Critical Thinking — Te Whakaaro Māramatanga
Sharp Minds, Strong Decisions
📚 Lessons / Ngā Akoranga
He aha te Whakaaro Māramatanga?
Introduction to critical thinking in Te Ao Māori & Pākehā contexts. Whakataukī analysis and defining critical thinking.
Tika, Hē, me te Pono
Identifying bias, fake news, and credible sources. NZ headlines about Matariki as case study.
He Tātai Whakaaro
Recognising logical fallacies in arguments. Analyse NZ political speeches and advertisements.
Te Ture me te Whakatau
Applying ethical frameworks to real dilemmas. "Should NZ ban single-use plastics?"
Te Pakirehua
Socratic questioning & problem-solving. "The Mystery of the Missing Moa" investigation.
Te Arotake i ngā Kōrero
Argument mapping & persuasive techniques. Māori wards in local councils case study.
Hei Whakatau Tikanga
Collaborative problem-solving. Allocate a $10,000 grant using whanaungatanga principles.
Te Whakamātautau Whakaaro
Critical Thinking Challenge: Analysis of current NZ issues (vaping, climate policy).
📄 Resources / Ngā Rauemi
📝 Handouts
🛠️ Digital Tools
🌿 Key Māori Concepts
📋 Curriculum Alignment
NZC Level 4 — Social Studies / Tikanga-ā-Iwi
- Understand how people make decisions about access to and use of resources
- Understand how the ways in which leadership of groups is acquired and exercised have consequences
- Understand how people participate individually and collectively in response to community challenges
Key Competencies: Thinking, Relating to Others, Participating and Contributing
Values: Critical inquiry, Respect for evidence, Cultural responsiveness
Ngā Whāinga Akoranga — Learning Intentions
- Students can identify bias, fallacies, and credibility issues in Aotearoa NZ media and political texts.
- Students can apply ethical frameworks (including kaitiakitanga and whanaungatanga) to analyse real-world decision-making dilemmas.
- Students can construct and evaluate arguments using evidence, identifying logical flaws in competing positions.
- Students can use Socratic questioning to investigate complex social issues from multiple perspectives.
- Students can collaborate to reach a considered group decision, practising kotahitanga in deliberative contexts.
Paearu Angitu — Success Criteria
- I can identify at least three types of logical fallacy in a political speech or advertisement.
- I can rate a news source for credibility using at least two evaluation criteria and justify my rating.
- I can explain how kaitiakitanga applies as an ethical lens to a current NZ issue (e.g. single-use plastics, climate policy).
- I can write or speak a structured argument using the PEEL framework, with clear evidence and counter-argument acknowledgement.
- I can contribute meaningfully to a group deliberation and reach a decision that reflects collective reasoning.
Teacher Planning Snapshot
Curriculum Alignment
Social Studies — NZC Level 4 (Years 7–8). Key Achievement Objectives: understanding how people make decisions about resources; how leadership acquisition has consequences; how people participate in response to community challenges. Key Competencies: Thinking; Relating to Others; Participating and Contributing. Values: Critical inquiry, Respect for evidence, Cultural responsiveness. Cross-curricular connections: English (argument writing), Science (evidence evaluation).
Mātauranga Māori Lens
Whakataukī analysis opens each lesson, grounding critical thinking in Māori philosophical traditions where kōrero is itself a form of evidence and reasoning. Kaitiakitanga is the ethical touchstone throughout — students examine not only what decisions achieve but who bears their consequences and what obligations they create. Pūrākau (narrative tradition) is used as a form of evidence alongside Western academic citation, challenging students to expand their epistemological frames. Whanaungatanga and kotahitanga shape the collaborative decision-making tasks in Lessons 7–8: the group process matters as much as the outcome.
Entry / On-level / Extension
- Entry: Provide sentence starters and graphic organisers (argument maps, claim-evidence-reasoning templates). Use paired discussion before written tasks. Focus on identifying bias rather than evaluating argument structure.
- On-level: Students work independently through PEEL arguments and fallacy identification. Engage with NZ case studies (Matariki, Māori wards) with teacher scaffolding for unfamiliar contexts.
- Extension: Students produce original persuasive podcasts or debates on current NZ issues. Students evaluate the ethical adequacy of existing arguments using both Western and mātauranga Māori frameworks. Students create teaching resources (explainer videos, infographics) to share with peers.
Inclusion and Accessibility
- Neurodiversity: Lessons are structured with predictable opening rituals (whakataukī analysis). Debate and discussion tasks offer written, verbal, and digital alternatives (Padlet, Flipgrid, Canva infographics) — students choose their mode.
- EAL/D: Bilingual whakataukī with translation provided at unit start. Argument vocabulary wall maintained throughout unit. Media literacy tasks use visual sources before text-heavy sources.
- Cultural Safety: Māori students may have personal connections to the NZ case studies (Matariki, Māori wards, Treaty). Give students the right to pass on personal sharing; invite iwi knowledge as expert input rather than object of analysis.
- Gifted/Advanced: Extension pathways built into every lesson; independent inquiry strand available through Lessons 5–8 for students ready to self-direct.