Bay of Plenty branch
Kia ora, welcome to the Bay of Plenty branch of NZEALS.
Our branch is
relatively young having begun in the latter part of 2007 with the support of
Ruth Gorinski and Reynold Macpherson. The BOP branch serves a diverse community
and a wide geographical area from the East Coast to Waihi, including Tauranga to
Rotorua. Our mission is to provide high quality speakers on relevant topics
pertaining to the various sectors of the education system. Our target audiences
include school Principals, DPs and APs, teacher-leaders, ECE centre managers,
aspiring educational leaders, tertiary education leaders, lecturers, student
teachers, and parents involved in the governance of schools. Our vision is to
develop a reputable educational leadership service to the Bay of Plenty by
facilitating affordable meetings with experienced and qualified speakers on a
range of inspiring and relevant topics. The branch is grateful to the support
over the years from the Waiariki Institute of Technology in Rotorua, Te Whare
Wananga o Awanuiarangi and Eastbay REAP in Whakatane, Bethlehem Tertiary
Institute Tauranga, and various schools that have kindly hosted meetings. Gail
Dobbin also provided invaluable support as treasurer of the branch during
2009-2010.
In June this year, the Bay of Plenty Branch was pleased to host the NZEALS 2011 Visiting Scholar, Professor Stephen Jacobson from the Graduate School of Education of the University at Buffalo, USA. Click the link to see the presentation given at this meeting, entitled Educational leadership focused on building strong learning communities.
The November meeting
focused on inter-institutional leadership with Ann Briggs,
Emeritus Professor of Educational Leadership at Newcastle University, UK. Click here for the presentation slides and here for the paper for this meeting. Finally in 2011, we welcome Howard Youngs, Senior Lecturer and Programme leader (MEdLM), Department of
Education, Unitec institute of Technology, Auckland.
Looking further ahead - the branch is excited about hosting next
year's NZEALS conference April 11-13th 2012, the theme of which is "Educational
leadership for creative learning and caring communities.'' Click the conference name to see further details.
As a volunteer
organisation we welcome other educational leaders to join our branch executive
to help organise and chair meetings. If you'd like to become involved, or
suggest speakers/topics for future meetings, or find out more please feel
welcome to email me a.gibson@bti.ac.nz
Alaster Gibson
NZEALS BOP
branch president
'We must give more attention to the interplay between
the science of teaching - pedagogy - and the art of teaching... A teacher must
be anchored in pedagogy and blend imagination, creativity and inspiration into
the teaching learning process to ignite a passion for learning in students.'
Peyton Williams, President ASCD 2003
Coming Events:
Profiles:
Alaster Gibson:
My family and I moved from Auckland to Tauranga 10 years ago. I have a background of 14 years in primary teaching and school middle management. I am currently enjoying lecturing in the Primary Teacher Education programme at Bethlehem Tertiary Institute, Tauranga. I have also been involved in a Diploma of Teaching Studies offshore in the Kingdom of Tonga. I completed my MEd.Admin through Massey University in 2004 and my PhD this year (2011) through the University of Waikato. The focus of my thesis was 'Spirituality in principal leadership and its influence on teachers and teaching.' I am currently exploring a new research topic related to teacher leadership within special character school contexts. When time permits I enjoy kayaking and fishing around the Bay of Plenty.
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