Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unitPrerequisites
NilUnit rationale, description and aim
This unit examines and critically reflects on how pre-service teachers can create quality, inclusive teaching and learning environments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to meet the expectations of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. The Unit does this from a foundation of understanding about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowings as well as from one that privileges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowings. This unit explores the importance of connectedness and relatedness in this context and the importance of engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents and communities to broaden their professional knowledge and practice.
The aim of this unit is to enable pre-service teachers to learn from and through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and Knowings to create effective and inclusive teaching and learning environments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description |
|---|---|
| LO1 | Understand and engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pedagogies (APST 1.4) |
| LO2 | Critically reflect on the role history has played in the engagement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in education today (APST 1.4) |
| LO3 | Understand and appreciate the diverse linguistic backgrounds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students including Aboriginal English (APST 1.4) |
| LO4 | Appreciate cultural protocols and the significance of engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents and communities in education today (APST 1.4, 7.3, 7.4) |
| LO5 | Design and implement strategies for quality teaching and supportive teaching and learning environments within their classrooms and school environment as a whole that cater for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (APST 1.4, 7.3, 7.4). |
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:
1.4 Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic background on the education of students from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds. |
7.3 Understand strategies for working effectively, sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers. |
7.4 Understand the role of external professionals and community representatives in broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice. |
Content
Topics will include:
- Understanding and engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pedagogies
- Demonstrating broad knowledge and understanding of the histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander engagement in education in Australia and in the students’ regional and state location
- Critically analysing current statistics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students engagement in schooling
- Critically reflecting and engaging with the diverse linguistic backgrounds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students including Aboriginal English
- Creating quality teaching environments for all students; including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- Creating supportive school environments for all students; including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- Connectedness and relatedness: creating relationships with students, community and families
- Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Critically analysing and reflecting on government policies such as ‘Closing the Gap’
- Designing classroom environments and strategies that enhance quality teaching of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- Understanding the impact of racism on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This course is offered in a multi-mode. Participants are required to attend two compulsory residential schools on campus each semester and to complete course work and assignments within their home communities. Participants are required to attend over 80% of each Residential and each unit undertaken.
This is a 10-credit point unit and has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 150 hours in total across the semester. To achieve a passing standard in this unit, students will find it helpful to engage in the full range of learning activities and assessments utilised in this unit, including Lectures, Talking Circles and Yarns.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment tasks and their weightings are designed to allow pre-service teachers to progressively demonstrate achievement against the unit learning outcomes and demonstrate attainment of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. The unit focuses on developing an understanding of, and skills across the professional knowledge, practice and engagement needed to meet expectations of the Graduate Attributes.
Minimum Achievement Standards
The assessment tasks for this unit are designed to demonstrate achievement of each learning outcome. In order to pass this unit, participants are required to submit and engage in each assignment task offered.
The total assessment tasks will amount to the equivalent of 4,000 words.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1: Research Paper and Case Study (2,500 words) An Engaging Classroom/ School Environment This assessment task is in 2 parts:
Research Paper (80% of the total mark or a mark out of 40) Critically analyse and reflect on the need for building a classroom learning environment that is based on ‘effective teacher-student engagement’. Outline the specific strategies you would use in the classroom to make learning engaging, accessible and culturally responsive for Aboriginal students. Your Research Paper should refer to your own teaching context (Primary)
Case study (20% of the total mark or a mark out of 10) Develop as a result of your research a case study of best practice. *Acknowledge 3RRRs Web-Based Unit Outline: MATSITI and ACDE. | 50% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5 |
Assessment Task 2 In-class presentation “Accepting the language children bring to school and using that to build competence in SAE is the key to improving the performance of Indigenous students.” (Tripcony, P. (2007). Consider the statement above and in groups of 4 develop a 15-minute presentation for your colleagues that creatively engages multimedia that showcases this statement. Present examples and case studies to illustrate your perspectives as a team. You can have diversity within the team but work out a way to collaboratively present this. | 50% | LO3, LO4, LO5 |
Representative texts and references
Eades, D. (2013) Aboriginal English. Canberra, ACT: Aboriginal Studies Press.
Harrison, N. (2011). Teaching and learning in Indigenous education (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.
Jorgenson, R., Sullivan, P., & Grootenboer, P. (Eds.) (2013). Pedagogies to enhance learning for Indigenous students. Evidence-based practice. Singapore: Springer Vertag.
Phillips, J., & Lampert, J. (2012). Introductory Indigenous studies in education. Reflection and the importance of knowing (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia.
Price, K. (Ed). (2012). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education. An introduction for the teaching profession. Port Melbourne, Vic: Cambridge University Press.
Tripcony, P. (2007). Englishes and literacies: Indigenous Australian contexts. Paper presented to the ACTA/QATESOL (Australian Council of TESOL Associations/Queensland Association of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) Conference, Brisbane, 6th July, 2000.