Dr. Carrie Vander Zwaag is a science education research practitioner in Aotearoa, New Zealand. A Bristol Bay sixth grade class trip to Katmai National Park sparked her love for relevant, meaningful place-based learning. Her research engages rural Aotearoa kaiako (teachers), ākongato (students) and whānau (families) to co-create culturally responsive differentiated science curriculum relevant to community interest and need. She would like to acknowledge the thousands of diverse ākonga, whānau (families), and kaiako (teachers) in the United States, Guyana, Micronesia and rural New Zealand who have welcomed her to ako (learn alongside) and grow her kete (basket) of experiences and knowledge over the past 20+ years of classroom teaching and learning.
