Creating and maintaining supportive and safe learning environments – Strategies to support Aboriginal students’ participation and enagement
This is one of 7 parts of a task addressing the Graduate Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2017) for the unit Aboriginal & Culturally Responsive Pedagogies TEAC7001, co-ordinated by Shirley Gilbert (2022) at Western Sydney University.
Standard 1 | Standard 2 | Standard 3 | Standard 4 | Standard 5 | Standard 6 | Standard 7
Graduate Standard 4: Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
4.1 Identify strategies to support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities.
4.2 Demonstrate the capacity to organise classroom activities and provide clear directions.
4.3 Demonstrate knowledge of practical approaches to manage challenging behaviour.
4.4 Describe strategies that support students’ wellbeing and safety working within school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements.
4.5 Demonstrate an understanding of the relevant issues and the strategies available to support the safe, responsible and ethical use of ICT in learning and teaching.
(AITSL, 2017)
Professional Understanding
Inclusive education supports success for students with diverse abilities, especially those experiencing marginalisation (Garvis, 2006). The Wellbing Framework (NSW Government Education & Communities [DEC], 2015) emphasises that students’ sense of belonging supports wellbeing and engagement. Module 4 and the essay focus on Aboriginal identity and wellbeing reiterated the significace of connecting Aboriginal students’ identity to learning content to support student confidence, participation and learning connection, and reduce marginalisation (Troy, 2019).
The Module 1 yarning circle exemplified a safe space for story sharing, participation and voicing of concerns can connects students to their learning. Feeback from circles activities can be utilised to identify students in need of support and develop individualised learning support. Once students connect to learning, participation becomes more meaningful with purpose for engagement (DEC, 2015). Deconstructing curriculum documents can support identification of points of connection for inclusive methods of communication, content and activity selection. Digital accessibility such as internet access is another learning barrier for many Aboriginal students (Radoll, 2019). Within TAS, strategies such as sufficient time allocation in class for tasks requiring ICTs or internet acess, or printing scaffolds for students without access is crucial to support learning accessibility.
Evidence
The Module 4 blackout poetry exercise provided me insight about knowledge deconstruction and reconstruction to stimulate deeper understanding of learning content. Such an exercise provides purposeful interaction with the content whilst supporting critical thinking, literacy, creativity, reflection and self-expression.
Where to next
Similar to the tutorial exercise, culturally responsive and relevant content can be provided for blackout poetry exercises to deepen connections to the learning content. I would integrate this with design thinking exercises, by encouraging students to deconstruct the content provided and create graphic blackout poetry which utilises symbols and imagery to link the poetry to the original content. This may be followed by yarning circle presentations to encourage storu sharing and linking of diverse cognitive understandings.
References
8 Ways. (n.d.). 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning: Aboriginal pedagogy.
https://www.8ways.online/
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2017). Teacher Standards. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from
https://www.aitsl.edu.au/standards
Garvis, S. (2006). Optimising the Learning of Gifted Aboriginal Students. International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning, 2(3), 42-51.
NSW Government Education & Communities. (2015). The wellbing framework for schools.
Radoll, P. (2019). Information and communication technologies in the classroom: Implications and considerations. In K. Price & J. Rogers (Eds.), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education: An Introduction for the Teaching Profession (3rd ed., pp. 191-213). Cambridge University Press.
Troy, J. (2019). Language and Literacy. In K. Price & J. Rogers (Eds.), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education: An Introduction for the Teaching Profession (3rd ed., pp. 229-249). Cambridge University Press.