Pre-Colonial Navigation Companion
Pre-Colonial Navigation Companion · Years 7–10
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga · Learning Intentions
- Investigate a scientific concept or phenomenon using observation and evidence
- Apply scientific understanding to explain natural processes and systems
- Connect scientific knowledge to environmental decision-making and kaitiakitanga
- Evaluate how both mātauranga Māori and Western science contribute to understanding
Paearu Angitu · Success Criteria
- I can describe the key concept or phenomenon accurately using scientific vocabulary
- I can explain how evidence supports my scientific understanding
- I can connect scientific knowledge to at least one real-world environmental application
- I can identify where mātauranga Māori and Western science perspectives intersect or differ
Video Companion · Pre-Colonial Navigation Companion
Use this handout before, during, and after viewing.
Before You Watch
Consider: How did Polynesian ancestors navigate across thousands of kilometres of open ocean without modern instruments? What skills, knowledge, and technology might they have used?
While Watching
Observe: (1) What navigation techniques are demonstrated? (2) What scientific knowledge is applied (stars, wind, waves, birds)? (3) How is this knowledge passed down? (4) What does this tell us about the sophistication of pre-colonial knowledge systems?
After Watching
Complete a 3-sentence reflection: "The most impressive science I saw was… / I used to think… now I think… / One question I still have…"
Critical Thinking Questions
1. Navigation science
Describe at least two specific navigation techniques used by Polynesian voyagers. What scientific principles underlie each technique?
2. Mātauranga and science
How does pre-colonial Polynesian navigation demonstrate that mātauranga Māori is a form of scientific knowledge? What makes it scientific?
3. Waka Hourua voyages today
Modern groups have revived traditional waka voyaging. Why is this important? What does it mean for communities to reclaim this knowledge?
Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment
Level 3–4: Investigate how living and physical systems work; understand relationships between organisms and their environments; collect, interpret, and evaluate scientific evidence to explain natural phenomena.
Level 3–4: Understand how human activity affects natural environments; explore the connection between ecological health and community wellbeing; recognise the role of cultural knowledge in environmental decision-making.
Tuhia ōu whakaaro · Write Your Thoughts
Reflect on your learning. What was the most important idea? What question do you still have?
Aronga Mātauranga Māori
Mātauranga Māori is a sophisticated knowledge system built through centuries of careful observation, hypothesis, testing, and refinement — the same processes that define scientific inquiry. Māori knowledge of ecology, weather patterns, seasonal change, and animal behaviour guided sustainable resource management for generations before Western science arrived in Aotearoa. Understanding science through a dual-knowledge lens — bringing mātauranga Māori and Western science into dialogue rather than hierarchy — produces richer, more contextually grounded understanding. The concept of kaitiakitanga reminds us that scientific knowledge carries obligations: understanding how natural systems work means accepting responsibility for how we treat them.
Ngā Rauemi Tautoko · Resources already provided
- Kaitiakitanga values framework — connecting environmental guardianship to science inquiry
- Evidence sorting cards — for comparing scientific and mātauranga Māori data
- Place-based inquiry planner — for local environmental investigation
Curriculum alignment
- Identity, Culture, and Organisation: Understand how cultural identity shapes participation in society — whakapapa, tikanga, and mana as foundations of Māori identity in Aotearoa New Zealand.