coast of Oamaru and I have travelled to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to visit many other high schools and see what they are doing in their Science classrooms.

While I have had so many amazing learning experiences on this journey, the best part has been the people I have met. I have encountered a diverse variety of people, their attitudes, interests and abilities have had a profound impact on my understanding of Science education from primary, intermediate and secondary teachers through to tertiary educators. I have been truly inspired by the passion, kindness and enthusiasm of all the educators I have met. They are such an inspiring collective of individuals that I believe Science Education within New Zealand is within very capable hands, but still requires ongoing commitment from us all. This experience has given me a new appreciation for primary teachers and the challenges they face and I realise that we all need to support and encourage Science Education in schools to ensure that we grow from good Science Education to great Science Education.

I feel very privileged to have been an STLP participant and as I return to school I will be supporting the Science Department to create a junior scheme that really embraces all that I have learnt and provides young learners the opportunity to develop their passion for Science. I would like to thank Dr Murray Thompson and the Science Department team for their positivity and support for me on this journey and I would also like to thank Kristan Mouat and the Logan Park Senior Management team for their ongoing support.