Dates to Note
- Already mentioned:
1-28 Feb Bikewise month. Many cities will run a bike-to-work day www.bikewise.co.nz
1-28 Feb Heart Awareness Month www.heartfoundation.org.nz/for-women
5 Feb Safer Internet Day https://www.netsafe.org.nz/safer-internet-day/
5 Feb Chinese New Year begins https://chinesenewyear.net/
7 Feb National Periodic Table day http://www.periodictableday.org/
11 Feb International Day of Women and Girls in Science http://goo.gl/7e6wpA
12 Feb International Charles Darwin Day www.darwinday.org/index.php
Moon NM Feb. 5 1Q Feb. 13 FM Feb. 20 3Q Feb. 27
- Dr Philip Hume is giving 2 more lectures on Ornamental to detrimental: The invasion of NZ by non-native plants – 11 Feb in Rotorua & 18 Feb in Wellington.
Info
- Culturally Responsive & Relational Pedagogy:
- This website will send you one word a day in te reo Māori. You can also download a one-page pdf of the word & its meaning to put up on the wall. https://kupu.maori.nz/
- Science Learning Hub Collection on opportunities for using te reo Māori in science https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/collections/shared/4191138fd06831288405c462f7a8dfee
- Pedagogy:
- Rosemary Hipkins discusses the opportunities and challenges in using context effectively to enrich student learning. https://education.nzta.govt.nz/case-studies/case-studies-of-teaching-and-learning/secondary-case-studies-collection/
- Webinars on personalized project-based learning from Hapara.
- LEARNZ virtual field trips this term (scroll down below map to get the info) include Kapiti marine reserve, Tasman Bay for Sea week, a water cycle journey from mountain to farm to us, how to do a bioblitz at your school. Wow! See PLD later in this post for a learning opportunity on how to access these. http://www2.learnz.org.nz/core-fieldtrips.php
Resources
- Geology:
- ELI activity where students look at the stones used for buildings and in parks and cemeteries, identify their key features and work out the stories locked up in the rocks. https://www.earthlearningidea.com/PDF/306_Urban_fieldwork.pdf
- Astronomy:
- What are some of the challenges to Mars travel? The Conversation
- New Horizons spacecraft has flown by and photographed Ultima Thule, a Kuiper Belt Object beyond Pluto. https://www.sciencenews.org/article/live-updates-new-horizons-flyby-kuiper-belt-ultima-thule
- Chemistry:
- A Periodic Table Challenge to start our year of the Periodic Table. https://iupac.org/100/pt-challenge/
- Fire risk across NZ will be skyrocketing – teach the chemistry of fire while making students aware of risks and how we can all help to manage them. Managing fire risk in the outdoors interactive: http://bit.ly/2sN3ElE Science Learning Hub
- Biology:
- A TED talk on how phages could provide new hope against the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
- Infographic on Takahe conservation
- Physics:
- A freebie from Teachers Pay Teachers on using snowballs to learn about Newton’s 2nd law
- Smithsonian article – what is wind chill and how does it affect humans?
- Literacy:
- The National Library offers a service called AnyQuestions that helps students find good links for their research projects. Info attached.
AnyQuestions service from National Library
- EfS:
- Learning Hub’s collection of resources on Climate Change https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/collections/shared/93c3bd860dfdb7053845aab83924ac90
MoE/NZQA
- Guides for curriculum leaders on developing a local curriculum.
http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Reviewing-your-curriculum/Leading-Local-Curriculum-Guide-series
Can You Help?
- Some HoFs will have TeachFirst teachers joining their science team this year. They will learn a lot about pedagogy through TeachFirst, but perhaps not much that is specific to science. How do we distill all our teaching experience into science mentoring for them? What do HoFs & others do? Have you found any good readings/resources/strategies useful for this? Please email me at stone@learningsolutions.co.nz if you have ideas to share. I will add them to a later post of Mike’s News.
Professional Learning & Development (PLD) Opportunities
- PLD from Learning Network NZ ph 09 835 0912
- Women in Leadership – Auckland, 14 March, Mary-Ann Murphy. Info here.
- Co-Teaching & Collaboration – Auckland, 15 March, Mark Osbourne. Info here.
- The Learning Process – Auckland 18 March, Mark Treadwell. Info here.
- LEARNZ is holding a free, informal, online PLD session about their virtual field trips for term 1 on Tues 12 Feb at 3:30 pm. Learn about the places you will go, scientists you will meet & how to integrate these trips into your teaching and learning program. More info here.
- Online PLD from National STEM Learning Centre (UK) Linking STEM Learning to Careers – 3h learning per week over 4 weeks from 4 March. Free (or $69 for certificate & continued access after 6 weeks).
- Teachers Council is running PLD on Tapasā – teaching Pacific learners – for teachers in all sectors, on week days for 2h after school. This is the latest incarnation of the Pacific Education Plan – make sure your school is represented. Click here for dates and times. To obtain a registration form, email with your preferred date tapasaregistrations@educationcouncil.org.nz
Cheers, Mike