The Māori Studies lecturer strives to provide fresh ways to learn—an approach reflected in her teaching philosophy, ‘Always learning, learning in all ways’. And her efforts have not gone unnoticed—she was the recipient of a 2012 Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching Award from Ako Aotearoa.
Ocean was the first Māori woman to graduate with a PhD in Physics. A decade ago, she moved from researching physics into learning and then teaching in Te Kawa a Māui/School of Māori Studies.
It felt like walking through a wardrobe, says Ocean, into a whole new world that was more collaborative and where students were expected to share opinions and argue their case.
Science remains an interest, but Ocean now teaches it in an indigenous context through a number of new programmes for undergraduate students.
Her first-year students learn about the differences and similarities between Western and Māori ways of forming new knowledge.
“Indigenous cultures often view an issue more holistically, for example, and are willing to accommodate unmeasurable, spiritual elements. But science from a Māori perspective also involves posing questions, exploring theories and learning through trial and error,” she says.
Second-year students gain skills in cultural mapping, using Google Earth and Geographic Information Systems software to create maps featuring things like geo-biographies of historical figures in Māoridom, condition assessments of pā sites around Wellington, and a Google Sky map of Māori astronomical knowledge. This work is being brought together in a Te Kawa a Māui digital atlas.
Ocean’s third-year students also use innovative learning strategies, such as participating in virtual exchanges using online forums and real-time video conferencing with indigenous students from Alaska, to discuss how western science and indigenous knowledge can work alongside each other.
Ocean encourages her students to learn from each other. “I am not the expert imparting knowledge, but an informed person who can generate an environment that is conducive to learning.”