A critical reflection paper.

Today, people living in a globalised community, we can travel vast distances, speak different
languages and experience the lifestyles of our choosing. Whilst many enjoy having access to the ‘Now’
generation, the perks of globalization, especially education, have their downsides. Most of us can say
‘Hello’ in one or more foreign languages, but how many of us are able to say ‘good morning’ in any of
the 250 distinct languages spoken by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (ATIS). As teachers we need
to acknowledge the privileges we harbour and challenge the whiteness and racial norm that is the
accepted behaviour within a modern western education system (Madden, 2007).

Increased mobility and our growing monoculture have diminished our spiritual, physical, social
and cultural connection to the land and the intricate ecologies which support our being (Friedman,
2005). We see the significance of connection through the Melbourne declaration and the educational
goals it sets out for all Australian students (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment Training and
Youth Affairs [MCEECDYA], 2008). This declaration identifies the need for all Australian children to
‘understand and acknowledge the value of Indigenous cultures and possess the knowledge, skills and
understanding to contribute to, and benefit from, reconciliation between Indigenous and non-
Indigenous Australians’ (MCEECDYA, 2008). Without significant recognition, we see the continuation
of the status quo which has a significantly detrimental impact on how we teach ATSI students in
Australian schools.

This is important within the Key Learning Area (KLA) of science that deep concepts and
understanding need to be broken down into simpler understanding before we reconstruct the
learning. Western pedagogy strategies such as Constructionism share the same core values as 8-Ways
pedagogies through hands on experiences, deconstruct/reconstruct and multiply forms of
representation. When we implement the 8 Ways pedagogical framework in mainstream Australian
schools we see a large overlap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous learning processes (Parsons
& Carlone, 2013). Providing opportunities for students to be physically engaged through hands-on
activities, outside activities and intellectual engagement lead to a deeper level of learning and
engagement (Driver, Asoko, Leach, Mortimer, & Scott, 1994). These factors are not only central to
western pedagogical strategies in science but form the basis of indigenous pedagogical strategies.
Providing our students with these opportunities, we are building relationships with our students and
build cultural competency. These engagements are seen as multidimensional concept and develop
behavioural, emotional and cognitive components to our students learning (Fredricks, Biumenfeld, &
Paris, 2004).
 I found the group component of the course an insightful and enjoyable experience. My team
shared the same enthusiasm towards the aboriginal cultural significant sites around Penrith as I did,
and the development of curriculum resources to embed ASTI focused learning. When we started we
quickly came to the consensus that in the science curriculum there was only a limited meaning and
representations of indigenous knowledge and its relationship linking it to western science (Gondwe &
Longnecker, 2014). Initially, the group had difficulty to find that ‘connection’ to the land, but through
engagement of the elders at Hawkesbury Shire Council and NSW National Parks, we were able to gain
a better understanding of the cultural significants of the land. Through collaboration and critical
analysis, we were able to establish a balanced between scientific and cultural knowledge and as
teachers. We were able to remove ourselves from our own values, attitudes and belief and create a
“learning environments that embrace different cultural knowledges and that promote explicit and
enquiring discussions” (Gondwe & Longnecker, 2014). By constructing a website with multiply
activities or ‘forms of expression’, we give students the opportunity to better engage and develop
their own understanding of the significants of Red Hand Rock Cave. We found that by integrating
theories such as critical race theory, we are able to change the narrative through our KLA (Shay, &
Wickes, 2017). These learning outcomes would be the student’s interconnectedness from the
Indigenous Knowledge System to the Western Knowledge System through cultural competency or the
link between the physical, human and scared worlds. Pedagogies of axiology, ontology and
epistemology promote the Indigenous ways of valuing, cultural protocols, systems and processes
through a connected narrative.

We need to explore and develop ‘culture and connectiveness’ in the classroom to bridge the
requirements of the NSW Quality Teaching Framework with the Indigenous Pedagogies that link the
land and language of our students learning. If there was something to take away from the ‘Close the
Gap’ report, it is that the improvements to indigenous and non-indigenous education requires more
than just the improvement of statistics. Indigenous learning is not merely a superficial link to content
but provides innovative ways of thinking and problem solving. ATSI peoples have had an in-depth
understanding of many of the scientific principles we take for granted, especially in science. Aboriginal
peoples understanding of science dates tens of thousands of years and we see it through the use of
everyday items, i.e. air-foil shape to make ‘buumarang’ (or boomerangs). Through our teaching we
need to address deficit logic that exists in tradition syllabus’ and provide a stimulus-response
approaches in our classroom and “embrace sophisticated Indigenous ways of knowing” (Yunkaporta,
& McGinty, 2009). Students need to experience that science is more then a textbooks and
laboratories. Experiencing the learning through the immersion of one’s culture constructs the
foundations of scientific learning while reshaping the students’ historical perspective using an
indigenous narrative (Zink, 2011).

At the end of my studies I find that I have develop cultural competence and become a
culturally responsive teacher (Price, 2015). From an Indigenous perspective, I have integrated a range
of indigenous pedagogies, including 8 Ways of Learning to enhancing my students’ understanding of
content knowledge while strengthening their awareness of local Indigenous communities, their
connection to the land and social activism (Moroney, 2016). But I am still complexed by the lack of
change in the education system, the peripheral and dominant discourse that seem to block out or
neglect the recognition of indigenous contributions, especially in science. As an agent of change, I am
committed to not perpetuating indigenous stereotypes in my teaching but using their knowledge as
an active resource. In the end it begins with me and the standards I create for my learning environment
through the influence on students and fellow staff. From now on when I enter the classroom, I
welcome my students with ‘budyari mullinawul’ (Good morning) and wait you’re their curiosity to take
over.

References

Driver, R., Asoko, H., Leach, J., Mortimer, E„ & Scott, P. (1994). Constructing scientific knowledge in
the classroom. Educational Researcher, 23(7), 5-12.

Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P. C„ & Paris, A., H. (2004). School engagement: Potential of the concept,
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Gondwe, M., & Longnecker, N. (2015). Scientific and Cultural Knowledge in Intercultural Science
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