Midwinter warmers for science and pūtaiao
We have lots of new content to spark curiosity and discussion – in the classroom, in the garden and in the staffroom!
Mātauranga Māori of kōwhai
It may feel grey and wintry at the moment, but it won’t be long before the first of the early-flowering kōwhai trees brighten the landscape. Educator Chloe Stantiall used insights from a week-long teaching and learning sequence to create the following resources:
Mātauranga Māori of kōwhai – article
Exploring kōwhai mātauranga in the classroom – PLD article
Collecting kōwhai seeds | Kohikohia ngā kākano kōwhai – activity
Planting kōwhai seeds | Whakatōngia kākano kōwhai – activity
Observing kōwhai | Āta titiro kōwhai – activity
Creating kōwhai infographics – activity
The easy-to-use activities are designed to spark curiosity and encourage investigation!
Kōwhai Wonders
Kōwhai Wonders is an anthology of poems and infographics produced by students after a week-long kōwhai unit. Having the opportunity to share their scientific learning in creative formats allowed students to see the relevance of science in all areas of school and everyday life.
Celebrating Matariki
Wintry weather also marks the reappearance of the Matariki star cluster. Matariki presents an authentic context to explore te taiao (the environment) through scientific and mātauranga Māori lenses. Each whetū in the Matariki cluster is associated with an aspect of wellbeing and the environment. We’ve curated resources in this colllection– along with teaching notes and pedagogical suggestions.
There are lots of great crossovers to literacy and the arts:
Exploring the images and whakataukī connecting to Te Kāhui o Matariki – inspiration for art and poetry
Picturebooks for Matariki – recorded webinar
Matariki picture books and science – collection that connects New Zealand picturebooks with science concepts and supporting resources.
We’ve collated a selection of events that celebrate Matariki across the motu. If you know of events we have missed, please do get in touch: enquiries@sciencelearn.org.nz.
Coming soon – the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey
Mark your calendar and get ready to spread your wings! Aotearoa New Zealand’s longest running citizen science project – the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey – is taking place from 29 June to 7 July. We’re creating a suite of resources to support kaiako and tauira to immerse themselves in learning, understanding and acknowledging the birdlife in their local environment. They will be live soon (mid-June) – so keep an eye on our notification bell and social media. Until then, check out our context for learning – it offers ideas for making the most of the survey.
Participating in the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey
Completing the New Zealand Garden Bird Survey helps researchers understand how birds are coping with environmental challenges. It also helps to build a long-term biodiversity dataset to understand the impact of climate change on ecosystems and biodiversity.
Contemporary perspectives – science and society
The Hub’s core purpose is to tell the stories of science and pūtaiao – as contexts for creating relevant and engaging classroom programmes. We partner with other science communication platforms, including The Conversation and Rural Delivery to present contemporary research and perspectives, supported by our wrap-around teaching resources. Use the following as provocations for learning or to complement your existing resources. They’re ideal for enhancing literacy and critical reading skills.
New content includes:
Developing a new plant-based protein – Rural Delivery
Sharks and rays facing extinction – The Conversation
The World’s spectacular animal migrations are dwindling – The Conversation
A clock in the rocks: Cosmic rays and Earth science – The Conversation
Leaft Foods
New Zealand company Leaft Foods has developed technology to extract rubisco, a high-value protein found in leafy greens.
Select here to view video transcript, questions for discussion and copyright information
Professional learning and development webinars
Educational experts Dr Rosemary Hipkins and Pauline Waiti joined us to explore the learning benefits of a knowledge systems approach to science. As always, Rose and Pauline give us lots to consider. We’ve repackaged the webinar into five shorter videos along with questions to prompt further thinking and understanding.
Thank you to everyone who joined our Observology for the classroom webinar with guest author and illustrator Giselle Clarkson. Congratulations to our 3 book winners! We are working on the edited recording now and hope to have this live soon.
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Your feedback
We hope you enjoy using the Science Learning Hub – Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao in your teaching and would love to hear from you. Your comments, ideas and feedback can be emailed to enquiries@sciencelearn.org.nz.
Noho ora mai
Science Learning Hub – Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao
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