🧺 Te Kete Ako

STEM + Mātauranga Māori Integration Lab

STEM + Mātauranga Māori Integration Lab · Years 7–10

Year LevelYears 7–10
TypeStudent handout — classroom resource

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 · STEM + Mātauranga Māori Integration Lab

Use this handout before, during, and after viewing.

The Integration Approach

Traditional knowledge + contemporary science = deeper understanding of our world. This lab asks you to apply both lenses to an environmental question — not to decide which is "right", but to discover what each one reveals that the other cannot.

Lab Investigation

Choose one of the following questions: (a) How does the maramataka (Māori lunar calendar) predict optimal planting or fishing conditions, and how does this compare with scientific data? (b) What ecological indicators (tohu taiao) signal environmental health, and how do these compare with scientific monitoring data?

Synthesis

After your investigation, consider: Where did mātauranga Māori and Western science reach similar conclusions? Where did they differ? What does each approach reveal that the other misses?

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Complementary knowledge

Describe one specific example from your investigation where mātauranga Māori and scientific data reached similar conclusions. What does this tell us about both knowledge systems?

2. Different strengths

Identify one area where mātauranga Māori offered insights that the scientific data alone could not provide. Explain why.

3. Practical application

How could combining both knowledge systems lead to better environmental decision-making in Aotearoa? Give one specific example.

Hononga Marautanga · Curriculum Alignment

Science — Pūtaiao

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.

Social Sciences — Tikanga ā-Iwi

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

📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot

Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions

Students will engage with this resource to explore the intersection of STEM disciplines and mātauranga Māori — understanding how Indigenous knowledge systems and Western science share complementary ways of knowing the world.

Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria

  • ✅ Students can identify connections between mātauranga Māori and STEM concepts in this resource.
  • ✅ Students can explain how dual knowledge systems strengthen understanding of natural phenomena.

Differentiation & Inclusion

Scaffold support: Provide concept maps or sentence frames to scaffold access for students at the entry level. Offer extension tasks exploring specific mātauranga Māori knowledge domains (e.g., tohu āhua rangi, rongoā, whakapapa o te taiao) in greater depth.

ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key vocabulary in both te reo Māori and English — including domain-specific STEM terms. Bilingual glossaries and visual anchors support comprehension. Allow students to demonstrate understanding in their preferred language.

Inclusion: Tasks are designed for a range of readiness levels. Neurodiverse learners benefit from structured, chunked activities with clear success criteria. Use hands-on, inquiry-based formats where possible. Affirm the value of different ways of knowing.

Mātauranga Māori lens: Mātauranga Māori encompasses astronomy, ecology, navigation, agriculture, and medicine — systems of knowledge developed over centuries. This unit treats mātauranga Māori as epistemically equal to Western science, not supplementary. Bring kaitiakitanga as a guiding ethic: knowledge is held in relationship, not extracted.

Prior knowledge: Students benefit from baseline understanding of the relevant STEM domain. No specialist te reo Māori knowledge required — glossaries provided. Best used after introductory lessons or as a standalone exploration.

Curriculum alignment