Evidence and Protocol

Overview

This lesson continues the unit “Māori Spirituality and Faith Connections” by explicitly teaching Year 13 students how to gather and evaluate evidence using a clear research protocol. Students then practise applying the protocol to sources about Māori spiritual traditions and connections with Anglican faith communities, preparing for a more independent analysis in later lessons.

Learning intentions

WALT gather and record evidence using an explicit research protocol. WALT evaluate source reliability and usefulness for a religious studies analysis. WALT discuss findings collaboratively and communicate conclusions clearly with evidence.

Success criteria

I can select relevant evidence that directly answers my research focus. I can explain why evidence is reliable or limited, using clear criteria. I can organise evidence into notes that include enough source details for later referencing. I can share my evidence with my group using respectful, structured academic discussion.

Curriculum links

• Religious Studies: Understanding Religion — this lesson supports analysing religious tradition(s) in Aotearoa New Zealand by building an evidence base for conclusions.
• Religious Studies: Understanding Religion — this lesson also supports analysing the response of a religious tradition to contemporary issues by strengthening evidence quality and accuracy.
• Key Competencies (NZC): Thinking (evidence evaluation), Communicating (structured sharing), Participating and contributing (collaboration with roles), Managing self (research routines).

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Retrieval & purpose. Teacher briefly revisits protocols introduced in Lesson 2 and states today’s goal: “evidence that can be trusted and used.” Students write one sentence: what “good evidence” means for a religious studies analysis.

2. 5–15 min · Direct instruction: research protocol steps. Teacher models a step-by-step process on the board: clarify focus question → skim for relevance → select excerpts → check reliability → record source details → note perspectives/limitations. Students use a prepared template (“Evidence Protocol Notes”) to follow along with an example provided by the teacher (not a student topic yet).

3. 15–25 min · Mini-lesson: evaluating source quality. Teacher explicitly teaches an evidence quality checklist:

• Author/organisation authority within the tradition or recognised scholarship
• Transparency of method and context
• Currency/relevance to contemporary Aotearoa contexts
• Distinguish description vs interpretation
• Balanced viewpoints (including Māori voices and non-Māori scholarly perspectives) Students annotate the example evidence with “evidence strength” and one “limitation.”

4. 25–45 min · Guided group work: gather evidence (multimedia). Teacher sets group roles (Research lead, Evidence recorder, Reliability checker, Speaker) and provides curated multimedia materials (videos/short readings/audio transcripts and images) about Māori spirituality and Anglican connections. Students, in groups of 2–3, collect 3–4 evidence excerpts each group, using the protocol template and the checklist to label reliability and usefulness.

5. 45–55 min · Structured sharing: evidence round. Teacher runs a “one-minute evidence share” structure: each speaker states (a) the excerpt claim, (b) why it is reliable/useful, (c) how it links to the focus. Students contribute respectfully, asking one clarifying question and one evidence-quality question (e.g., “What makes you confident this is representative?”).

6. 55–60 min · Exit ticket: readiness check. Teacher collects quick exit tickets with two prompts. Students complete: (1) one evidence excerpt they will use, (2) one criterion showing why it meets quality expectations or what limitation they must note.

Resources

• “Evidence Protocol Notes” printable template (per student)
• Evidence quality checklist (per student)
• Curated multimedia set on Māori spiritual traditions and Anglican connections (teacher-prepared)
• Coloured highlighters or sticky flags for marking reliability strength/limitations
• Device access for reading/viewing (if available) plus offline backups (printed extracts)
• Group role cards
• Markers and whiteboard or presentation slides

Assessment

• Formative during protocol modelling: teacher checks students’ template entries for completeness (focus link, excerpt, reliability judgement).
• Formative during group work: teacher uses a quick observation checklist for role clarity, evidence recording accuracy, and respectful discussion.
• Exit ticket: identifies readiness to use evidence in later analysis and whether students can justify reliability/limitations using criteria.

Differentiation

• Support: sentence starters for evidence recording (“This excerpt suggests… because…”; “I judge it reliable because…”; “A limitation is…”).
• Support: provide a bank of focus questions and pre-selected evidence excerpts for students who need a starting point.
• Extension: students identify an additional perspective that may complicate their evidence (e.g., differences in interpretation across communities) and note how this will affect later conclusions.
• EAL/SEN: allow audio recording of group discussion notes; reduce cognitive load by limiting each student to a maximum of 2–3 high-quality excerpts.

Curriculum-aligned competencies to watch

• Thinking: students justify evidence quality with criteria rather than opinion.
• Communicating: students share evidence clearly using the round structure.
• Participating and contributing: students follow roles and engage in respectful academic dialogue.
• Managing self: students complete evidence templates on time and keep organised notes for later assessment.