Puna Aronui – Exploring mātauranga pūtaiao
Puna Aronui – Exploring mātauranga pūtaiao was a Science Learning Hub PLD programme designed to support educators to deepen understanding of mātauranga Māori as a meaningful and co-equal knowledge system within science. It aimed to build understanding, confidence and practical capability to integrate mātauranga Māori in ways that are authentic, culturally responsive and sustainable in classroom practice. It was funded by the New Zealand Association of Science Educators and the Network of Expertise.
Exploring mātauranga pūtaiao
Supporting teachers’ professional learning through an innovative project collaboration between the Science Learning Hub Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao and New Zealand Association of Science Educators, funded by the Network of Expertise.
The name underpinning the design of the programme is Puna Aronui. Puna refers to a spring or source, symbolising a continuous and flowing well of wisdom. Aronui represents the pursuit of knowledge through careful observation, understanding and human intellect and is one of the three kete mātauranga in Māori cosmology, associated with practical and human knowledge.
Mātauranga pūtaiao
This interactive provides an overview of a 4-week part-time online programme – Puna Aronui that supported educators to deepen their understanding of mātauranga Māori and its role as a co-equal knowledge system within education. Through reflection, resources and collaborative learning, participants were supported to make purposeful and sustainable shifts in their classroom practice. This was a Science Learning Hub Pokapū Akoranga Pūtaiao PLD programme funded by the New Zealand Association of Science Educators and the Network of Expertise.
Select a label to obtain more information about the weekly learning focuses and activities.
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Mātauranga Māori is a long-existing holistic body of knowledge that originates from tūpuna Māori and is grounded in te ao Māori ways of knowing, being and doing. This knowledge system encompasses understandings of the whakapapa or relational connection to the natural world, cultural practices and lived experiences of generations. Pūtaiao is the term widely referred to as science in mainstream education but more importantly refers to the explanation and exploration of the natural world through both empirical investigation and mātauranga Māori. It recognises that mātauranga or knowledge can be accessed through observations, inquiry and intergenerational understanding of the environment.
Knowledge systems
Strands Intertwined weaves a DNA strand through the landscape, with Earth depicted on one side and a star-filled sky on the other. Through this imagery, the artist suggests that science has the potential to connect whenua and whānau, bringing land, sky and people into relationship.
Our use of the term mātauranga Pūtaiao acknowledges understanding of the natural world generated by mātauranga Māori ways of knowing, being and doing, while engaging with the kinds of questions and inquiries explored in science.
Western science provides systematic, data-driven methods for testing hypotheses and explaining phenomena. Mātauranga Māori brings relational, place-based and holistic insights grounded in centuries of observation and interaction with the environment. Together, they offer a more comprehensive understanding for all learners that is fact based and meaningful.
Inclusive and culturally responsive practice allows for the application of mātauranga Māori in science education when meaningfully merged with Western science understandings. Research and initiatives such as Te Kotahitanga have shown that learning environments reflecting learners’ culture, identity and lived experiences support engagement, belonging and success.
These initiatives also acknowledge and incorporate student voice as a powerful tool in the co-design of learning programmes. Bicultural co-design supports educators moving beyond tokenistic inclusion by planning from the onset, acknowledging cultural contexts as an important inclusion in the learning.
In combining these knowledge systems, educators can offer learners a richer and more inclusive science experience. By engaging with multiple ways of knowing, students gain not only factual understanding but also relational and ethical insights, strengthening their capacity to think critically, act responsibly and connect meaningfully with the world around them.
When both knowledge systems are recognised and brought into dialogue, they can inform and challenge each other in powerful ways.
Watch as Nick Bryant shares his journey into mātauranga Māori and pūtaiao, reflecting on the experiences and influences that have shaped this thinking and practice as an educator. Drawing on his interests in culturally responsive pedagogy, critical thought and mātauranga Māori, Nick discusses the importance of creating learning spaces where rangatahi can engage confidently with multiple knowledge systems.
Related content
In this recorded webinar, Associate Professor Hēmi Whaanga unpacks some key ideas teachers need to be thinking about when planning to incorporate ideas such as Matariki, Māori astronomy and navigation.
Hēmi Whaanga is now Professor and Head of School at Te Putahi-a-Toi Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa | Massey University.
Society is increasingly aware of the value of indigenous knowledge, but to fully respect it, we need to decolonise science – read more in this article.
In this recorded webinar, Pauline Waiti and Rosemary Hipkins explore the idea of knowledge systems with examples from science and mātauranga Māori.
Useful links
Busting the myths about mātauranga Māori is an article written by Professor Ella Henry (Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa, Ngāti Kuri), Director of Māori Advancement at AUT Business School, confronting the myths about mātauranga Māori.
Watch this Education Hub webinar recording with Dr Te Ahukaramū Charles Royal (Marutūahu, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngā Puhi) on mātauranga Māori in Education.
In his 2017 article, Dr Daniel Hikuroa emphasises that mātauranga Māori encompasses knowledge passed down through pūrākau (traditional narratives), whakapapa (genealogy), waiata and mōteatea (songs and chants) and the observation of natural landmarks.
Acknowledgement
Ngā mihi
Thank you to Nick Bryant for presenting in the Puna Aronui programme and to the amazing participants for your generous sharing of experiences, resources and inspiration.
