Available workshops

Michael delivers workshops for teachers, education leaders, and vocational education providers. All workshops draw on practice-embedded research and adapt to primary, secondary, and tertiary contexts.

• Writing assessments for the new skill standards, guidance for instructional designers and assessment writers. See Skill Standards: A Workflow to Navigate Narrative Traps.
• Authentic hands-on science and mathematics investigations, low cost and high impact
• Ultra low-cost home-made science equipment for equitable access to data logging
• Teacher professional development and practice-led action research project mentoring
• Science and mathematics teaching pedagogy, engaging reluctant learners
• Assessment moderation training for NZQA and industry qualification bodies
• Course and assessment design embedding moderation best practice
• Instructional design for STEM programmes, ADDIE, Bloom, UDL
• Transforming from trades professional to vocational tutor. Workshop notes (PDF)
• Citizen science, breaking classroom boundaries
• AI in education, risks, opportunities, and assessment design implications
• Game design and coding as cross-curricula STEM learning
• Robotics and maker science, Build it, Test it, Use it
• Science communication for teachers and researchers

Workshop enquiries: Focus Consultancy

Selected past workshops and professional development

• Portfolio learning design and assessment design for numeracy unit standards, Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology (2020)
• Beyond fair tests, other investigation strategies to engage reluctant learners, NZASE SciCon Conference, Christchurch (2018)
• Inspiring tomorrow's scientists: doing science through the digital technologies curriculum, SciCon, Christchurch (2018)
• The digital technology curriculum: inspiring the coders of tomorrow or yesterday?, ULearn2017, Hamilton (2017)
• Gamification and digital technologies for effective mathematics teaching, ULearn2017, Hamilton (2017)
• Reclaiming the maker space for effective science teaching, ULearn2017, Hamilton (2017)
• Primary mathematics teaching online: rich tasks for cross-curricula learning, NZAMT Conference, Auckland (2015)
• Students leading learning in science and mathematics at home or school: new uses for multimeters, ULearn13, Hamilton (2013)
• Supporting the primary science teacher fellows, transforming primary science, SciCon 2010, Nelson (with Winter, M., Anderson, D., and Glasson, B.)
• Interactive ICT tools for mathematics, science and robotics, getting the most from Game Maker, NZAMT Conference, Auckland (2007)
• Education under the microscope, New Zealand Microbiological Society Conference, Wellington (2001, with Broad, J.)
• Hutt Valley Primary Science Education Network, annual workshops and events, STEM education expert and facilitator (2012 to 2018), launched by the Minister of Education
• Royal Society of New Zealand Science Teaching Leadership Programme, workshop facilitator, designer, and teacher mentor
• CORE Education Science Teacher Fellowship programmes, workshop developer and facilitator

Conference keynote addresses

• From Galileo to LIGO: reclaiming the maker space for science, SciCon 2016, Lower Hutt. Slides (PDF)
• Enlightenment and education: a journey through time and space, Open Polytechnic Learning Conference, Lower Hutt, 2014. Slides (PDF) . Zenodo record
• RIGEL, Learning From Life: communities of learning via a connected curriculum, Microsoft Partners in Learning Regional Innovative Teachers Conference, Kuala Lumpur, 2009, representing New Zealand at the Asia Pacific conference. Zenodo record
• Interactive eLearning tools for mathematics, science and robotics: the RIGEL project, ULearn 2008 Conference, Christchurch.

Science communication and published commentary

• 'Science Is Everywhere': a sound bite doing science education a disservice. Read.
• AI in education, analysis of current research and implications for teaching and assessment. Read.
• Aligning Pedagogy and Purpose: instructional design and moderation for cross-curricula STEM programme design. Read.

Media and public commentary

• Michael and Kimberley Fenton get kids into coding and digital technology, news feature and video. Stuff.co.nz
• Shining a light on the future, scientist interview. Article
• New Zealand science teaching report card: must do better, Science and Technology feature interview. Article (PDF)
• Bill Pickering, Rocket Man, published article, New Zealand Science Teacher journal, fact-checked by Dr Pickering. Article (PDF)
• The Dinosaurs Inside Us and other freaky facts, poster. Poster (PDF)
• Ministry of Health HPV DVD contains gross errors of fact, a national science education issue, corrected following Michael Fenton's public commentary. Article (PDF)

Student outcomes

Students mentored through this pedagogy regularly won Science Fair awards, and members of the Nexus Research Group have gone on to highly successful careers in science and technology. See the Nexus Research Group page for the wider story.

