The Beginning

First off I have to say I consider myself very fortunate to have the chance to do what I am doing. I have a Primary Science Teacher Fellowship funded by the government and administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand. This means I am out of the classroom for the rest of this year to learn about science and science teaching. My programme is called TIDE, which stands for Tapuae Intertidal Data Exploration. I am being hosted by two organisations. The Taranaki Regional Council are allowing me to accompany Erin Zydervelt, a marine biologist, into the field. The Nga Motu Marine Reserve Society are my other host and Elise Smith, an ecologist is my contact person.
I am going to be carrying out some quadrat studies along some transects within, and outside the Tapuae Marine Reserve just South of New Plymouth.
The next part is to improve my own knowledge of science processes and the nature of science. By being involved in the field and with data input I will have a greater understanding of these things.
The other part of my time out of the classroom is to study the teaching of science and ways to improve this. My duty next year is to lead the other teachers at West End in improving the level of science teaching in the whole school.
These next few months will be a busy time, full of learning and new experiences. This blog will be a place to record some of the things I do, to publish some of the photos I take, and a place to note down some of my musings about the whole process.
I am looking forward to this amazing opportunity I have been given.