title: Technology teacher education in New Zealand

authors: Fox-Turnbull, Wendy

subjects: New Zealand

abstract: Undertaken in universities and other approved private providers, technology teacher education in New Zealand involves students in theory and practice. The New Zealand Teaching Council, the teaching professional body, regulates and approves courses and programs. Based on Constructivist principles situated within Sociocultural theory, teacher education in New Zealand focuses on meeting students’ individual learning needs, and is founded on the principles of equality and inclusion, guided by the Te Tiriti o Waitangi, The Treaty of Waitangi, ensuring the specific rights of Māori and the New Zealand Curriculum. Technology, briefly defined as Intervention by Design, occurs through a range of contexts across three strands for learning: Technological Practice, the Nature of Technology, and Technological Knowledge, and within five technological areas: Designing and Developing Materials Technologies, Designing and Developing Processed Technologies and Designing and Developing Digital Technologies, Design and Visual Communication and Computational Thinking. Technology in New Zealand, although world leading, faces a number of challenges. These include a lack of understanding of the philosophy and key ideas that underpin technology, low subject status based on its predecessor technical education, and the lack of time and facilities available in teacher education programs. Many currently practicing specialist technology teachers struggle with the philosophical changes needed to move technology from a technical, skills-based program to the needs-based student-centered program outlined in the current curriculum. Over recent years in primary education in New Zealand, the Ministry of Education’s focus on literacy and numeracy has led to the marginalization of technology education in schools and teacher education programs. It is hoped that recent revisions to increase the presence of digital technologies in the technology curriculum, and the move to teaching through inquiry, whilst acknowledging students’ lived experiences facilitates the consolidation of technology education as a learning area of status incorporating the duality of practical and academic thinking.

text: Technology teacher education in New Zealand Undertaken in universities and other approved private providers, technology teacher education in New Zealand involves students in theory and practice. The New Zealand Teaching Council, the teaching professional body, regulates and approves courses and programs. Based on Constructivist principles situated within Sociocultural theory, teacher education in New Zealand focuses on meeting students’ individual learning needs, and is founded on the principles of equality and inclusion, guided by the Te Tiriti o Waitangi, The Treaty of Waitangi, ensuring the specific rights of Māori and the New Zealand Curriculum. Technology, briefly defined as Intervention by Design, occurs through a range of contexts across three strands for learning: Technological Practice, the Nature of Technology, and Technological Knowledge, and within five technological areas: Designing and Developing Materials Technologies, Designing and Developing Processed Technologies and Designing and Developing Digital Technologies, Design and Visual Communication and Computational Thinking. Technology in New Zealand, although world leading, faces a number of challenges. These include a lack of understanding of the philosophy and key ideas that underpin technology, low subject status based on its predecessor technical education, and the lack of time and facilities available in teacher education programs. Many currently practicing specialist technology teachers struggle with the philosophical changes needed to move technology from a technical, skills-based program to the needs-based student-centered program outlined in the current curriculum. Over recent years in primary education in New Zealand, the Ministry of Education’s focus on literacy and numeracy has led to the marginalization of technology education in schools and teacher education programs. It is hoped that recent revisions to increase the presence of digital technologies in the technology curriculum, and the move to teaching through inquiry, whilst acknowledging students’ lived experiences facilitates the consolidation of technology education as a learning area of status incorporating the duality of practical and academic thinking.

year: 2020

title: Burial duration and frequency influences resilience of differing propagule types in a subtidal seagrass, Posidonia australis

authors: Campbell, Marnie L.

abstract: Sedimentation that leads to periodic, and often prolonged, burial events is becoming more common on the world’s coastlines as human populations expand and create urbanised marine environments. Different seagrass species react differently to sediment burial but many species in the southern hemisphere are yet to be examined. How seagrasses react to burial has restoration implications. There is a need to critically assess seagrass transplant propagule responses to periodic (pulse) and prolonged (press) burial events before selecting the most appropriate species, transplant propagule, and transplant site. In my study, mesocosm experiments, coupled with field measurements were used to assess how sexual (seedlings) and vegetative (sprigs) propagules of Posidonia australis responded to pulse and press burial events. Seedlings were highly susceptible to burial (both pulse and press), with no survival at the end of the experimental period. In contrast, rhizome growth in vegetative propagules was stimulated by pulse burial, although press burial events resulted in mortality. The implication for Posidonia australis restoration efforts in areas where burial is periodic, was that vegetative propagules are optimal transplant units, in comparison to seedlings. Press burial however, renders a transplant site sub-optimal for both seedling and sprig transplants.

