Mātauranga Māori constitutes concepts and principles that are richly detailed, complex, and fundamental to Māoridom. It is important to remember that the practice of these are wider and more varied than their use within the proposed NCEA Achievement Standards and supporting documentation.

We also recognise that the cultures, languages, and identities of the Pacific Islands are diverse, varied, and unique. Therefore the Pacific concepts, contexts, and principles that have been incorporated within NCEA Achievement Standards may have wide-ranging understandings and applications across and within the diversity of Pacific communities. It is not our intention to define what these concepts mean but rather offer some ways that they could be understood and applied within different subjects that kaiako and students alike can explore.

The intent of the Standard

The aim of this Achievement Standard is for ākonga to understand, from a geographic lens, how natural processes shape an environment. An environment is a particular geographic area within te taiao that has its own characteristics, and it can be local, regional, national, or global. The way natural processes work to shape an environment is complex. Ākonga will unpack this complexity by showing the relationship between natural processes at work, explaining how they create phenomena within the environment, and discussing the implications of these processes for people using relevant evidence and geographic terminology. 

Ākonga will be equipped with a new way to look at the world around them and apply geographic thinking and knowledge to imagine how the environment has been shaped, and how it may continue to change. Being able to use evidence and geographic terminology to understand how natural processes shape an environment is a core aspect of geography. It means that ākonga can understand the history and future of te taiao, and appreciate how all the parts of the environment within te taiao are interconnected. Ākonga will be able to do this by looking at how phenomena within an environment are created through natural processes, and by looking at impacts of natural processes. 

Ākonga will be able to use their understanding of how natural processes shape an environment to grow a positive and reciprocal relationship with their local environment. For example, knowing how natural processes can cause hazards means that ākonga can make informed, responsible decisions within te taiao, such as where to locate settlements, or how to prevent an area from flooding.  

It can be part of a unit of learning that draws on the following Significant Learning: 

• explore pūrākau and science to understand how te taiao is formed 
• investigate how natural processes shape te taiao 
• investigate how natural processes have consequences within te taiao. 

For te ao Māori contexts, engaging with kōrero tuku iho, particularly pūrākau, can help ākonga to understand how natural processes shape an environment and the impacts and implications within an environment. Connection with local te ao Māori knowledge holders in the teaching and learning programme is encouraged to engage with kōrero tuku iho and taonga tuku iho in a way that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

Making reliable judgements

To describe how the natural processes shape an environment, ākonga will outline the processes in action, and the resulting phenomena. 

Ākonga will demonstrate understanding that there is a relationship between natural processes and an environment. An environment refers to a particular geographic area within te taiao, the space you stand in or observe. Features of te taiao are interconnected, including people who live within the space. They will describe how the natural processes relate to the specific environment they are looking at, for example, by showing where the natural processes occur to shape the specific environment. If ākonga look at a macro-process, they will also need to focus on the way it is involved in shaping the specific environment. They might describe how a particular part of the macro-process is located in the specific environment and shapes it. Ākonga will describe the phenomena resulting from the natural processes. At higher levels of understanding, ākonga will be able to explain how natural processes create the phenomena they have described. 

To attain this Achievement Standard, ākonga will describe impacts of the natural processes and phenomena on the environment. For example, an impact could be the muddying of a river mouth due to erosion of the surrounding hills. Another example could be erosional processes causing a landslip where a surf lifesaving building is located.  

At higher levels of understanding, ākonga will show understanding of wider impacts or implications of the natural processes on the environment. For example, a wider impact could be that the muddying of the river damages the river's ecosystem. Another example of a wider impact could be that the damage to the surf lifesaving building due to a landslip is fixed. Examining implications may include discussing real or potential effects, outcomes, or responses for people who live in or near the environment in the future. For example, an implication could be that the damage to the river's ecosystem due to the muddied waters means that people do not fish there anymore, so community fishing events move up the coastline. Another example could be that the risk of further landslips in the location of the surf lifesaving building means that the building is moved to a safer location on the beach, which changes where locals choose to swim on the beach. 

Ākonga will also be assessed on their ability to include relevant evidence and geographic terminology. Deeper understanding of this Achievement Standard will be demonstrated by their ability to use evidence and geographic terminology effectively, to support and develop their explanation. Kaiako should include geographic terminology in their teaching and learning programme so that ākonga can use these terms correctly. 

Collecting evidence

Refer to the External Assessment Specifications for further information.

Possible contexts

Natural processes covered within this Achievement Standard include glacial, tectonic, climatic, coastal, and fluvial. Kaiako should ensure a range of environments are part of the teaching and learning programme. 

For example, they could explore: 

• a coastal environment such as Omaha Beach, with the main natural processes being coastal and climatic 
• a volcanic environment such as the Tongariro volcanic zone, with the main natural processes being glacial and tectonic 
• a river environment such as Hātea River in Whangārei, the Whanganui River, or Te Awa Kairangi in Lower Hutt. The main natural processes could be fluvial processes such as erosion, transportation, and deposition, and climatic processes. 

Standard Exclusions

This Standard has one or more exclusions, or Standards that assess the same or similar learning. These Standards are excluded against one another to prevent assessing the same learning twice. You can only use credits gained from one of these standards towards your NCEA qualification.

Find out more about the NCEA Level 1 Exclusions List.

Literacy and Numeracy Requirements

This Achievement Standard has been approved for literacy in the transition period (2024-2027). 

Full information on the co-requisite during the transition period: Standards approved for NCEA Co-requisite during the transition period (2024-2027).