EDUC6912 Exam, Semester 2 2012.Name Sonia Carpenter Student Number C3109550InstructionsThis is a take home exam. Answer all questions in the spaces provided on this document. You need to upload you final response to the Turnitin exam link, you may only do this once during the 24-hour period when the exam is open.The final result will be 2 weeks after the exam has finished; do not send any emails about your results until after that time.

Question 1You are recently placed to work in a school in a low socio-economic urban environment. In your class there are 30 students and you have 3 very disruptive students who are all Aboriginal students. When considering this situation, examine why these disruptions could be occurring and what changes could you make to your class or the school environment to support your ability to work in this class and engage all your students.Response 1A number of reasons could contribute to why a minority population of

Aboriginal students in a mainstream Australian classroom would be perceived

as ‘very disruptive’ by a non-Aboriginal teacher, and a number of support and

solution strategies are available to resolve these reasons and achieve

successful engagement of all students in the Australian classroom and school

environment.

Although Australia’s Aboriginal population is concentrated in urban centres,

many non-Aboriginal Australians still hold the perception that Aboriginals live

in the ‘outback,’ maintaining their tribal, hunter-gatherer lifestyle. This

stereotype often influences the perception and treatment of Aboriginal

peoples in mainstream society, including Aboriginal students in our schools.

Likely reasons for these students being very disruptive could include: a

general disengagement with the Australian schooling system, academic

struggles with the teaching and learning pedagogies being used in the class

and school environments, additional pressure, exclusion or alienation of the

students by the school’s social environment due to their minority status, or

even health issues that may impact learning, such as the middle ear infection

common among Aboriginal people, Otitis Media.

The fact that the school is situated in a low-socioeconomic area suggests that

the Aboriginal students may have poor home living environments that are not

conducive to successful learning as they may not have access to the

resources required to satisfy the learning expectations of the class and/or the

school. This could be an additional reason why the students are seen as

‘disruptive’ as it could prevent them from fulfilling learning expectations like

homework, further disengaging them from the overall schooling experience.

All of these potential reasons for the disruptive behaviour of the three students

in the classroom can be overcome by planned and well-executed strategies

aimed at engaging both the student and their community in the student’s

learning.

At the class level, differentiation of instruction and consideration of the Quality

Teaching model could improve practice in ways that benefit the learning of

Aboriginal students and engage them in their learning. Differentiated practice

involves the “selection of strategies and activities [that] match learner’s needs,

interests, abilities and prior knowledge.” (King-Shaver & Hunter, 2004) It does

not involve lowering expectations for students, or individualising learning to

the extent that the teacher is expected to teach different content to each

student, or that the student is entirely responsible for their learning; rather, it

involves broadening the perspective on learning to respect each student’s

readiness, interests and learning styles (King-Shaver & Hunter, 2004),

particularly in the submission of assessment tasks. A differentiated

assessment task can both be presented and submitted in a variety of formats,

such as oral, written and visual. This alone supports a variety of cultural

learning styles – such as the oral learning and teaching style of many

Aboriginal communities.

The concept of differentiated practice supports integration of the Quality

Teaching model (Ladwig & Gore, 2003), which could be another strategy for

improving class practice and engaging all students in the process.

Differentiated practice supports a great number of the model’s elements

across all three dimensions, namely problematic knowledge, engagement,

students’ self-regulation, student direction, background knowledge, cultural

knowledge, inclusivity and connectedness, (Ladwig & Gore, 2003) all of which

involve an acknowledgment that knowledge is socially constructed and can be

interpreted and presented in many different ways to fulfill learning outcomes.

Student autonomy and responsibility in learning, combined with differentiated

practice, allows Aboriginal students to use and contribute their culture and

learning style to not only their own learning, but that of their peers and

teachers. The introduction and sustained integration of differentiated practice

and Quality Teaching would support a teacher’s ability to practice with this

class and engage all of the students, as they would potential counter the

general disengagement of the Aboriginal students and their struggles with the

Australian school system’s teaching and learning pedagogies.

