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1.4 - Strategies For Indigenous Teaching and Learning

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14 views

1.4 - Strategies For Indigenous Teaching and Learning

Uploaded by

Faizan Makhdoom
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Strategies for Teaching and Learning

You have been asked to reflect on the different ways of learning, and viewing learning for
Aboriginal students. Reflection and application are major elements when interviewing for jobs.

Using these reflection and your own professional knowledge and research, outline strategies you
would use to engage Aboriginal students. Discuss whether you would change this approach in a
classroom with only one or two Aboriginal children.

In any classroom, there will be a wide range of methods that students use to learn and retain
important information. Virtually every student learns most effectively in a different way, whether
that be through visual resources, by reading information reports or by actually experiencing events
and physically conducting experiments. There have been many models established to attempt to
classify learning styles, with the most common being Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
Theory; this describes eight distinct areas of intelligence as the linguistic, musical, logical-
mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinaesthetic, intrapersonal, interpersonal and naturalist domains
(Krause, 2003). However, very few of these learning theory models and representations take into
consideration the cultural aspect of learning. Any learning which takes place, whether inside the
classroom or out, is a part of a cultural environment which will play a role in this learning process. It
is impossible for any learning to take place in a vacuum; that is, without this cultural element.

Culture also influences how the learning takes place and what is learnt. Different cultures place
emphasis on different types of knowledge, depending on which is relevant to their lives and
communities. For example, defining and measuring intelligence as mental speed or agility is a
Western notion, while in other societies emphasis is placed on social qualities or understanding
others (Krause, 2003). In many Indigenous societies, learning skills takes place through experiences;
practicing first-hand and gaining knowledge through these experiences. Knowledge is traditionally
passed down verbally rather than through writing. While this is different to the Western perception
of learning, it is in no way any less meaningful, and there are ways to incorporate this more practical
form of learning into the classroom, to students who learn best through this technique, no matter
where they come from.

One strategy which can be used to engage Indigenous students is self-motivation. When students
are motivated, when they want to be engaged in their own learning, then they will participate to a
higher level. Perhaps the best way to motivate students is to have high expectations. Chris Sarra,
while re-establishing Cherbourg State School in Queensland, set high expectations for the students,
and with additional support from parents and the community, the students understood that their
learning was their responsibility. Sarra communicated to students that the school was there to help
them to succeed and provide them with opportunities, but that the student themselves had to take
those opportunities; after this, students school attendance, behaviour, and academic performance
all experienced improvements (Sarra, 2003).

However, if students are already motivated to learn, but have trouble doing so, there are other
strategies which can be implemented into the classroom to engage Indigenous students. While there
is no one strategy which will work to engage all Indigenous students (just as there is no one way to
engage non-Indigenous students), there are some which have common ground across many
Indigenous students, and which have been outlined by educators. Research conducted by Stephen
Harris in the Northern Territory during the 1970s found that within one community, students
learned in four clearly defined ways – through observation, participation and modelling (rather than
the traditional Western approach of listening, reading and writing); through trial and error in their
own experiences, as opposed to following the instructions of the teacher; through relevance –
learning about things which apply to them, such as learning about money when it is needed to buy
groceries; and through context-specific activities, which entails learning a skill, but not necessarily
applying it to other contexts in the home or community environment (Harrison, 2011). These four
styles of learning were particularly effective in the community in question, and can be applied across
others.

The key when aiming to engage and motivate Indigenous students is to understand how they learn,
so that it can be applied into the classroom setting. Ideally this would take place in any classroom to
some extent, no matter the number of Indigenous students present, as this makes the classroom
more adaptable and better for all students. There are many resources which detail how Indigenous
students learn. One such resource is 8 Ways, a website created and designed by Indigenous people,
which details and explores Indigenous learning perspectives and learning style. It defines the eight
Aboriginal ways of learning as sharing stories, making links to community, deconstructing and
reconstructing, non-linear learning, making links to the land, using symbols and images, using non-
verbal forms of communication and learning maps (8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning, n.d.).

As many of these techniques are effective with all different types of students in the classroom, in any
classroom which I taught personally, I would endeavour to include some of these strategies and
learning styles so that all students are included most effectively in their learning environment.
Ideally, this would happen in the classroom regardless of the number of Indigenous students in the
class.

8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning (n.d.).Retrieved November 7, 2011, from


http://8ways.wikispaces.com/

Harrison, N. (2011). Teaching and Learning in Aboriginal Education (2nd Ed.). Melbourne, VIC: Oxford
University Press.

Krause, K., Bochner, S. & Duchesne, S. (2003). Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching
(2nd Ed.). Melbourne, VIC: Cengage Learning.

Sarra, C. (2003). Young and black and deadly: strategies for improving outcomes for Indigenous
students. Canberra: Australian College of Education.

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