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The study of this unit, Aboriginal and Culturally Responsive Pedagogies has really opened
my eyes to the deeper realities of our society. Prior to my commencement of this unit, I was
not aware of issues regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in education. The
knowledge I had about them was very limited and also based off stereotypes. This unit has
enabled the growth of my perspectives and awareness into bringing about change for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. My past attempts in creating lesson plans
which cater to the needs of Indigenous students were very limited and did not pay much
attention to the sensitivity of topics and to the needs of Indigenous students. Through this unit
I have learnt how to better incorporate the AISTL standards 1.4 and 2.4 into my teaching as
well as practicing the use of the 8 Ways Aboriginal Pedagogy.
Through my years, my interaction with people of the Indigenous community has been
limited. For this reason I am sad to say that my perception of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander community was stereotypical. In primary school, one of my closest friends was an
Aboriginal girl, however there was no system in place from the school, a public government
school to cater to her needs. As I grew older and changed schools, I went from minimal to
zero contact with Indigenous students. I strongly believe this is the reason why I have been so
unaware of issues relating to Indigenous students. I am happy to say that these perceptions
have now changed drastically thanks to my time in this unit. I did find it challenging to
ensure that I am meeting the requirements of the 8 ways approach whilst also applying the
quality teaching elements. This is not to say that they do not go hand in hand, rather I believe
we are so used to the western methods of pedagogy that to alter that and add the 8 ways does
become challenging. My aim was to do justice to the enactment of the 8 ways whilst also
ensuring the quality standards are met throughout the lesson.
For me, one of the most valuable lessons learnt from this unit was through the Stronger
Smarter online modules. The module drew attention to factors I have never thought of before
such as deficit conversations and low expectations for Indigenous students. As a future
educator, my goal is to be one of the best and the module helped me realise that in order for
my students to succeed, I need to provide them with those opportunities. Setting higher
expectations for all students, especially for Indigenous students can motivate the students and
build their confidence. Knowing that the teacher is there to support them and having set goals
which encourages them to aim higher is truly one of the beauties of education. It is important
for all educators to understand this as throughout history, injustices against people of colour
has been prominent. History books have always centralised white superiority along with
dominantly white perspectives seen in the media and advertising (Di Angelo, 2011). Teachers
therefore need to take into consideration not only the needs for Indigenous students but also
find ways to actively enhance the learning and outcomes for those students. I believe that all
educators must attempt the SSI online modules and where possible apply it to their schools. If
this is not done so, I am afraid that factors like the belief in white fragility may come into
play. White fragility is when the expectations of racial comfort are brought down by racial
stress, and talk about white privilege incites defensive reactions of anger, fear and guilt (Di
Angelo, 2011).
The group assessment task for this unit included a site visit and working collaboratively to
create a unit outline and lesson plans combining various key learning areas, along with a
poster to present. Despite some of the struggles faced in this task, majority of it ran smoothly
with everyone working together and willingly helping each other out. It was interesting and

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enjoyable to work with members from various curriculum areas it gave me a chance to grown
and broaden my thinking in terms of applying Aboriginal processes to lessons. Working on
creating a joint unit outline with our lessons in a flowing order really made me proud at its
completion. I truly believe as a group we worked hard and the final product was something
which can be easily applied in classrooms.
Our group site visit was to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney and our learning areas
consisted of History, English, Music and PDHPE. The focus for my lesson plan was on Depth
Study 6: Expanding Contacts, specifically on the description of Indigenous culture. The site
was extremely useful as it focused primarily on the way the Cadigal (the traditional owners of
the land) made use of the natural environment that surrounded them. It made me realise that
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were always self-sufficient and well sustained
prior to colonisation, a fact I was not aware of previously. My lesson plan activities focused
on the plants in the field trip, getting students to recognise various plants and the ways they
were utilised. Other activities also allowed students to develop learning maps based on the
field trip experience and to create a model of a chosen plant. In this lesson the AISTL
standards which I focused on were 1.4 and 2.4. Standard 1.4 was addressed through applying
the 8 ways pedagogy. Using this pedagogy in the classroom became a strategy for working
with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students as it provided some cultural competence
and relation to those students (8 Ways of Learning Factsheet). It allows teachers to teach
through Aboriginal processes and learning techniques (8 Ways of Learning Factsheet) thus
assisting the learning of Indigenous students. Research has shown that there are numbers of
Indigenous students who find school to be difficult, discouraging and alienating (Rahman,
2012). Studies have also shown that failure for teachers to recognise the cultural
characteristics of Indigenous student backgrounds also contributes to underperformance. It is
therefore necessary that strategies like the 8 ways are incorporated into the classrooms, in
order to allow the students a constant link with their culture. The processes I used in my
lessons were Land links, Learning maps, Deconstruct-reconstruct and the Story sharing used
in my second lesson for the unit outline. Standard 2.4 was achieved in my lesson through the
activities, students were able to learn about the lifestyle of the Cadigal people, developing
respect and understanding for their culture. Students also focused on what Indigenous life
was like prior to colonisation and some factors which changed afterwards, it aims to allow
non-Indigenous students to develop appreciation for the Cadigal lifestyle.
As a future educator I am glad to say my learning and perspectives have definitely changed a
great deal at the conclusion of this unit, compared to when I began it. I am much more
appreciative and considerate of the Indigenous community and will actively aim to cater to
the needs of Indigenous students. One thing I would like to do as a teacher would be to
become more involved with the local Indigenous community and community elders. I am
very grateful for being able to meet with Terry Crawford, the guide for the Aboriginal
Heritage Tour at the Gardens as I learnt a lot from him. It made me realise that the best
possible way to learn about Indigenous culture and become more respectful of their traditions
is through learning directly from the community. Since majority of my schooling was at a
school with no Indigenous students, if I work in a similar school environment in the future I
would definitely like to become involved with the Indigenous community, and take students
on field trips where they can learn more about Indigenous history. In general making students
more aware, considerate and appreciative of Indigenous culture would be my aim. This unit

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for me was truly an eye-opening experience and I want students and the community to have
the same knowledge and information that I have gained.
In conclusion, my time in this unit has been an enjoyable experience and I have truly learnt a
lot. My views have changed in a positive way from now to when I first started this unit. The
group assignment was a very valuable experience and an amazing learning curve, which I
know will influence the way I proceed with my teaching in the future.

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References

8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning Factsheet. (2012). Retrieved from

https://intranet.ecu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/510073/8-Aboriginal-ways-of-

learning-factsheet.pdf

DiAngelo, R. (2011) Harrison and Greenfield Relationship to place: positioning Aboriginal

knowledge and perspectives in classroom pedagogies. White Fragility in International

Journal of Critical Pedagogy, 3 (3): 54-70.

Rahman, K. (2013). Belonging and learning to belong in school: The implications of the

hidden curriculum for indigenous students. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics

of Education, 34(5), 660-672.