text: Burial duration and frequency influences resilience of differing propagule types in a subtidal seagrass, Posidonia australis Sedimentation that leads to periodic, and often prolonged, burial events is becoming more common on the world’s coastlines as human populations expand and create urbanised marine environments. Different seagrass species react differently to sediment burial but many species in the southern hemisphere are yet to be examined. How seagrasses react to burial has restoration implications. There is a need to critically assess seagrass transplant propagule responses to periodic (pulse) and prolonged (press) burial events before selecting the most appropriate species, transplant propagule, and transplant site. In my study, mesocosm experiments, coupled with field measurements were used to assess how sexual (seedlings) and vegetative (sprigs) propagules of Posidonia australis responded to pulse and press burial events. Seedlings were highly susceptible to burial (both pulse and press), with no survival at the end of the experimental period. In contrast, rhizome growth in vegetative propagules was stimulated by pulse burial, although press burial events resulted in mortality. The implication for Posidonia australis restoration efforts in areas where burial is periodic, was that vegetative propagules are optimal transplant units, in comparison to seedlings. Press burial however, renders a transplant site sub-optimal for both seedling and sprig transplants.

year: 2016

title: Ecological modelling of water quality management options in Lake Waahi to support Hauanga Kai species: Technical Report

authors: Allan, Mathew Grant

abstract: This report describes a numerical modelling approach for Lake Waahi to assess the effects of various future scenarios on water quality attributes known to affect the appearance of the lake’s multiple hauanga kai species across differing spatial scales. Hauanga kai refers to customary gathering and use of naturally occurring and cultivated foods. Numerical models were used to support shared learning and development of future scenarios in response to different management options and environmental pressures. The shallow lakes of the Waikato region have been particularly impacted by anthropogenic eutrophication. This is due to the fact that many of these lakes have already undergone a degree of natural eutrophication due to their geomorphic properties, such as their low elevation and shallow depth. The main contributing factors to water quality decline in shallow Waikato lakes have been identified as: high external nutrient and sediment loads, internal loading exacerbated by high sediment resuspension and bioturbation from pest fish (carp), reduced water depth due to installation of water control structures, reduction in wetland filtering potential due to draining, and stock access to wetlands. A 1-D hydrodynamics model, the General Ocean Turbulence Model was coupled to a complex ecological model (PClake) via the Framework for Aquatic Biogeochemical Models (FABM). FABM is an open source FORTAN-based code that facilitates the coupling of hydrodynamic and ecological models. FABM-PCLake is a redesigned PCLake. The consensus from the model simulations carried out in the study suggests that, for Lake Waahi to undergo restoration whereby the lake is restored to clear-water stable state, both external load needs to be reduced significantly by greater than 50%, along with changes in lake ecological structure, resulting from re-establishment of macrophytes aided by the control of carp biomass. These finding supports the general view within the literature that for lake restoration success, external load reduction (catchment load) is critical. Finally, if the ultimate goal of lake restoration in Lake Waahi is to address the decline in tuna (shortfin eel - Anguilla australis) biomass, a return to a clear-water stable state should facilitate improvement in tuna habitat and provide the conditions for development of a healthy eel population. Coupled modelling approaches will provide a more complete picture of potential responses of Hauanga kai species to land and lake management scenarios.

text: Ecological modelling of water quality management options in Lake Waahi to support Hauanga Kai species: Technical Report This report describes a numerical modelling approach for Lake Waahi to assess the effects of various future scenarios on water quality attributes known to affect the appearance of the lake’s multiple hauanga kai species across differing spatial scales. Hauanga kai refers to customary gathering and use of naturally occurring and cultivated foods. Numerical models were used to support shared learning and development of future scenarios in response to different management options and environmental pressures. The shallow lakes of the Waikato region have been particularly impacted by anthropogenic eutrophication. This is due to the fact that many of these lakes have already undergone a degree of natural eutrophication due to their geomorphic properties, such as their low elevation and shallow depth. The main contributing factors to water quality decline in shallow Waikato lakes have been identified as: high external nutrient and sediment loads, internal loading exacerbated by high sediment resuspension and bioturbation from pest fish (carp), reduced water depth due to installation of water control structures, reduction in wetland filtering potential due to draining, and stock access to wetlands. A 1-D hydrodynamics model, the General Ocean Turbulence Model was coupled to a complex ecological model (PClake) via the Framework for Aquatic Biogeochemical Models (FABM). FABM is an open source FORTAN-based code that facilitates the coupling of hydrodynamic and ecological models. FABM-PCLake is a redesigned PCLake. The consensus from the model simulations carried out in the study suggests that, for Lake Waahi to undergo restoration whereby the lake is restored to clear-water stable state, both external load needs to be reduced significantly by greater than 50%, along with changes in lake ecological structure, resulting from re-establishment of macrophytes aided by the control of carp biomass. These finding supports the general view within the literature that for lake restoration success, external load reduction (catchment load) is critical. Finally, if the ultimate goal of lake restoration in Lake Waahi is to address the decline in tuna (shortfin eel - Anguilla australis) biomass, a return to a clear-water stable state should facilitate improvement in tuna habitat and provide the conditions for development of a healthy eel population. Coupled modelling approaches will provide a more complete picture of potential responses of Hauanga kai species to land and lake management scenarios.

year: 2018