A growing library of Layer 1 authentic experiences for NZ classrooms. Each protocol is a replicable starting point: a real encounter with the world that no student arrives at without something genuine to bring back to the classroom.
Science
Students collect and identify the insects, snails, and larvae living in a local stream using kick sampling and white trays. The organisms found are direct indicators of water quality. Years 1–13. No specialist equipment needed.
Layer 1: Authentic ExperienceA Real World Ready companion to DOC's marine habitat resource. Students encounter NZ coastal and marine life directly, then bring their observations to AI as a thinking partner. Years 1–13.
Layer 1: Authentic ExperienceStudents count satellites during twilight observation and bring their own data to AI to explore what the numbers mean. A protocol for the night sky nobody owns. Years 5–13.
Layer 1: Authentic ExperienceStudents explore cloud formation and weather through direct observation, then bring their questions to AI as a thinking partner. Teacher-mediated shared-screen AI model. Years 1–4.
Layer 1: Authentic ExperienceStudents collect and analyse their own fingerprints before bringing the evidence to AI as a thinking partner. A forensic science protocol that works in any classroom. Years 1–13.
Field Geology Series — Every Rock Tells a Story
A Real World Ready companion for GeoTrips geological sites across NZ. Students encounter NZ geology in the field, then bring their observations to AI. Works at any GeoTrips site. Years 5–13.
Layer 1: Authentic ExperienceStudents collect and sort rocks at Tora, encountering a contradiction that no textbook can manufacture. The authentic experience is the contradiction itself. Years 5–13.
Layer 1: Authentic ExperienceStudents work with the scale and distance of an asteroid impact, a magnitude 12 earthquake, and a 100-metre tsunami crossing the Pacific. Years 5–13.
Layer 1: Authentic ExperienceStudents reason from escape burrows, tsunami reach, and fossil evidence to a conclusion. The reasoning process is the learning. Years 5–13.
Museums and Heritage Sites
A companion for visits to Tāmaki Paenga Hira. AI prompts and an Experience Trace Scale built on the irreducible encounters of taonga, natural history, and Auckland's layered histories. Years 1–13.
Layer 1: Authentic ExperienceA companion for visits to Te Papa. Four types of authentic encounter — taonga, natural history, art, and historic documents — each with AI prompts and an Experience Trace Scale. Years 1–13.
Layer 1: Authentic ExperienceA companion for NZ's 26 significant heritage places. History where it happened. AI prompts and an Experience Trace Scale grounded in the stories that live at the place. Years 1–13.
Layer 1: Authentic ExperienceA companion for visits to Wellington's most layered civic site. Pre-colonial Māori land, raupatu, Parihaka, the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, and more. Years 1–13.
Layer 1: Authentic ExperienceA companion for visits to Archives NZ. A four-question source analysis framework built on the irreducible encounter with primary historical documents. Years 9–13.
Civics and Citizenship