The Science Learning Hub – Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao offers a range of opportunities to support teachers’ science teaching and increase their own science knowledge and understanding. These include the resources and articles published in the Teacher Professional Learning and Development (PLD) section. You'll find information from webinars, and about planning and pedagogy. Other opportunities are outlined below.
We advertise upcoming webinars under the Professional Development filter in our Events section and in the Education Gazette. To be alerted to upcoming sessions or find out about other new content, sign up to receive our newsletters. Keep an eye on the notification bell on our website (top right-hand corner) to see alerts on upcoming PLD. We also regularly tweet about upcoming events and post on our Facebook page.
We also have a very helpful video about our PLD content and support in the How the Hub can help article here.
- Webinars
- Using Zoom to access our webinars
- Planning
- Pedagogy
- SLACK discussion forum
- PLD certification
- Collections tool
- Curated resource collections on Pinterest
- Social media
Webinars
We host a large number of webinars that have been recorded, edited and uploaded as webinar articles. These can be viewed online or downloaded. The live webinars are generally held on Thursday afternoons from 4.00–4.45pm. The published articles also include a downloadable slideshow and related links. The Science Learning Hub produces about 12 of these each year, and they cover a wide variety of topics ranging from contextually based sessions to those designed to support teachers in planning and pedagogy.
Well done! So glad I was a participant today – resource rich, fun, totally engaging and relevant. Ka mau te wehi korua.
Webinar participant 2018
To run the live webinars, we use Zoom.Zoom is a web-conferencing tool being used by a number of other educators, if you've been on a LEARNZ field trip, you’ve probably used Zoom already. Our registration process is the same as before and you will be emailed with a link to the webinar so you can join us on the day.
Information about our webinars are also shared through our social media channels and on our website.
Our recorded webinars are here.
Upcoming SLH PLD webinars
Links to further information will be coming soon, but lock these dates in your diary now:
- Whakanui Pūtaiao, 13 May – celebrating National Primary Science week, engaging with Māori scientists and their mahi
- Science through picture books, 17 June (link coming soon) – be inspired to grow your science programme using picture books (link coming soon.
Using Zoom to join the webinar
Follow these simple steps to join our webinar on Zoom:
- Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android by clicking on the link https://waikato.zoom.us/j/359736528 and following the instructions. You can also access Zoom on your phone, just follow the prompts.
- Find the chat box located in the toolbar at the bottom of your screen. You may need to access this by clicking on ‘More’.
- Using the chat box, introduce yourself, where you teach and, if you are in a group, how many people are there.
- Set up your screen for optimal viewing. If you’re using a mobile device, you may wish to view in landscape. We recommend selecting a thumbnail view of the presenters – this way, you can easily see what is being shared on the screen.
Then you can:
- watch, listen and respond via chat to the presentation and discussion
- ask questions using the chat box at any time
The Science Learning Hub team will be there to support you and answer questions or you can email us.
Zoom also offers a range of support documents and video tutorials. For example Getting Started.
Planning
Many of these articles have been written specifically to support teachers in planning science programmes and activities. Some of these are based on specific science topics, and others are more generic. The resources offered here include planning pathways, unit plans and contextual support materials. These can be used as is or downloaded and modified to suit specific needs. Some of the webinars are also designed to support planning.
See the content under the Teacher PLD Planning section here.
Pedagogy
The Science Learning Hub offers a range of articles written to support teachers in effective science pedagogy. These resources include case studies of different approaches taken to science teaching, aspects of curriculum implementation, science capabilities and the nature of science. As with the resources to support planning, some are embedded within a particular context, and others are more generic. Some of the webinars also offer pedagogical support.
See the content under the Teacher PLD Pedagogy section here.
SLACK discussion forum
The Science Learning Hub hosts a discussion forum in Slack, which offers opportunities for teachers to share ideas, resources and reflections on their learning.
The Science Learning Hub can be found at slh-talk.slack.com. You will need to register, but it is a quick process and it's open to anyone.
Once you have joined Slack and found the Science Learning Hub workspace, you will be in the General channel. To find all the channels we have created, click on the Channels button up on the left-hand side. This will open a page called Browse channels. All the channels that are available are listed on this page, and you can join any that interest you with a simple click.
Most of the channels are designed to share resources organised under topic headings and are linked to the webinars we hold.
As we are all aware, reflection is an integral part of our professional learning. The Learning reflections channel is designed to support teachers’ reflections and discuss learnings from the Hub PLD webinars.
Please contact us if you have any difficulties.
PLD certification
We currently offer recognition of teachers’ involvement in our online PLD.
To qualify for a professional learning and development certificate, teachers must have:
- registered for and watched a live webinar OR let us know they have viewed one of the Hubs recorded PLD webinars registered and participated in a relevant Slack discussion or in the Slack learning reflections channel.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are unsure if you qualify for a certificate, or would like to let us know you have completed these requirements.
Collections tool
The collections tool helps you sort and classify resources when you are signed in. It has been developed to help you with your science planning and teaching. You can save, sort, classify and annotate resources. Students can also use the collections tool for classtasks such as research or as a study tool. PLD providers or school leaders can use it to provide support and ideas for others. You can access your personal collections from your profile page.
Use the ‘Add to collection’ button on individual resources to begin a new collection or add to an existing collection.
Within a collection, use the notes function to add comments to resources, including public or private notes. These can be used for creating a lesson plan, notes for extension ideas or prompts for students.
Your collections are private, but you can create a shareable link – just copy and share the public URL. If you receive a shareable collections link, click the copy icon to make it part of your private collection. You can now rename it, make changes and/or add extra notes. You can also collaborate with others by inviting them to your collection. Our Creating collections article has more tips on making the most of the collections tool, including a how-to video.
The Science Learning Hub team has created some collections for you to use – you will find them within the related content boxes on some of our resources.– some examples are The periodic table of elements, Climate change and Takahē – science capabilities. There's a full list in the Creating collections article.
If you need more help navigating through your collections, please just ask the team – enquiries@sciencelearn.org.nz.
Curated resource collections on Pinterest
In Pinterest, we have curated collections of resources that have been compiled to support a context or theme, such as the topic of a webinar or a current event, for example, Conservation Week or Seaweek.
Social media
The Hub has an active presence across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These social media platforms allow us to interact with and support Hub users by facilitating closer connections between scientists and educators. They are also key in promoting other relevant resources, connections and conversations in the science/technology education and communication space.
Following us is a great way to make connections between topical events and Hub resources and for keeping up to date with upcoming events and new content. Find out more on how we can help you here.
Primary teachers' help
