Meet the Team
Hamish Johnston (he/him)
Chair
Hamish holds a Graduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning (Secondary) and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. He currently teaches Digital Technology and Technology at Kaiapoi High School. In the last four years, he has taught NCEA Digital Technology and Product Design, and Junior Secondary Technology covering Design and Visual Communication, Food Technology, Hard Materials, & Biotechnology, as well as Social Studies. In addition at his school he is currently the Assistant Head of the Technology Faculty, Marketing Lead, & Cohort Testing Lead. Hamish is passionate about technology and seeing ākonga learn and succeed. His commitment to supporting kaiako in their teaching and learning within his own Kura and beyond is representative of TENZ's core values.
He also is the Canterbury / Waitaha PPTA Regional Secretary, sits on the CDTT (Canterbury Digital Technology Teachers) committee; while also consulting and is an occasional guest speaker to SCIE101 with the University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha. He is also a co-author of the published research paper “Belonging and adjustment for LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ students during the social transition to university”. He received the Asia New Zealand Foundation Advocate for Inclusion and Diversity Award at the Canterbury Youth Awards in 2018.
He embraces change and enjoys the work he does with TENZ. TENZ is at the leading edge of change in Aotearoa Technology Education, particularly with the work Hamish and the team are involved in with the NCEA Change Package, Curriculum Refresh, and Reform of Vocational Education.
Within TENZ Hamish is responsible for:
- Provide positive leadership and be the overall coordinator of TENZ
- Coordinating liaisons with sector eg. MoE, Tertiary providers, Subject Associations, Political, and Curriculum Developers
- Governance & Strategic Planning
- Communication with members
Sarah Washbrooke (she/her)
Deputy Chair (Industry and Resources)
Sarah has been teaching Technology for over twenty five years in the UK and NZ after completing her BA (Hons) Industrial Design and Technology degree. She has led teams and facilitated professional learning for teachers in different areas of STEM & Technology. Sarah has taught a wide range of ages, needs and cultures in different school environments as a Technology specialist.
She is always ready to develop her understanding and knowledge in Technology and has taken part in many PL projects, including the MoE Resource development and facilitation project, regional hub leader for Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko and more recently TENZ's Matanga project & DTTA executive. In 2020, Sarah was the first Technology teacher in NZ to receive the Prime Minister’s Science Teacher prize.
In the past two years her focus has been to incorporate Digital Technology into her learning programs and help to develop classroom teachers' understanding and knowledge in the new progress outcomes. Currently, she is an educational resource developer for ByteEd, a MoE PLD facilitator and teaching fellow in Technology Education at the University of Waikato.
Within TENZ Sarah is responsible for:
- Liaising with industry sector and technology education providers;
- Coordinating TENZ Resource production and Professional Development programs;
- Represent and promote TENZ and technology education, at national and international conferences and industry meetings
Mike Forret (he/him)
Deputy Chair (Operations & Finance)
Mike has been involved in technology education in New Zealand since its beginning in 1992. He was involved in writing the early versions of the Technology Curriculum and was one of the teacher educators at the University of Waikato who prepared the initial 'wave' of facilitators to introduce the 1995 Technology Curriculum. Mike began in education as a science and physics teacher and subsequently worked in initial teacher education for over 20 years, initially at Hamilton Teachers' College and then at the University of Waikato where he taught pre-service teacher education courses and supervised postgraduate research in technology and science education.
In 2019 Mike was awarded the Technology Education New Zealand (TENZ) Outstanding Teacher Educator in Technology award. Mike retired from the university in 2016 but continues his long standing involvement with TENZ where he has served as deputy chair since 2018. Mike is also director of a web services and development company.
Within TENZ Mike is responsible for:
- Managing TENZ’s finances;
- Coordinating sub-contractors;
- Maintaining TENZ’s digital assets
Munireh Rouget (she/her)
Deputy Chair (Membership & Engagement)
Munireh recently graduated from the University of Waikato with a Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Secondary). She also holds a Master’s in Computer Sciences from Université Paul Sabatier in France and began her career as a Software Engineer designing and building websites for large international businesses. In 2021, she decided to train as a teacher to help foster more diversity and inclusion in Computer Sciences and Digital Technologies. She is very passionate about Technology and is always looking to extend her knowledge and learn new things even in unexpected places. This is something she passes onto her students, encouraging them to channel their ideas, interests, identities, and creativity into their projects.
