Tēnā koutou katoa, I am Sarah Oliveira - the BEANZ facilitator.

I have the pleasure of assisting biology educators across New Zealand who are new, overseas trained, or rural and isolated. My experience includes teaching biology for fifteen years, a Masters in e-learning, and I am working towards a PhD in biology education. All of which gives me a multifaceted approach to this role.

Initially when I started in the role, I brought in a weekly Zoom session to cater to rural, solo department and beginning teachers to connect with each other as well as myself. These Zooms are an optional space for tips and tricks that help teaching practice in a biology classroom. As well as this, they are a place for teachers to ask for help and create their own network of teachers so that they do not feel so alone in their practice. 

The Zoom sessions are 7.30am and 4pm on Thursdays. All sessions are half an hour and generally follow the structure of Karakia, Tip of the week, Tool of the week, and Whakatauki with a little bit of chat at the beginning as people are coming in. I don’t normally record my sessions due to the desire to allow teachers to chat more freely without the fear of being recorded. I do, however, provide a follow-up email summary of resources discussed and conversation points of interest.

Alternatively, for teachers who are new at teaching biology or perhaps new at teaching a year level, I can provide support to them individually either via Zoom or in-person. I have now found myself visiting several schools during the week enjoying the beautiful countryside of New Zealand in the process. And for those who prefer to ask more private questions, I am a point of contact to support them.

More personally, I truly enjoy working in this role and I have found a new interest in seeing biology educators feel connected and supported in what they do. I love teaching biology and ultimately love seeing students loving the subject so it’s great to be able to gather like-minded people and discuss nerdy topics around biology education. Please get in touch if you need support - my email is beanz.facilitator@gmail.com.