Award for Inglewood innovator

Michael Fenton.

Scientist and Inglewood High School teacher Michael Fenton has won an award to attend the Asia Pacific Microsoft Innovative Teachers conference in Malaysia next year.

Attendance at the conference is by invitation only. Four teachers were presented with an award at the ULearn08 ICT conference during the school holidays.

“I felt lucky to have been one of the four but I was told that luck had nothing to do with it; the work we had done was impressive.”

Mr Fenton has been working with primary and secondary students using his “black-box” games and sensor unit called the Real-world Interactive Games and Electronics Link (RIGEL).

“The RIGEL system is a mobile sensor and games-based learning technology to support students in science, mathematics, physical education and technology. It is useful in primary, intermediate and secondary schools,” Mr Fenton said.

“The impact nationally of using a system like RIGEL to help deliver the NZ curriculum could be enormous.”

A recent report seems to confirm that science in particular can benefit from Mr Fenton’s “hands-on” strategy for student learning.

Results from a national education monitoring project show 37 per cent of students in their last year of primary school actively dislike the subject.

The results show the percentage of year eight students disliking science increased substantially over eight years from 15 per cent. Only five per cent would like to be scientists.

“Data I have collected from students doing practical fun science-based activities shows a completely different trend – 85 per cent learnt something new about science/technology or about themselves, as well as reporting that they have changed their view of what scientists do or how they work.”

The comments from student interviews confirmed this analysis.

“When I started this research project I had no idea it could resolve an issue of national significance in NZ schools.”

“It’s great that a teacher from a small rural school has had this opportunity and that it has been recognised with a Microsoft Award.”

Mr Fenton is still teaching at Inglewood High School in Taranaki, but also has some time to finish his research as a MoE E-Learning Fellow.

Mr Fenton has a website, for teachers and students of all ages, full of fun and educational projects involving technology, science and games design: www.nexusresearchgroup.com