Kaitiaki Tikanga: Tēnā anō tātou. We have seen how our actions are woven together. Now, we must ask: how do we agree to live together in our digital spaces? This is the heart of tikanga—the correct and proper way of doing things. It is not a list of rules from a ruler; it is a living agreement, a treaty, made by the community, for the community.
Kaitiaki Toi: And we will make this treaty beautiful! The whakataukī today speaks of red and black, the colours of kōwhaiwhai. It tells us that every person's unique contribution is needed to create a beautiful pattern. Today, you are the artists of our community's culture. Let's design a tikanga that is both strong and beautiful.
Knowledge (Māramatanga)
- Define 'tikanga' as a community's agreed-upon protocols and procedures.
- Understand that effective rules are co-created and based on shared values.
- Identify key areas for a digital code of conduct (e.g., communication, safety, problem-solving).
Skills (Pūkenga)
- Collaboratively draft a set of community guidelines.
- Negotiate and compromise with peers to reach a consensus.
- Clearly articulate rules and the values that underpin them.
Values (Wairuatanga)
- Value democratic participation and the co-creation of rules.
- Develop a strong sense of ownership and pride in their community's culture.
- Appreciate the importance of restorative practices in problem-solving.
Media Anchor | Watch & Discuss (10 minutes)
Video Anchor: Māori systems and kaitiakitanga
Frame tikanga as governance in practice: expectations, accountability, and collective care online.
- Which tikanga principles should become explicit rules in your class digital spaces?
- How should breaches be restored in ways that protect mana and relationships?
Whakatūwhera | Case Study: Two Sets of Rules (15 minutes)
Main Activity: Analysing Tone and Purpose
- Setup (5 mins): In pairs, students receive two short, contrasting examples of online community rules (teacher-created). One is authoritarian and focused on punishment ("Rule 1: No swearing. Break this rule and you will be banned."). The other is community-focused ("Guideline 1: We use respectful language here. Our goal is to make this a safe space for everyone.").
- Analysis (10 mins): Pairs discuss: "What is the feeling of each set of rules? Which community would you rather be a part of? Why?" This establishes the 'why' behind co-creating their own tikanga.
Main Learning | The Digital Tikanga Treaty Workshop (35 minutes)
Main Activity: Drafting the Treaty
- The Task (5 mins): The teacher introduces the 'Digital Tikanga Treaty' handout. The task for each whānau group is to draft a tikanga for a specific online space they all use (e.g., their class Google Classroom, a group chat for project work).
- Drafting Workshop (25 mins): Groups work through the handout, collaboratively writing their guidelines for each section:
- Te Kōrero (Communication): How will we speak to each other?
- Te Manaaki (Support): How will we support each other?
- Te Haumaru (Safety): How will we keep our space and each other safe?
- Te Whakatika (Problem-Solving): What is our agreed process when someone breaks our tikanga?
- Refinement (5 mins): Groups review their draft. Is it clear? Is it fair? Does it reflect their shared values?
Consolidation | The Signing of the Treaty (25 minutes)
Main Activity: Creating the Class Tikanga
- Presenting the Drafts (10 mins): Each group presents their key ideas for their tikanga.
- Synthesising the Treaty (10 mins): The teacher or a student scribe writes the best and most common ideas onto a large poster titled "Our Class Digital Tikanga." This becomes the single, unified treaty for the class.
- The Signing (5 mins): In a final, formal act, every student comes up and "signs" the poster. This signifies their commitment to upholding the tikanga they have all created.
Whakakapi | A Living Agreement (5 minutes)
Main Activity: Final Reflection
- Kaitiaki Tikanga concludes: "This poster is more than just paper. It is a promise. It is a taonga we have created together. It is a living tikanga that we must all now practice. You have woven the wall of Taha Whānau strong. Next week, we begin our final and most personal wall: Taha Wairua."
Curriculum alignment
- Relationships — Practices: Practising strategies like clear communication, identifying pressure, and challenging disrespectful behaviour to protect relationships and emotional safety
- Text Studies — Knowledge: In each year, students must engage meaningfully with:at least one novela selection of poetry3a selection of non-fiction texts.4Teachers may also choose from a range of other t…
- Language Studies — Knowledge: In each year, students must engage meaningfully with:at least one novela selection of poetry3a selection of non-fiction texts.4Teachers may also choose from a range of other t…
📋 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): “Legal and ethical frameworks (privacy, licensing, attribution, consent) guide responsible and safe digital outcomes in local contexts.”
- NZC (2007) · Technology · Level 5: “Understand how people’s perceptions and acceptance of technology impact on technological developments and how and why technological knowledge becomes codified.”