Video: Vicki Moffat and Manaaki Whenua on mutual benefits to kura and science institutions

During her placement at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, Vicki was able to research the microbiology and morphology of fungi and bacteria.

Vicki says her personal, professional and scientific development through the programme has been far greater than she ever anticipated.

She says the relationships she has built at Manaaki Whenua and with other participants in STLP means that she can return to school with a bank of resources she can use to teach science.

Rose says that it’s important for teachers and scientists to work together because all scientists were school kids at one point:

"For a lot of us, that’s where our love of science began."

Rose says her experience as a host has been "fantastic."

She says hosting a teacher has allowed her to do something different, empowering Vicki to take the lead with her guidance and mentorship. 

"[Being a host] gives us a chance to do some fun stuff that we wouldn't normally do, like this probiotic project that we're working on.”

"I'm just there to guide her through, help her design experiments and look at results."

Rose encourages other organisations looking to host a teacher to "just go for it, it’s so rewarding".

She says it’s important to meet with the participant teacher to see what their aspirations are and plan a programme with them from there.

“Involve as many people in your organisation as possible, so that your teacher gets a chance to experience a diversity of roles within your organisation.”

Peter says the Science Teaching Leadership Programme helps students demystify science and science institutions.

"We’re not ivory towers – the people who work here are just normal people, they just happen to have skills in science."

Peter says he sees teachers returning from their STLP placements with more motivation in their teaching, and hands-on experiences to teach their students about.

When it comes to the benefits for the host organisations, Peter says it’s “all gain”.

“I would suspect that it is for any other organisation that has a perspective on outreach for their own science – having a teacher present only adds to that.”