Media coverage, 1999 to 2015

Sustained public and media interest in Michael Fenton's STEM education research and innovation, across regional and national press, television, radio, and specialist publications. The concentration around 2007 to 2009 reflects the peak period coinciding with the E-Learning Fellowship, the RIGEL invention, the Microsoft Innovative Teacher Award, and the Asia Pacific conference.

2015

• Prime Minister's Education Excellence Awards video, New Zealand Ministry of Education. YouTube

2014

• Taranaki Daily News, 9 May. "Support for science teachers gets positive reaction."

2013

• Taranaki Daily News, 19 September. "Guess who has an eye on his family's future?"

2011

• Radio interview, 3 February. Young New Zealander of the Year announcement.

2009

• TVNZ Close Up, 22 October. Science and technology feature.
• Taranaki Daily News, 24 September. "Sound level meter sounds like a great idea."
• Manawatu Standard, 18 September. "Study finds preschools dangerously noisy."
• Radio Live, 22 August. 'World at Noon' interview.
• Taranaki Daily News, 21 August. "Shoppers get shock and it's not from the prices."
• North Taranaki Midweek, 12 August. "Students show scientific flair."
• North Taranaki Midweek, 24 June. "Robots test skills."
• Taranaki Daily News, 8 June. "WITT work in gallery spotlight."
• Taranaki Daily News, 7 June. "At home with Michael Fenton."
• Game Maker Technology Magazine, Issue 16, June. "Game Maker in Schools."
• North Taranaki Midweek, 20 May. "School radio station a tool for learning."
• Taranaki Daily News, 6 May. "High school teachers bound for Asia."
• New Zealand Doctor, 22 April. "Official HPV DVD gets 'not achieved'."
• North and South, March. "Making school work."
• Taranaki Daily News, 18 February. "School science gains an F."

2008

• The Press, Christchurch, 29 November. "Papers: must try harder."
• Stratford Press, 29 October. "Finding the missing link."
• EDUVAC Education Weekly, 20 October. "Award for Inglewood innovator."
• Taranaki Daily News, 16 October. "Invention one out of the box."
• North Taranaki Midweek, 15 October. "Innovation has its rewards for teacher."
• Taranaki Daily News, 30 April. "Shining a light on the future."

2007

• Taranaki Daily News, 26 December. The Wow! Factor, "Mad Scientist of the Year."
• North Taranaki Midweek, 24 October. "Chance to explore tech ideas."
• Ministry of Education press release, 10 October. "Innovative teachers to explore new horizons." Beehive.govt.nz
• Taranaki Daily News, 4 June. "Science-fiction fuelled dad."
• Taranaki Daily News, 4 June. "Teacher's invention makes a lot of sensor", RIGEL feature in the Breakthroughs section.

2005

• Taranaki Daily News, 1 October. "Special projects keep girls at school."
• Taranaki Daily News, 18 August. "Timeless Robot", Bell Block School pupils get a visit from a Dalek.
• Taranaki Daily News, 4 June. "Robots inspiring young engineers."

2003 to 2004

• Taranaki Daily News, 15 December 2004. "WITT scores lab testing deal."
• North Taranaki Midweek, 5 November 2003. "Website of wonders", Nexus site one of the best.
• Taranaki Daily News, 17 August 2003. "Laser Wars fires at fair", innovative Science Fair project.

1999 to 2002

• Taranaki Daily News, 27 August 2002. "Nexus puts Taranaki students on course."
• About Kids, Issue 9, March 2002. "Gifted children."
• TKI website, Ministry of Education, "gifted children" section (2001).
• EDUVAC Education Weekly, December 1999. "Scientists impressed by New Plymouth school research."
• Otago Daily Times, 26 November 1999. "Schoolboy scientist impresses meeting."
• Taranaki Daily News, 26 November 1999. "Bug study earns accolades."
• North Taranaki Midweek, 12 August 1999. "Nexus Research Group."

A fuller, permanently archived version of this record is deposited on Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20578627.