Best for
Lesson 1 discussion, innovation inquiry, pre-colonial Māori knowledge systems, and critical concept work before deeper history reading.
Unit 2 concept challenge • Years 8-10 • Mātauranga and technology
Technology Definition Challenge
Use this challenge to test a hidden assumption: who decided that some technologies are “advanced” while others are dismissed as simple, primitive, or not really technology at all? The goal is not to rank cultures. It is to expose the criteria being used and question whether those criteria are just.
Free concept challenge, premium adaptation path
This version is ready to print now. Te Wānanga becomes useful when you want local examples, younger language, or a cross-curricular version tied to science, technology, or social studies.
- Generate a Phase 3 version with fewer comparison criteria and stronger sentence stems.
- Swap in local examples of engineering, food systems, navigation, or architecture.
- Save a class-specific concept challenge into My Kete and refine it in Creation Studio.
Kaiako planning snapshot
- Use length: 20-30 minutes as an opener or concept challenge before a longer innovation lesson.
- Grouping: Pairs or triads, then whole-class debrief.
- Prep: Choose the examples you want students to compare so you can anchor the kōrero in specific cases rather than abstract generalising.
- Teaching move: Ask “What criteria are you using?” before you ask “Which is more advanced?”
- Support / stretch: Support with one shared example; stretch with a written challenge to colonial definitions of progress.
Resources already provided
- Visible comparison criteria instead of a hidden teacher-only rubric
- Three example technologies ready for classroom discussion
- Write-on reasoning space for evidence and reflection
- Support, core, and stretch moves on the page
- A matching teacher-only curriculum companion
This page exists so “technology” does not default to a colonial metal and machinery lens by habit.
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga / Learning Intentions
- We are learning how definitions of technology reflect values and power.
- We are learning how to evaluate innovation through a mātauranga Māori lens as well as a colonial-industrial lens.
- We are learning how to justify our thinking with criteria, not just preference.
Paearu Angitu / Success Criteria
- I can explain what criteria I used to compare two technologies.
- I can identify how a colonial definition of “advanced” might exclude Māori innovation.
- I can argue for a fairer way to talk about technology and progress.
Curriculum integration / Te Marautanga alignment
The companion page makes the curriculum fit explicit across systems, fairness, historical interpretation, and how dominant narratives shape what counts as knowledge.
Mātauranga Māori note
A mātauranga Māori lens asks whether a technology works in relationship with people, place, and environment, not just whether it looks complex or industrial. The challenge is to notice how value judgements are smuggled into the language of progress.
Compare 1: Waka hourua and modern shipping tools
Navigation
Systems thinking
Prompt: What makes a navigation technology powerful: fuel, electronics, local repairability, knowledge of stars and currents, or ability to travel safely in specific conditions?
Compare 2: Gunfighter pā and European forts
Engineering
Adaptation
Prompt: Which design was better suited to the weapons and terrain of its context, and what does that tell you about how “advanced” should be judged?
Compare 3: Maramataka and industrial scheduling
Environmental knowledge
Seasonal decision-making
Prompt: What counts as precision if one system reads environmental rhythms and another imposes fixed timetables regardless of season or local conditions?
Criteria check
| Criterion | How important is it? | Which examples show this strongly? |
|---|---|---|
| Effective for its purpose | ||
| Locally maintainable and repairable | ||
| Works with environment rather than against it | ||
| Supports collective wellbeing | ||
| Looks impressive or machine-heavy |
Support pathway
- Choose one comparison only.
- Use the criteria table to decide what matters most.
- Finish with: “I used to think... Now I think...”
Core pathway
- Compare two examples.
- Explain how colonial assumptions shape the word “advanced”.
- Write one paragraph arguing for a fairer definition of technology.
Stretch pathway
- Choose a local or contemporary example too.
- Explain how hidden criteria still shape whose innovation is respected today.
- Turn your thinking into a seminar prompt or short speech.
