In this recorded professional learning session, Shanthie Walker from DOC and Lyn Rogers continue to explore why the whio/blue duck is so important to New Zealand and why it is so endangered. They use the Department of Conservation Whio Forever resource to demonstrate a process of student inquiry into conservation, using whio as a context. This session focuses on the habitat and adaptations of whio.
This session will be valuable for both primary and secondary school teachers.
Watching the recorded webinar creates an opportunity to engage with some ideas and activities from the Science Learning Hub and the Department of Conservation Whio Forever resource. Lyn and Shanthie discuss how these ideas can be used to extend students’ inquiry skills and to build an understanding of the importance of conservation. It will build on understandings about the habitat and adaptations of whio.
Well done! very informative – so much great interesting knowledge about our New Zealand ducks.
Teacher
The PowerPoint and recorded webinar provide ideas and information that will support teachers of any year level to:
- enhance students’ understanding about conservation education
- engage students in inquiry
- help develop students’ science capabilities.
Watch the video (above) of this professional development session (we recommend downloading it) and also see below the index and the PowerPoint presentation.
| Topic | PowerPoint slide number(s) | Video timecode |
| Introducing the Science Learning Hub (SLH) and presenters | 1 | 00:00 |
| Webinar purpose | 2–3 | 00:27 |
| Introducing the Whio Forever resources | 4 | 01:05 |
| Background about EEFS and Conservation education | 5–7 | 01:24 |
| Whio inquiry process | 8–9 | 02:50 |
| Stage 2 – Ask | 9–10 | 04:11 |
| Whakapapa, biodiversity and classification | 11–13 | 06:51 |
| Spot the difference between different ducks – activity | 14–16 | 13:36 |
| Whio habitat activity | 17–27 | 18:07 |
| Whio adaptations | 28–29 | 19:20 |
| What next?, Useful links | 30–32 | 26:38 |
| Thanks | 33 | 27:02 |
Nature of science
This session is part of a series of webinars that models a student inquiry process. Giving students opportunities to work like scientists and apply their learning to conservation action links to both the communicating in science and the participating and contributing strands of the nature of science in the New Zealand Curriculum.
Related content
Examples of related articles on the Science Learning Hub include Who’s who in the duck world?, Introducing New Zealand ducks, Fantastic whio feathers, Conserving native birds – introduction and Conserving native birds – writer’s insight.
There are also several teacher PLD sessions related to this topic: Diving into inquiry with whio, Inquiry outside the classroom, Taking action for conservation, Bird conservation and literacy and SLH and conservation.
Activity ideas
Some activities on the Science Learning Hub related to whio and other New Zealand ducks that you may wish to explore include Whio feathers – what are they for?, Which duck is which?, Mixing and matching ducks, Duck dominoes, Ethics in bird conservation, Eliciting prior knowledge and Ethics in conservation science.
Useful links
The Whio Forever project, created in partnership between the Department of Conservation and Genesis Energy, has developed a range of resources to support student inquiry about whio. There are also several other videos and articles you could look at to learn more about whio, for example, Spare a thought for the blue duck and Remote Blue Duck Station is haven for whio, kiwi and bats.
Posters are a great way of accessing small chunks of information in a very visual way. These Facts about the whio posters produced by DOC are in both English and Te reo Māori and provide a great starting point for finding out more about one of our most unique endemic birds.
Acknowledgement
The Whio Forever resource has been created in partnership between the Department of Conservation and Genesis Energy.