Within TENZ Munireh is responsible for:
- Overseeing TENZ membership;
- Developing and coordinating TENZ's marketing & communications
- Coordinating and updating TENZ official website
Kerry Lee (she/her)
Research & International; Tertiary Education
Kerry has been involved in Technology Education since the inception of the Technology curriculum. She was one of the ‘first fifteen’ teachers who were selected and trained at Waikato University to facilitate the introduction of the 1995 Technology curriculum to schools. After working for Team Solutions to provide PLD for principals and teachers in the Northland-Auckland area, Kerry became a lecturer in Technology at the Auckland College of Education later becoming Head of Technology prior to the amalgamation with the University of Auckland. Kerry is now a senior lecturer and STEM discipline chair for the faculty, which enables her to supervise numerous masters and doctoral research students. Kerry is passionate about technology education and making a difference to children’s learning. Her research focuses on innovations in education has been widely published.
Within TENZ Kerry is responsible for:
- Monitoring trends in Initial Teacher Education programs;
- Coordinating Tertiary Technology Teacher Educators;
- Supporting and promoting technology research
- Keeping TENZ up to date with international technology education trends;
- Representing TENZ at national and international meetings and conferences.
Brenda Brook (she/her)
Teacher Support
Brenda Brook has been a secondary teacher who managed a large food and fabric technology department (years 7-13) over several decades. During that time, she mentored numerous student teachers and beginning technology teachers, some of whom are now successful educators in Otago and beyond.
Highlights during Brenda’s career have been organising six biennial wearable art competitions for the Taieri school community and winning the prestigious Edna Joyce Howe Scholarship that enabled her to study e-textiles for ten weeks; alongside attending an international symposium in San Francisco.
Brenda continues to be a passionate advocate for sustainability and used this context to encourage her senior students to create new furniture and costume prototypes from discarded materials. Some of those former pupils gained course endorsement in NCEA technology which helped their entry into teaching or a tertiary fashion design institution.
Recently, Brenda has been a relieving Curriculum Fellow and student teacher mentor at Otago University.
Within TENZ Brenda is responsible for:
- Relationship with student teachers and PCT (Year 1 & 2 Teachers);
- Assist with teacher guidance requests.
Lisa Byers (she/her)
Resources; Professional Development
Lisa is an experienced primary teacher and team leader within her current kura. She has been actively involved in the early implementation of Digital Technology and has been supporting teachers across the Ōtākou Region and Nationally to learn about and integrate Digital Technology into their classroom programmes.
Lisa was a Regional Facilitator for Digital Technology under the mentorship of Kia Takatū-a-Matihiko. Most recently, Lisa has been using Project Based Learning and STEAM based approaches to integrate Design Thinking into her teaching. Lisa brings a generalist teaching perspective to the TENZ council and has a keen interest in the Integrated Curriculum, supporting teachers to integrate technological areas across their classroom programme and school year. Lisa has a special interest in Te Ao Māori and Te Reo. This is an ongoing personal learning journey and as such Lisa continues to ensure that Te Ao Māori and tikanga are integrated into learning contexts in order to ensure that Māori akonga and mātauranga within Hangarau education are valued and explicit across kura within Aotearoa.
Within TENZ Lisa is responsible for:
- Engaging in cultural competency through Te Ao Māori and Te Reo Māori;
- Developing resources;
- Sourcing and supporting learning opportunities across all technological learning areas.
John Williams (he/him)
Research and International
John Williams is a Professor of Education and the Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Education at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia, where he teaches and supervises research students in STEM and technology education. Apart from Australia, he has worked and studied in a number of African and Indian Ocean countries and in New Zealand and the United States.
His current research interests include STEM, mentoring beginning teachers, PCK and electronic assessment of performance. He regularly presents at international and national conferences, consults on Technology Education in a number of countries, and is a longstanding member of eight professional associations. He is the series editor of the Springer Contemporary Issues in Technology Education and is on the editorial board of seven professional journals.
Within TENZ John is responsible for:
- Supporting and promoting technology research;
- Keeping TENZ up to date with international technology education trends;
- Representing TENZ at national and international meetings and conferences.
