Marshland School - Kellen Gillstrom 

Name: Kellen Gillstrom 

School: Marshland School

Programme: ‘Furthering Earth Sciences and Education at the University of Canterbury’

Region: Christchurch 

Host: University of Canterbury, School of Earth and Environment

Te Rito Harakeke - Marshland School aims to strengthen their science curriculum by developing links through other science and education communities across New Zealand, grounded in authentic contexts and supported by the wider community. This opportunity will continue to grow teacher confidence and competence in teaching Science, including a deeper understanding of what they want students to learn, why this is relevant and how learning can be captured to show progress in science.  The kura aims to identify ways teaching and learning in science can result in meaningful application and action to real-world contexts within the local community and beyond its walls.  This will support staff and students to engage in the Nature of Science and maintain curiosity or interest in the world around them.

Kellen has been teaching in Aotearoa for 10 years, working primarily with senior students in Years 7 to 8 coming from a wide range of backgrounds.  With a background in Communications and Journalism, Kellen appreciates the investigative side of the sciences and appreciates its power to blend multiple curriculum areas together through its learning opportunities.

Kellen will be working with the University of Canterbury’s School of Earth and Environment, working with a variety of general research topics conducted primarily by their geology department.  He will be primarily paired with Ben Kennedy, a volcanologist within the university.  Working within both laboratory and field environments, Kellen will be aiming to identify volcanic hazards, their magnitude, and methods to predict their frequency of occurrence.  This will include field opportunities such as an excursion to Mt. Ruapehu and laboratory activities such as the use of a pneumatic cannon to study the force of impacts from meteors or volcanic eruptions.

By the end of the programme, Kellen will seek to have a better understanding of the Nature of Science strand and how the Earth Sciences (especially Volcanology and Geology) can be used as a context to expand student learning in this area, as well as gaining field and laboratory skills.