Focus area 1.

4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

Descriptor
Design and implement effective teaching strategies that are responsive to the local community and cultural setting, linguistic
background and histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
Reasoning
A significant feature of Australian society is its rich diversity. Our nations first people have developed a complex culture over the
thousands of years they have lived in Australia.
This development continues today.
Examples
of evidence
During my semester one practicum I had the opportunity to be involved in a teaching and learning program that included
teaching strategies that had been designed and implemented by my mentor teacher and myself teacher based on the local
community and cultural setting, linguistic background and histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Allan
was an active part of the Altona P-9 College community by contributing to Term 2 Units Humanities Year 7 (Ancient Australia),
K Wiffen. In this Unit we covered a range of topics and issues that were relevant to ancient Australians. We were lucky enough
to have two students with Aboriginal ancestry to fund our knowledge or more recent hisroies.

As part of my Graduate Diploma in secondary Education at Victoria University I attended several professional development
workshops on inclusion and diversity. One workshop was a lecture given by the academic and Aboriginal Mat Jakobi. He gave
instruction about teaching strategies that are responsive to the local community and cultural setting, linguistic background and
histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. His lecture was a specific guide for pre-service teachers in
developing their skills, knowledge and practices in including Indigenous perspectives in Australian Studies. (See attached
powerpoint slides from his lecture)