TIME TO THINK...

Something interesting that I’ve been thinking about recently is the shift in mentality that I’ve had around science since beginning this programme. 

Before, I viewed science as ‘inaccessible’ and ‘intimidating’. I didn’t see myself as a science teacher, or as anything relating to science at all, because I didn’t think I had that knowledge or that skillset. Science was an area that I avoided, and when I had to teach it, I went down a cross-curricular route as that seemed to make it more approachable – integrating art and science was my main method.

Now, having completed five of the six-month placement period, I find that I’m seeing science everywhere, I’m talking about science a whole lot more, and I’m seeing myself – you guessed it – as a scientist and a science teacher. This placement has made science far more accessible, and far less intimidating, which in turn will benefit my students a whole lot more when I’m back in the classroom. 

Our workshops have broken down science within the curriculum in a way that I can understand and am excited to implement and pass along to my colleagues and students. 


Another area of interest that I’ve delved deeper into is mātauranga Māori – Māori knowledge – and how that winds itself into science learning and teaching. Looking at science through a Māori perspective, seeing how maramataka, whakapapa and pūrākau lend itself to scientific concepts and as a way to offer explanations to easier understand the way the world works. Pūrākau in particular, stories, hold so much knowledge and were created for that purpose – to pass knowledge on and aid in understanding the world around us. Maramataka is a fantastic example of mātauranga Māori in science. Maramataka is a calendar that uses the lunar months, and was created after centuries of observing, gathering evidence, predicting, testing, and analysing. The main use of maramataka was predicting when the best times were for certain activities; fishing, kai moana gathering, and planting and harvesting food. Both maramataka and pūrākau show that there are similarities between mātaurnaga Māori and science, and I cannot wait to learn more about it and bring that learning back into my own classroom to pass on.



A mushroom I found during a little
nature hīkoi

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