We are in Tairawhiti which is the area in New Zealand from Gisborne north to East Cape.
And we are running several three-day geohazards science workshops for schools.
These are intermediate schools and the participants are the students
as well as many of their teachers. The idea here is that we
immerse these students in an experience of hands-on science.
The theme is geohazards, so we're learning about earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides and floods.
This is an area prone to these geological hazards and during these
science workshops we try to include the traditional knowledge, the Purakau,
of the local communities as well as our scientific approach to understanding
how these hazards come about.
This is all about the science process:
asking questions, making very careful observations, not jumping to conclusions
too quickly. being systematic and thorough in our approach, and then using
that evidence we can start to bring meaning to what we see and that creates understanding.
So the way we are working here is very hands-on with practical demonstrations
and also problem-solving. We've set up situations where the
students have to design and build a structure to protect the coastline, or to
protect an area from rock fall, or to test material in the creation of a stop-bank beside a river.
So with these models we provide limited materials for the students. They can only
select a certain amount, and so that makes all the models different, and then
together when we review them, we test the models, everybody can learn about the
shortcomings or the benefits of certain approaches. Then this becomes translated
into a real experience when we take the students to areas that are exactly prone
to these particular hazards, and see what engineers have actually done to try
to tackle the same problem.
One of the biggest things I've enjoyed about this, and the kids have, is problem-solving!
A wonderful outcome for our students here on our piece of paradise.
This wonderful experience of observation, of scientific investigation
It gets them thinking about land formation and why things happen, and gets them questioning.
Because it's a real hands-on approach and the students are exploring
themselves, finding things out and discovering things for themselves,
I really like that approach. Things like this, and trying to link what
you do to our environment, is a huge support for the schools and the teachers.
I'm very impressed with the team effort that's gone on from GNS and
presenting it at the right level is what I think too, and at an appropriate pace.
So for myself as a teacher this has been hugely valuable to me because a lot of the
learners I do have are hands on. To be honest, geology wasn't really an area
that I have any expertise in so I wasn't sure how to approach geology at all.
So having experts come in and lead the way has been extremely helpful.