CV — Michael Fenton

Curriculum Vitae

Research:
- Competence to undertake independent research practice. Royal Society.
- Director - Focus Consultancy.
- Founder / Director - Nexus Research Group.
- Industrial microbiology and chemistry - Tegel Foods.
- Environmental microbiology and genetics - Rhizobium and Giardia.
- Qualification development - Vocational, postgraduate, and Secondary school alternatives to NCEA.
- Leadership and innovation in STEM education - Keynote speaker, participation in high level forums.
- Education research - raising student engagement and achievement using low-cost devices for authentic hands-on learning in science and mathematics.

Consultant:
- Director - Focus Consultancy.
- Founder / Director - Nexus Research Group.
- Qualification development - Vocational, postgraduate, and Secondary school alternatives to NCEA.
- Technology advisor - Enviropower renewable energy project.
- Leadership and innovation in STEM education - Keynote speaker, participation in high level forums.
- Workshop facilitator - STEM teacher professional development, and assessment, moderation, & curriculum design (NZQA & graduate degree level).

Video showcasing some of Michael's innovative teaching as it impacts on raising the quality of science education across New Zealand.

Academic & vocational:
- Resource writing, instructional design, assessment writing, programme design and delivery.
- Developed original hardware and software for STEAM teaching (Primary through to Secondary level)
- Qualification development - all levels, including Secondary school alternatives to NCEA
- Teaching and assesment by distance, online, and at scale - Teacher Education Refresh (TER) and Level 7 Grad.Dip. science and mathematics education and leadership.
- Mentored and supervised in-service classroom teachers and principals to design, carry out and evaluate practice-led action research projects that have improved children’s’ learning outcomes in science and mathematics.
- Science communication - school visits, public speaker.
- Research active - long list of education conference publications/presentations.

STEM subject expertise:
- Postgraduate: Level 7 Grad. Dip. Science and Mathematics Education and Education Leadership.
- Degree: B.App.I.S degree level computer science courses
- Undergraduate Diploma: Level 5 Dip. ICT level computer science courses.
- Polytechnic: STEM Foundation and Bridging courses.
- Green School New Zealand: - leader of cross-curricula science and mathematics programmes (Year 7 - 13).
- Secondary school: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth & Space Science, Mathmematics, Calculus, Electronics, Robotics, Game Design (Year 9 - 13).
- Intermediate / Primary school: Digital Technology (Year 7 - 8).

Familiar with various instructional design models such as ADDIE, Bloom, Gagne, and Merrill.
Online course design and content creation in both Moodle and iQualify platforms.
Working with stake holders and subject matter experts to design NZQA Foundation level, sub-degree and degree level programmes and courses.
Use of generative AI and AI Assessment Scale.

New Zealand Ministry of Education E-Learning Teacher Fellow. Government press release.
Prime Minister’s Education Excellence award finalist, Excellence in Leading. Video link.
DEANZ Excellence Award, Distance Education Association of New Zealand (now called FLANZ)
Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year - Local Hero Medal, services to science education
Microsoft New Zealand Innovative Teacher Award Conference RIGEL slides [PDF].
Merit Award for CSI/Forensics course design and delivery, Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki
New Zealand Microbiology Society Postgraduate Prize

Professional member of the Royal Society of New Zealand.
Established the Nexus Research Group, patron Dr Sir William Pickering, former head of JPL. New Zealand’s only school-based research laboratory
Taranaki Science and Technology Fair; organising committee
New Plymouth Little Theatre.