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🌿🎨 Lesson 12: Our Community's Tikanga

⏱️ 75 minutes 📚 Year 8 🇳🇿 NZ Curriculum: Social Sciences, Health, The Arts

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.

➡️ 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?
Teacher Note: The "Te Whakatika" section is the most important and challenging. Guide students away from purely punitive ideas ("they get kicked out") towards more restorative ones ("we have a quiet word," "we remind them of our tikanga," "we have a mediation circle").

🤝 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.
Formative Assessment: The group's drafted 'Digital Tikanga Treaty' is the key artifact. Assess its clarity, fairness, and how well it reflects the unit's values. The quality of their "Te Whakatika" section reveals the depth of their thinking.

🏁 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."