Explicit social support of these students and the school’s local Aboriginal

community would support the Aboriginal student’s ability to learn successfully,

and potentially eliminate social alienation in the school, and create awareness

of any lack of access to health or nutrition resources that could be negatively

influencing their academic engagement and performance. For this social

support to be successful, the school needs to successful identify and form a

relationship with the local Aboriginal community. This must be done with

careful consideration of protocol and consultation of the school’s available

resources – any and all Aboriginal Education Workers (AEWs) and Aboriginal

Community Liaison Officers. (ACLOs)

Once a relationship has been successfully formed, initiatives such as

breakfast and homework clubs that improve the Aboriginal students’ access to

essential resources, and social events and public displays that show support

of Aboriginal Education, can be introduced. An explicit support and respect for

the local Aboriginal community in everyday school practice could make a

great difference to the engagement and success of these Aboriginal students.

This would benefit not only them, but the whole class and school, as well as

the teacher’s practice in the classroom.

ReferencesKing-Shaver, Barbara, & Hunter, Alyce. (2004). Differentiated instruction in the English classroom : content, process, product, and assessment. Portsmouth: Heinemann.Ladwig, James, & Gore, Jennifer. (2003). Quality Teaching in NSW Public Schools: A Classroom Practice Guide. Sydney: Department of Education and Training.Question 2How would you implement the 2008 NSW DEC Aboriginal Education & Training Policy (AETP) in your school & classroom? Give practical examples.

Response 2The three guiding elements for the effective integration of the Aboriginal 2008

AETP: relationships, engagement and ongoing learning, encapsulate what

considerations are needed in order to implement the policy. Examples of

classroom practice where these elements are integrated into pedagogy and

practice will illustrate.

The AETP’s goal, for ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students [to] match

or better the outcomes of the broader student population’ (Aboriginal

Education and Training Directorate, 2009) is only possible through, as the

policy outlines, a combination of increased knowledge, awareness, respect

and celebration of Aboriginal culture and learning styles in both everyday

classroom practice and in whole-school constitution. The policy can be

implemented through practical changes to pedagogy in classrooms and

through improved relationships with the local Aboriginal community. The new

focus of the 2008 policy, that aims at ‘cultural competencies in Aboriginal

Cultures’ for school staff is achievable only through such a relationship. The

diversity and range of Aboriginal nations, cultures and languages mean that it

would be impossible to be culturally competent and aware of all Aboriginal

cultures; schools should aim for in-depth cultural competency with their local

Aboriginal community in order to satisfy the policy adequately.

The policy, introductory guide and support documents for the AETP all give

practical guides, resources and suggestions for how to implement the policy

and they mainly rest on strategies to improve awareness of Aboriginal

cultures so that school staff are aware of and active supporters of the policy,

and Aboriginal students and staff are explicitly and genuinely supported in the

school environment.

Following the practical steps provided in the ‘Turning Policy to Action’

(Aboriginal Education and Training Directorate, 2009b) resource on the AETP,

an effective way of implementing the policy would start with ‘Introducing the

Policy.’ This is mainly concerned with staff development, as no policy can be

effective if it is not explicitly and readily available to be accessed. The

introduction could be conducted briefly on a staff development day, but it

should be consolidated and reinforced on a regular basis, and be a

mandatory requirement of employment at the school that an satisfactory

existing knowledge of the policy exists. New and casual employees could be

assessed at the beginning of their contract.

The second step, ‘Reflecting and Planning – turning policy into action’ and

needs to be a process that must be not only initiated but consistently revised

and updated. A reflection on the school’s current relationship with the local

Aboriginal community and their current practice and pedagogy must be

ongoing, and regularly reported on so that it can be constantly developed.

This could be achieved through regular peer observation of practice between

teachers and all of the necessary reflection, discussion and planning could be

addressed at staff meetings.

The successful fulfilment of these two steps will also satisfy step three –

‘Integrating the Policy into Everyday Business.’ Once consistent reflection of

school environment and classroom practice, and its adherence to the AETP is

instituted, it should become part of the school’s everyday business. The

introduction and implementation of the policy must be an ongoing process.

