AI for Tertiary

Understanding the significance of AI in tertiary education within Aotearoa New Zealand.

🌏 Section 3: Why AI Matters for Educators in Aotearoa

AI is already reshaping how learners interact with knowledge, creativity, and feedback. Many of our learners are already using tools like ChatGPT — sometimes well, sometimes poorly, and often without guidance.

As educators, we have a chance to:

  • Reduce administrative overload

  • Brainstorm and co-create resources

  • Support learners with scaffolds and examples

  • Foster critical thinking about AI’s risks and limits

But we also face challenges:

  • Academic integrity risks (e.g., using AI to write assessments)

  • Equity concerns (Who gets access? Who is left behind?)

  • Digital readiness gaps (for both learners and educators)

🧭 Recent research from a recent AARIA project shows that many educators feel pressure to “use AI” — but lack confidence.

Building AI literacy is a form of digital manaakitanga — supporting each other to use technology responsibly, inclusively, and with care.

🪶 He Kōrero Anō | Kaitiakitanga me te AI – Guardianship and AI in Education

Tūāpapa | Foundation

As kaitiaki (guardians) of knowledge in our learning spaces, we have a responsibility to guide our learners through AI with wisdom and care. This isn’t just about technical skills — it’s about cultural integrity and the protection of mana.

Three Key Responsibilities

1. Protecting Mana

  • Maintaining the mana of learners — their inherited authority and life force to think, create, and know.

  • Recognising when AI use becomes a substitute for genuine learning rather than a support.

  • Creating space for learners to own their voice and ideas.

2. Maintaining Mātauranga

  • Helping learners understand the sources and connections of knowledge.

  • Not accepting AI outputs at face value without questioning origins.

  • Teaching critical evaluation: “Where does this knowledge come from?”

3. Exercising Tino Rangatiratanga

  • Making informed choices about when and how to use AI.

  • Not feeling pressured to adopt every new tool.

  • Leading from your values, not from hype.

Te Reo Māori and AI Tools

Current AI tools are predominantly English language based and trained on Western datasets. As educators in Aotearoa, consider:

  • How might AI tools misunderstand or misrepresent te reo Māori and tikanga?

  • What responsibility do we have to check AI translations or cultural content?

  • How can we centre te reo Māori in our practice even while using English-dominant tools?

📘 Example: If you ask ChatGPT to translate or explain tikanga concepts, always verify with te reo Māori experts or trusted resources. AI may produce grammatically correct but culturally inappropriate content.

Whanaungatanga in the Age of AI

The relationships we build with our learners remain central. AI should enhance, not replace:

  • Face-to-face hui and kōrero

  • The tuakana-teina relationships in our spaces of learning

  • The human connection that enables true ako

💭 Whaiwhakaaro | Reflection

How can I use AI to free up more time for relationship-building with my learners, rather than letting it become another barrier to connection?

Practical Application

Before introducing AI in your teaching, ask:

  • Does this tool respect the mana of my learners?

  • Will this create more or less space for whanaungatanga?

  • Am I exercising kaitiakitanga or just following trends?

Whakataukī

“Mā te whakarongo ka mōhio, mā te mōhio ka mārama, mā te mārama ka mātau, mā te mātau ka ora.”

(Through listening comes awareness; through awareness comes understanding; through understanding comes knowledge; through knowledge comes wellbeing.)

💬 Reflective Prompt

  • How do you see your role as a kaitiaki of AI practice in your learning environment?

  • What actions can you take to strengthen mana, mātauranga, and whanaungatanga through your use of AI?

  • How will you model ethical and inclusive AI use for your learners and colleagues?