Sandra Williamson-Leadley (she/her)
Research & International; Tertiary Education; Forum Management
As a Senior Lecturer at the University of Canterbury in Technology Education and Professional Studies, Sandra has diverse research interests that revolve around teachers' (pre-service and in-service) and students' use of digital tools for supporting teaching and learning as well as preparation of pre-service teachers to teach in the Technology curriculum learning areas. These research interests include professional learning and development of pre-service teachers in teaching Technology; teachers' use of digital tools in their classroom practices; teachers' use of digital tools to support indigenous students' learning; and, teachers' use of digital tools for collaborative learning and assessment.
Her doctoral research focused on New Zealand Primary school teachers' ICT professional development and classroom practices. Other research activities have included exploring the use of tablet technology for assessment in mathematics, and investigating primary teachers' use of digital tools to support their indigenous students' learning. As part of an international research project, she has explored pre-service teachers' privacy concerns when using social media.
Her current research interest is in Primary pre-service teachers' preparedness to teach and assess in the Technology learning area. This includes the skills, dispositions and pedagogical approaches needed to teach effectively in the Technology curriculum area.
Within TENZ Sandra is responsible for:
- Monitoring trends in Initial Teacher Education programs;
- Coordinating Tertiary Technology Teacher Educators;
- Supporting and promoting technology research;
- Keeping TENZ up to date with international technology education trends;
- Representing TENZ at national and international meetings and conferences;
- Maintain the TENZ Online Engagement Space;
- Assist with interesting and innovative discussions.
Natalie Jump (she/her)
Marketing & Communications; Teacher Support
Natalie is a secondary Technology teacher specialising in Design and Visual Communication. She has a background in architecture and construction, having studied a Bachelor of Architecture at Victoria University of Wellington before taking up a career in commercial construction project management. In 2017 she hung up her hardhat to retrain as a teacher. Natalie was inspired by her volunteer work in youth organisations to pursue a new career path, and she has not looked back!
Natalie’s passion in education is in the classroom. She works to empower rangatahi to be inquisitive, unleash their creativity, and develop a life-long passion for learning through Technology. While she spends most of her time in the Product and Spatial Design classroom, she also teaches Technology in other contexts including Fashion & Textiles, Biotechnology, Food, Hard Materials, and Digital Design & Marketing.
In addition to her teaching and work with TENZ, Natalie is a committed union advocate. She is currently one of the 24 elected members of the PPTA Te Wehengarua executive committee - the governing body of the secondary teachers union.
Within TENZ Natalie is responsible for:
- Coordination and production of TENZ promotional products;
- Managing TENZ Social Media presence;
- Relationships with student teachers and PCT (Year 1 & 2 Teachers)
Stuart Rankin (he/him)
Resources
Currently operating as a Specialist STEM teacher at a large primary school and with over twenty years of experience teaching students from Y1 to Y6, Stuart is a highly qualified teacher who strives to generate enthusiasm for learning by creating individual connections and motivators. He uses interactive learning to empower students and offers fun and educational lessons, as well as hands-on STEM activities.
Stuart works to develop, plan, and deliver safe and educational STEM lessons to students aged 5-11, as well as integrating modern, innovative, and creative learning strategies to increase classroom engagement. He has helped children reach their full potential across a range of STEM subjects by using a blend of modern and traditional teaching techniques. Stuart highlights student achievements to build their confidence and encourage continued growth, and he coordinates educational school trips, local and national competition entries, STEM workshops, and events to broaden student learning.
Within TENZ Stuart is responsible for:
- Developing resources;
- Building knowledge around STEM and learning area collaboration;
- Sourcing and supporting learning opportunities across all technological learning areas.
Alex Bevin (he/him)
Professional Learning & Development
Alex's background in mechanical engineering has allowed him to bring a unique perspective to the classroom. He has worked as a mechanical engineer for eight years, gaining extensive experience in the design and development of mechanical systems. As a technology teacher, Alex strives to incorporate his work experience into the hard materials curriculum, teaching his students practical skills and how to design products with consideration for form, function, and manufacturing intent. His goal is to inspire and educate the next generation of engineers and makers, and he believes that his knowledge and experience in engineering can be a valuable resource for his students.
Alex is committed to continuously improving his teaching practices and is excited about the opportunity to take on a new role as a professional development manager for technology teachers. In this position, he hopes to use his knowledge and experience to help other teachers develop their skills and knowledge in the field of technology, and to help them incorporate technology into their lesson plans in meaningful and effective ways.
Within TENZ Alex is responsible for:
- Developing resources;
- Engaging with innovative approaches to technology education
- Sourcing and supporting learning opportunities across all technological learning areas.