Informed design of resources for volcano science education in Aotearoa NZ.

Abstract

Volcanoes have fascinated humanity throughout history. Globally many of the world's population live close to active volcanoes. Volcanic hazards thus pose a severe threat to communities near these landscapes. Volcano science education resources that target schools, universities, and the broader community can be instrumental in fostering awareness and preparedness in situations of volcanic unrest. Education can bring an understanding of volcano science to students, engage families, and encourage young people to pursue careers in sciences. However, engagement in science is mostly driven by access to learning opportunities. This thesis tries to tackle the two issues mentioned above- fostering preparedness through building an understanding of volcanic unrest and access to equitable learning opportunities through the informed design of volcano science education resources in Aotearoa NZ.

The Māori communities, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa NZ, have a thriving disaster resilience culture rooted in their worldviews, enabling them to live successfully in volcanic landscapes. However, Māori knowledge is often underrepresented in modern science settings. How Indigenous knowledge systems can foster volcano preparedness and its significance in Aotearoa NZ is described in Chapter 1. It also explains the importance of the informed design of volcano science education and sets the context of this thesis.

Braiding the knowledge systems of Mātauranga Māori and Western Science through the co-production of educational resources by scientists and Māori community leaders can foster an effective volcano preparedness culture in students and engage the broader community. Chapter two describes the LEARNZ "Our Supervolcano" Virtual Field Trip digital resource co-produced by geologists, Māori community leaders, and teachers to teach about volcanoes around the Taupō Volcanic Zone. The various features of the resource and its relevance for the educational landscape in Aotearoa NZ are described. The discussion establishes that bicultural virtual field trips can be powerful tools that can be leveraged for volcano science education in Aotearoa NZ.

Chapter three investigates the nature of collaboration underpinning the co-production of the LEARNZ "Our Supervolcano" VFT resource. After thorough discussions with Kaupapa Māori researchers, He Awa Whiria was adopted as a framework for conducting this study. Semi-structured interviews with the experts on the virtual field trip suggested that relations, values, and space for sharing are three key elements that facilitated the collaboration. Based on these elements, recommendations for building authentic partnerships between Māori and non-Māori researchers are made.

Chapter Four discusses the development of the LEARNZ VFT in the context of teachers and educators interested in engaging with Māori experts to design curricular materials that weave knowledge systems of Mātauranga Māori and Western Science. Based on interviews conducted with experts on the Virtual Field Trip (as discussed in Chapter three), lessons around the collaboration are identified and recommendations are made.

Chapter five describes how teachers adapt available culturally responsive educational resources in response to their local contexts. Five case studies with teachers across various geographical and institutional settings are presented to demonstrate how teachers may use an existing resource as a generative tool to create equitable and accessible learning opportunities for students. Based on these findings, some considerations for resource development are described.

Chapter six explores the relevance of culturally appropriate research methodologies for the co-production of educational resources using He Awa Whiria as an analytical framework. The analysis reiterates the role of relations, values and space for sharing as integral aspects of the authentic partnership. This chapter also describes how Māori practices such as hui whakatika can resolve challenges in the bicultural space. Chapter six also describes the implications of following cultural protocols for effective partnerships and for fostering effective engagement with Māori community leaders and students. Chapters two through six emphasize the theme of effective education through cultural narratives and art. Another avenue that can lead to effective communication is serious games which is described in Chapter seven. It showcases an example of the process of development and evaluation of a serious game, Magma Pop, for volcano science education in an undergraduate classroom. The game was modified for tsunami hazard education at intermediate school settings (students aged 10-13 years) through discussions with local Māori teachers. The relevance of context and engagement with the target audience for the game design is described.

Drawing on the findings across these chapters, Chapter eight re-enforces the need for ethical engagement with different stakeholders to diversify geoscience education and foster preparedness around volcanic unrest. The conclusions of this thesis suggest that (a) stronger connections between research institutes and the broader communities can support volcano science education (b) co-designing educational resources with the target audience – community leaders, teachers, and students can be effective for authentic engagement. I hope the cases presented here inspire more educational initiatives and partnerships around other geological phenomena using a strength-based cultural lens.