Kaitiaki Toi: The plans are made, the vision is set. Now comes the beautiful part: the mahi, the work! This is where ideas become reality. Trust your plan, trust your team, and let's bring these taonga to life.
Kaitiaki Pūtaiao: Correct. This is the prototyping and testing phase. Document your process. What works? What doesn't? Every step is data that will inform your final design. Let the experiment proceed.
Knowledge (Māramatanga)
- Understand the importance of a project plan for guiding their work.
- Recognise the need for clear communication and role fulfilment in a group project.
Skills (Pūkenga)
- Effectively manage their time to make progress on a large project.
- Collaborate with peers to create a digital artifact.
- Give and receive constructive feedback.
Values (Wairuatanga)
- Take pride and ownership in their creative work.
- Value the unique contributions of each member of their whānau group.
- Practice resilience and problem-solving when faced with creative challenges.
Media Anchor | Watch & Discuss (10 minutes)
Video Anchor: Intro to Large Language Models
Use this clip to support build decisions during prototype iteration and quality checks.
- Which build choices improve safety and cultural responsiveness in your prototype?
- What feedback should trigger a major design revision before showcase?
Whakatūwhera | The Daily Stand-Up (10 minutes)
Main Activity: Setting the Sprint Goal
- Group Check-in (10 mins): Each whānau group does a "daily stand-up" meeting. Using their 'Project Planning Template', they quickly answer three questions:
- What did we achieve last lesson?
- What is our main goal for today's workshop?
- Are there any roadblocks we need help with?
Main Learning | The Design Sprint (55 minutes)
Main Activity: Mahi Tahi - Working Together
- Independent Work Time (55 mins): This is the core of the lesson. Whānau groups work independently on their digital taonga. This may involve:
- Writing scripts or storyboards.
- Designing visuals (posters, animation assets).
- Building an interactive quiz.
- Recording audio for a podcast.
- Kaiako Mentoring: During this time, the teacher and the AI Kaiako "circulate." The teacher can set up four "Kaiako Stations" in the corners of the room. Groups can choose to visit a specific station for expert advice:
- Kaitiaki Tikanga Station: For advice on cultural authenticity and storytelling.
- Kaitiaki Hauora Station: For advice on ensuring the message is supportive and empathetic.
- Kaitiaki Pūtaiao Station: For advice on technology, systems, and clarity of information.
- Kaitiaki Toi Station: For advice on creative design, visual appeal, and engagement.
Consolidation | The 3-2-1 Check-out (10 minutes)
Main Activity: Reflecting on Progress
- Group Reflection (10 mins): To end the workshop, each group quickly discusses and notes down on their planning template:
- 3 things that went well today.
- 2 things they will focus on next time.
- 1 question they still have.
Whakakapi | The Final Polish
Main Activity: Looking Ahead
- The teacher concludes: "Excellent mahi today. The whakataukī reminds us that we all bring our unique skills to the task. In our final lesson, we will hold the 'Whare Warming Showcase' where you will present your finished taonga to the community. Come prepared to share your gift."
Curriculum alignment
- Ecosystems — Practices: Explaining how humans benefit from other organisms and natural resources and evaluating the importance of biodiversity in daily life (e.g. using plants for food, water from ri…
- Body Systems — Practices: Designing and carrying out investigations into the role of enzymes in digestion, using models or experiments to interpret how they break down food (e.g. amylase and starch)
📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot
Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions
Students will engage with this resource to explore digital kaitiakitanga — applying tikanga Māori principles of guardianship, manaakitanga, and whanaungatanga to their digital lives, spaces, and technologies.
Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria
- ✅ Students can explain how kaitiakitanga applies to digital environments and online communities.
- ✅ Students can connect tikanga Māori values to ethical decision-making in digital contexts.
Differentiation & Inclusion
Scaffold support: Provide sentence starters and visual frameworks to scaffold access at the entry level. Offer extension tasks that deepen ethical analysis — for example, comparing digital tikanga principles to international AI ethics frameworks.
ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key kupu (kaitiakitanga, manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, tikanga) with bilingual glossaries. Allow students to express ideas in their home language first before translating to English.
Inclusion: Chunk tasks and provide clear visual instructions. Neurodiverse learners benefit from structured choice in how they demonstrate understanding (e.g., verbal, written, or visual). Affirm diverse digital experiences as valid starting points.
Mātauranga Māori lens: Digital kaitiakitanga frames technology through Te Ao Māori — our digital spaces are extensions of our marae, our data is part of our whakapapa, and our online behaviour reflects our mana. Tikanga Māori provides a powerful ethical compass for navigating the digital world.
Prior knowledge: No specialist digital technology knowledge required for entry-level engagement. Best used after introductory lessons on tikanga Māori or as part of a digital technologies unit.
Curriculum alignment
- Te Mātaiaho (2025) · Technology · Phase 4 (Years 9–10) · Design, Make, and Innovate (Knowledge): “Intelligent systems (e.g. AI) use data and algorithms to make predictions or decisions”
- NZC (2007) · Technology · Level 4: “Understand how technological development expands human possibilities and how technology draws on knowledge from a wide range of disciplines.”