SChool NZQA Study & Employment pathways QUALIFICATION
A
fantastic win in an incredibly short time, a Secondary School is
accredited to offer a Tertiary qualification as an alternative to NCEA.
Dr Christine Fenton and Michael Fenton completed the design and application for the Green School New
Zealand programme to deliver a New Zealand Certificate in Study and
Employment Pathways (Level 3 and Level 4).
EdTalks - digital technologies education; 2020 and beyond
Michael ran
a number of workshops at
ULearn 2017 and presented research into the opportunities and
limitations
of the new Digital Technologies curriculum.
He was invited by CORE Education to do an
EdTalk: Here he speaks about the new Digital Technologies curriculum; 5
important points all New Zealand teachers should know...
The focus on
'digital' technology is too narrow and is already out
of date
Creativity
and innovation requires students to consider programming
beyond Scratch or Python coding...instead think in terms of machine
learning.
There are
many opportunities for authentic cross-curricula tasks and
assessing competencies...'working with others' may mean working with
machines!
Beware of
following education 'celebrities' and the pressure to be
seen doing the 'next cool thing' in education.
Start small
if new to Digital Technologies and have fun!
Michael Fenton and
Dr Christine Fenton were finalists in the 2015
Prime Minister's Education Excellence Awards - Excellence in Leading
category. The Open Polytechnic Primary Science Teaching and
Primary Mathematics Teaching qualifications are taught by this
husband and wife team. Michael took a lead role in the design of the
programmes, design of the courses and wrote most of the content. The New Zealand
Ministry of Education interviewed the team led by
Michael, along with two Primary science educators who graduated
from the programmes and now lead science teaching in their
schools.
EDUCATION RESEARCH examples
Fenton, C.D., and Karena, T.
Designing an appropriate methodology to examine if the manifestation of
Māori values in a tertiary trade-based school were positively
influencing the retention and achievement of Māori students Click
here
Fenton, C.D., and Karena, T.
Role of Māori values on student retentionClick
here
TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Keynote speaker on
day two of SciCon 2016 was Michael Fenton.
Michael has a
wealth of diverse experience in education, and his focus is lately on
assisting teachers to make science and maths learning practical, fun,
and hands-on. He uses active learning (project-based learning) to
engage in authentic tasks, using a variety of technologies, some of
which he has invented himself.
Michael’s lecture
was titled 'Putting the science back
into science education – reclaiming the maker space'. Michael's
article on the same theme, which will appear in New Zealand Science
Teacher’s October 2016 journal, talks about current realities for most
science teachers: the equilibrium they need to find between authentic
learning, teaching for assessment, and staying abreast of the evolving
impact that digital technology continues to have on education.
testimonials
"Christine
works to the highest standards and easily understands and works
through the complexities surrounding academic quality and portfolio
review. She works with staff at all levels of the organisation in a
positive and inclusive way. She is well respected because of this.
Christine's
academic leadership was instrumental in achieving Category One External
Evaluation and Review status for WITT. I have the greatest
respect for Christine's capability and have no hesitation in
recommending her."
Richard
Handley, Chief Executive, Western Institute of Technology at
Taranaki ,
2008 - 2013
Michael and Christine
were named finalists in the 2015 Prime Minister's Education Excellence
Awards - Excellence in Leading
category. The Open Polytechnic Primary Science Teaching and
Primary Mathematics Teaching qualifications are taught by this
husband and wife team. Michael took a lead role in the design of the
programmes, design of the courses and wrote most of the content.
"I have been
privileged to visit the Open Polytechnic to see their online science
and maths teaching courses first hand, and I know how impressive they
are. The best thing is that the programme enables teachers to study
while working, allowing teachers to put what they learn online into
practice almost immediately."
"The
work connects with other projects in the community towards sustainable
energy by 2050 in Taranaki...Without the advice, financial assistance
and time devoted by the organisations the project could not have
happened."
Applied Robotics -
Spotswood College - 10 week inquiry-based course
Picaxe and BBC Microbit robots designed and programmed by Michael
Fenton, curriculum design by Michael Fenton to support STEAM focused
learning in consultation with staff.
"We love that you are helping us out...we
really appreciate your skills, time and expertise."
Daleks, Microbit & Picaxe robots,
Jupiter 2 & a Skeleton Crew...monstrous work for Science Fair!
