Combining traditional knowledge with cutting-edge tech wins major Prize for Wellington teacher
MEDIA RELEASE: TE PUIAKI KAIWHAKAAKO PŪTAIAO SCIENCE TEACHER PRIZE
Whaea Nan Walden-Moeung (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki), of Wellington East Girls’ College, has won the Prime Minister’s Science Teacher Prize for 2025.
Whaea Nan is an innovative educator who combines new technologies like 3D printing, laser cutting, and digital modeling with traditional textiles and cultural narratives.
Whaea Nan has a background in fashion design but decided to take up teaching when she became disenchanted with that industry.
“When I teach technology, it’s not just about sewing and making clothes, it’s also about producing systems. It’s also about using STEM education. So not just technology, but science, mathematics, and – my favourite – engineering. To be able to engineer something means to pick it apart and then put it all back together again.”
Her goal is for her young Māori students to understand what engineering is and to be able to pursue related careers: “We need more women in the engineering workforce.”
To support this goal, Whaea Nan started Kohara2Shine 4 years ago as a platform for her students to exhibit their design products.
“It was quite phenomenal. We had Year 12 and 13 technology students take their products to Massey University and exhibit them. But then they also got to see what Massey University was like, and it just bridges this gap for them between secondary school and tertiary education.
“The next year I opened it up to all Wellington schools and it doubled in size… It’s been going for 4 years now.”
Schools as far away as Taranaki have been involved and the plan is to continue to expand it further, Whaea Nan says.
Whaea Nan says to be a culturally responsive practitioner in education, she uses technology to teach mātauranga Māori – and uses mātauranga Māori to teach technology.
She explains that her teaching ethos centres around whakawhanaungatanga, and fostering relationships with her students.
“For them to know that I care about them makes their lives easier. You are creating a better person through your creative practice with them.”
She also seeks to nurture their unique interests.
“I had one student who loved this anime comic, and I didn’t have a clue what it was. So, I went home and I looked it up and I 3D-printed one of the characters from it. And then I showed up the next day, and we talked through how to 3D-print and what the character was, and she was just buzzing.”
Whaea Nan says one of the biggest challenges of her teaching career has happened while she’s been at Wellington East Girls College: “doing my waka jump from being Design and Evaluation Lead of Technology – a specialist in technology and leading the department – to taking up the position of Design and Evaluation Lead of Te Ao Māori.”
She says being a non-specialist creates a “very vulnerable position because you’re entering the classroom on the same level as the students”.
“You don’t have all the knowledge, and that’s scary when you’ve gone from being the ‘Knower of All Things’ to not knowing very much and learning on the job.”
On winning this Prize, Whaea Nan says she is very grateful for her family’s support to develop her career. She plans to invest in a 3D printer department with existing vinyl and laser cutters for her students.
In recommending Whaea Nan for this Prize, the expert panel was particularly impressed with the way she engaged students and created opportunities for them to design and create.
“Through your influence and networks, including industry connections, your students have progressed to study and have careers in architecture, design and engineering,” they said.