Transcript 8 Ways Powerpointx

8 Ways
of Aboriginal Learning
Story-based, Flexibly-planned, Values-based,
Transformative, Nature-centred, Adaptive, Authentic,
Communal, Connected, Independent, Emotional,
Responsive, Place-based, Holistic, Modelled, Cooperative,
Spontaneous, Inquiring, Reflective, Creative, Experiential,
Problem-based, Imitative, Person-oriented, Auditory,
Visual, Non-verbal, Imaginal, Kinaesthetic, Trial and error,
Repetitive, Oral.
Aboriginal pedagogies are:
• that culture impacts on optimal pedagogy for all learners.
• that there is common ground between Aboriginal
pedagogies and the optimal pedagogies for all learners.
• that a practical framework is needed for teachers to be
able to organise and access this knowledge in cultural
safety.
• and finally that a reconciling interface approach is needed
to harmonise the relationship between Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal pedagogical systems.
Review of the literature and research on
Aboriginal pedagogy found:
8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning
.
Deconstruct/Reconstruct
Learning Maps
Community Links
Symbols and Images
Non-verbal
Land-links
Story-sharing
Non-linear
There is common ground
between Aboriginal
pedagogies and the
optimal pedagogies for
all learners
There is a broad consensus in the literature that the Aboriginal
learner “… concentrates on understanding the overall concept or
task before getting down to the details.”
Learning wholes rather than parts
Students master activities and texts beginning with the whole
structure, rather than a series of sequenced steps
Holistic knowledge, balance of communal and individual
needs, wholes to parts, observation before action
Deconstruct/ Reconstruct
Teachers use diagrams or visualisations to map out
processes for students to follow
Making those overall shapes of structures in texts, activities
and courses explicit in a visual way for Aboriginal learners
Knowledge stages/processes, navigating mental
landscapes, visual records/sites of Law/Story
Learning Maps
This way of learning draws together the research describing
Aboriginal pedagogy as group-oriented, localised and connected
to real-life purposes and contexts
Aboriginal teaching refers to community life and values
Kinship, community, culture base, communal
governance/knowledge/ownership
Community Links
This way of learning enfolds the recurring concept that our
students are primarily visual-spatial learners
But it goes beyond that, as in our way a teacher would utilise all
the senses to build symbolic meaning in support of learning new
concepts in classes, as a specifically Indigenous pedagogy
involving the use of both concrete and abstract imagery
Symbols, signs, pictures, imaginings, messages, designs and
images
Symbols and Images
Kinaesthetic, hands-on learning is a characteristic element of this
Aboriginal pedagogy
Another element is the role of body language in Indigenous
pedagogy and the use of silence as a feature of Aboriginal
learning and language use
Unspoken/instinctive/ancestral knowledge, signing, body
language, communicative silences
Non-verbal
This pedagogy is about connecting and relating classroom
learning to the land
Aboriginal pedagogies are drawn from the living landscape
…linking ancestral and personal relationships with a place
Knowledge of/connection to land, waters, climate, skies,
plants, animals and place
Land-links
This way of learning makes use of personal narratives in
knowledge transmission and transformation
It has long been observed that Elders teach using stories,
drawing lessons from narratives to actively involve learners
in introspection and analysis
Stories, histories, songs and yarning
Story-sharing
Aboriginal students can have an indirect (rather than direct) orientation
to learning concepts, as can be seen in the avoidance of direct
questioning and in the avoidance of direct instruction and behaviour
This way of learning is about presenting learning in cyclic and indirect
ways – but also about avoiding dichotomies by finding common ground
between diverse viewpoints
Non-linear/contradictory/"irrational"/creative ideas, circular logic,
indirect processes/management, adaptive capacity
Non-linear
How we learn - culture way…
1. We connect through the stories we share.
2. We picture our pathways of knowledge.
3. We see, think, act, make and share without words.
4. We keep and share knowledge with art and objects.
5. We work with lessons from land and nature.
6. We put different ideas together and create new
knowledge.
7. We work from wholes to parts, watching and then
doing.
8. We bring new knowledge home to help our mob.
Story Sharing: Approaching learning through narrative.
Learning Maps: Explicitly mapping/visualising processes.
Non-verbal: Applying intra-personal and kinaesthetic skills to
thinking and learning.
Symbols and Images: Using images and metaphors to
understand concepts and content.
Land Links: Place-based learning, linking content to local
land and place.
Non-linear: Producing innovations and understanding by
thinking laterally or combining systems.
Deconstruct/Reconstruct: Modelling and scaffolding,
working from wholes to parts (watch then do).
Community Links: Centring local viewpoints, applying
learning for community benefit.
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