Te Aroha College - David Masters
2025 | The health of the waterways in the Hauraki District
Name: David Masters
School: Te Aroha College
Region: Waikato / Hauraki
Programme: The health of the waterways in the Hauraki District
Host: Environmental Research Institute, Science Department, University of Waikato
Te Aroha College hopes to gain more support to localise the school’s science curriculum with connections to local science and research organisations. Working collaboratively with science organisations in the community will enable students to connect their learning with the Nature of Science authentically in real-world contexts.
With the network David will develop through the Science Teaching Leadership Programme (STLP), the school would like to demonstrate connections between teaching and learning and real-world applications to broaden students understanding and pathways in STEM.
David has 20 years’ experience as a high school teacher. He leads the chemistry programme at senior levels, years 12 and 13, and teaches science at years 9, 10 and 11. Prior to being a teacher he worked in a number of varied occupations the main two being an ESOL teacher, in New Zealand and overseas, and as a geologist on oil drilling rigs in various countries around the globe.
In his placement at the Environmental Research Institute, David will be looking at the health of rivers in the Hauraki region. The water quality of many of New Zealand's rivers and waterways is not good. Two such waterways in the Hauraki area are the Waihou River, which runs at the back of Te Aroha College, and the Tararua Creek, just north of Thames. Both waterways have been adversely affected by human activities, farming and gold mining respectively.
David will be studying and following the university programmes that analyse these two waterways. He will gain exposure to and apply the advanced techniques used by university scientists in their research, including both low-tech fieldwork and high-tech laboratory methods. He will have the opportunity to also add any analytical techniques that he sees as beneficial.