Te Reo Māori Project - Te Whata Kura Ahupūngao

Academic staff and students from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand and the MacDiarmid Institute have collaborated with pupils and teachers at Te Kura Māori O Porirua and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori O Te Ara Whānui on an important and exciting project to develop physics education multimedia resources in English and Te Reo Māori. The goal of the project is to increase the uptake of science and technology by Māori pupils and their whanau.

The first and second phases of this project, sponsored by Te Puni Kokiri, with additional funding from the Faculty of Science (Equity Area), and MacDiarmid Institute, are now completed. They resulted in the development of resources that are mostly connected with the themes of electricity production in New Zealand and waves, illustrating concepts from mechanics, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics and fluids, optics, sound, and energy conservation.

The launching of the multimedia resources

The former Minister of Māori Affairs, the Hon Parekura Horomia, enjoys the multimedia resources at the New Zealand Physics Teachers' Picnic in Wellington, 24 November 2006.

Click here to go directly to the multimedia resources

We have said many times that the most important participants in Te Whata Kura Ahupūngao are the pupils, families, and teachers at the Kura we work with: tauira, kaiako, whanau of Te Kura Maori o Porirua and Te Kura Kaupapa o Te Ara Whanui.

We are all continuing to develop resources and help schools use them effectively as part of an extended Action Research project that seeks to make a significant impact on science education in New Zealand and overseas.