A criterion I want to challenge
A Māori technology I now see differently
A question I want to carry into Unit 2
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Social Sciences — Tikanga ā-Iwi
Level 3–4: Investigate social, cultural, environmental, and economic questions; gather and evaluate evidence from diverse sources; communicate findings and reasoning clearly for different audiences and purposes.
English — Communication
Level 3–4: Read, interpret, and evaluate information texts; write clearly and purposefully for specific audiences; apply critical thinking skills to evaluate sources and construct well-reasoned responses.
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
This resource sits within a kaupapa that recognises mātauranga Māori as a living knowledge system with its own frameworks, values, and ways of understanding the world. The New Zealand Curriculum calls for learning that reflects the bicultural partnership of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, which means every subject area has an obligation to engage authentically with Māori perspectives — not as cultural decoration but as substantive contributions to how we understand our topics. The concepts of manaakitanga (care for others), kaitiakitanga (guardianship), whanaungatanga (relationship and belonging), and tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) provide a values framework applicable across all learning areas, and all are relevant to the work in this handout.
Tuhia ōu whakaaro · Write Your Thoughts
Reflect on what you have learned today. What was the most important idea? What question do you still have?
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Support Materials
This handout is designed to be used alongside the broader unit resources available at Te Kete Ako handouts library. Related resources from the same unit are linked in the unit planner. All resources are provided — no additional preparation is required to use this handout in your classroom.
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will engage with this resource to develop a decolonized understanding of Aotearoa's history — reading the past through the eyes of tangata whenua, examining primary sources critically, and understanding how colonisation continues to shape the present. This unit centres mana Māori as the starting point, not a footnote.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can analyse a historical source for perspective, reliability, and significance — including identifying whose voices are centred or absent.
- ✅ Students can explain how a specific historical event — such as the NZ Wars, land confiscations, or the Dawn Raids — connects to present-day inequities and Māori-led responses.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide annotated source analysis frames for entry-level access — guiding students through the OPCVL or SOLO process step by step. Offer extension tasks asking students to compare a colonial-era source with a contemporary Māori account of the same event, analysing how the historical narrative has been contested and reclaimed.
ELL / ESOL: Primary source language (particularly 19th-century English) presents specific challenges — pre-read sources with students and pre-teach archaic or specialist vocabulary. Allow students to express historical analysis in their home language first before translating to English. Bilingual glossaries support engagement without reducing intellectual demand. Some ELL students may bring first-hand experience of colonisation from other contexts — honour these as valid comparative perspectives.
Inclusion: Decolonized history can surface difficult emotions for Māori students encountering colonial violence and injustice in the curriculum for the first time. Create a trauma-informed classroom. Neurodiverse learners benefit from chunked tasks and clear analytical scaffolds. Ensure all students understand that the purpose of this unit is not guilt but understanding — and that understanding is the foundation of partnership and change.
Mātauranga Māori lens: Decolonizing history means more than "adding Māori perspectives" — it means recognising that the dominant historical narrative itself is a colonial artefact. Whakapapa is an alternative historical framework: tracing connections, obligations, and continuity across time. The NZ Wars were not distant events — their consequences live in land ownership patterns, economic disparities, and community structures today. Tino rangatiratanga — the right of self-determination — was not surrendered at Waitangi and has been asserted continuously through protest, legislation, and resurgence. Teaching this history is an obligation of Te Tiriti partnership.
Prior knowledge: Students benefit from foundational knowledge of the Treaty of Waitangi and its context. No specialist prior knowledge required for entry-level source analysis tasks — scaffolds are provided.
Curriculum alignment
- Aotearoa New Zealand Histories — Know: Understand that colonisation was a global process that had a specific and profound impact on tangata whenua in Aotearoa, and that Māori responses to colonisation have been continuous and varied.
- Do — Social Studies: Explore perspectives, use evidence to form conclusions, and share ideas — analyse primary sources, compare historical perspectives, and present findings.