Lesson 1: Launching the Community Action Project — He Aha tō Mahi?
Beginning the journey — choosing a real community issue that matters, forming teams, and designing an inquiry question that will drive eight weeks of genuine impact.
🎯 Ngā Whāinga Akoranga | Learning Intentions
PBL design principles (authentic context, student voice, real audience); how to write a strong driving question; how Māori communities use wānanga to identify community needs and prioritise action.
Draft a driving question for a chosen community issue; complete a Project Launch Canvas identifying the team, problem, audience, product, and success criteria.
🎥 Media Anchor & Inquiry Scaffold
Community Action & Project-Based Learning in Aotearoa
Watch the full clip — 1:44. Source: Student Volunteer Army. The SVA began when Canterbury students organised themselves after the 2011 earthquakes. Ten years on, this is what a student-launched community action grew into.
🧠 1. Before Viewing (Launch the Inquiry)
What is one thing in your school, neighbourhood, or community that frustrates you, needs improving, or is simply unfair? That feeling — that's the starting point of every real community action project.
👁️ 2. During Viewing (Critical Inquiry Points)
- Early in the clip: The best project driving questions are open, complex, and have no single right answer. Evaluate these questions: which ones would lead to the richest project?
- Midway: How do the Māori principles of manaakitanga (caring for others) and kaitiakitanga (guardianship) connect to the idea of community action?
- Later in the clip: What does 'authentic audience' mean in project-based learning — and why does presenting to a real community stakeholder (not just the teacher) change the quality of work?
🗣️ 3. After Viewing & Kaiako Facilitation
Kaiako Move: Model a community needs analysis using a local example. Facilitate a class wānanga where students share community issues they care about. Help groups form around shared concerns.
Task: Project Launch Canvas: In your group, complete the one-page Project Launch Canvas. Define: What is the problem? Who is affected? What will you create? Who is your real audience? How will you know you've succeeded?
⚡ Whakaoho | Do Now: Project Hook (5 mins)
Three-column brainstorm: (1) What frustrates me about this school or community? (2) Who is most affected by this? (3) What could be changed if someone with power decided to act?
🌱 Activity 1: Collaborative Inquiry (25 mins)
Community issue wānanga — groups share their chosen issue and receive appreciative inquiry feedback from peers: What is strong about this issue choice? What questions should the group investigate? Who are the key stakeholders to consult?
✍️ Activity 2: Documentation & Reflection (20 mins)
Driving question drafting — each group writes three versions of their driving question (surface, medium, deep) and selects the version that opens the richest inquiry. Share with another group for feedback.
🏫 Kaiako Planning & Pedagogy Notes
Curriculum Alignment: Te Mataiaho Social Sciences Phase 3/4 — Students investigate real community contexts, exercise civic agency, and take informed action to influence positive change.
Cultural Integration: Use wānanga processes throughout — shared inquiry, collective voice, relational knowledge. Invite community mentors to support groups where possible.
Assessment: This unit uses portfolio-based, process-focused assessment. The Project Launch Canvas, Action Log, and Evaluation Report together form the authentic assessment evidence.