ReferencesAboriginal Education and Training Directorate. (2009). Aboriginal Education and Training Policy: An Introductory Guide. Sydney: NSW Department of Education & Training.Aboriginal Education and Training Directorate. (2009b). Aboriginal Education and Training Policy: Turning Policy into Action. Sydney: NSW Department of Education and Training.Question 3Give two examples of appropriate assessment tasks that could be used within your class that work for Aboriginal learners. Give reasons for your choices. State the stage or year of the class.Response 3Two mandatory subjects in secondary education in NSW are English and

Australian history. All secondary students in the NSW school system will have

to experience assessment tasks that ask them to have strong written literacy

in Standard Australian English and also study in detail historical topics that

may be of a sensitive of offensive nature to Aboriginal people. Both present

significant challenges to Aboriginal learners; however, assessment tasks in

these subjects can be carefully designed to be supportive of Aboriginal culture

and learning in their approach and assessment. Formative assessment is

more constructive of learning that holds the potential to be student directed,

because it is assessment designed by the teacher for their individual

classroom, and can therefore meet the particular needs and strengths of their

students, most notably by allowing ‘multiple ways for students to show their

capacities.’ (Taylor & Young, 2004)

An appropriate Stage 4-6 English assessment task that would support

Aboriginal learners, and maintain high expectations, could be a task that

follows a structure of the common and practical, written text type of the

English language and Australian society, so that the task encourages English

literacy, but is flexible in its submission format. The text type would preferably

be one with applications outside the school context, such as a formal letter.

The task would work for Aboriginal students by allowing all students the

control over their submission format through the use of the web 2.0 tool

VoiceThread. (www.voicethread.com) This website allows a teacher to

control, review and comment on students’ work the same as if all submissions

were written hardcopies, and the software allows for students to submit in a

format of their choice – written, or audio or visual recording (or a

combination.) As long as the assessment’s task sheet, marking criteria and

teacher explanation all consistently reinforced their expectations and the

explicit quality criteria for the task – such as, in the case of a letter task

‘appropriate structure and language features for a formal letter format.’

With adequate instruction and guidance, students should be able to fulfil the

expectations of the task regardless of the submission format they chose. An

additional element of the task that would encourage students more likely to

submit audio or video letters to exercise their written skill so that they can

extend their learning would be the prospect of publishing their work.

If the task were so structured that the students were responding to an

authentic stimulus from a local or national newspaper, for example, and the

letter was to the editor, then perhaps students could be encouraged and

supported to practice written skills either for their original submission, or

afterwards with individual teacher guidance. This would increase the

relevance of the task also, as there letter can truly be submitted to the paper.

A higher level of Aboriginal culture and learning could be integrated if the

chosen newspaper were The Koori Mail, or if students were given choice over

the newspaper they would like to respond and submit to. A rationale for

choosing such a task would be its high incorporation of the Quality Teaching

elements of student self-regulation and student direction; such flexibility would

work for Aboriginal students, and benefit all.

Stage 4 Mandatory History includes a topic ‘Australia 1788-1900: the nature

and impact of colonisation and contact’ (Board of Studies, 2003) and although

this topic is likely to raise sensitive issues with Aboriginal students, an

effective method of teaching and assessing this topic would be through a local

focus that would respect and value the history and culture of the local

Aboriginal clan and nation. A formative assessment task that asks students to

profile and analyse a significant local, historical figure of 1788-1900 and in

particular their relationships with at least one other person from another

culture, would give both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students the

opportunity to research local Aboriginal cultures and their relationships to land

and to the English invaders. Regardless of whether students elected to

analyse a white ‘colonist’ or an Aboriginal person, a task requirement would

be to analyse their relationship with the other, and ideally, to present a

primary historical source evidencing this relationship. If the research task

were followed by a presentation of the learning, this would allow the learning

about local Aboriginal history and culture to benefit the entire class. If there

was a lack of resources, the same task could be completed for individuals and

relationships at Sydney Cove.

Both of these assessment tasks contain elements of student direction over at

least one element of the task. This is a strategy designed to make the

assessment task more accessible to all students, but in particular to support

Aboriginal learners through significant consideration of Aboriginal learning

strengths, as in the English task, or local Aboriginal history and culture, as in

the History task. Where the English task can be implemented to any

curriculum, the History task requires a successful partnership with the local

Aboriginal community, if the task were to focus on local individuals.

ReferencesTaylor, Tony, & Young, Carmel. (2004). Making History: A Guide for the Teaching and Learning of History in Australian Schools. Carlton South: Curriculum Corporation.Board of Studies NSW. (2003). History Years 7-10 Syllabus. Sydney: Board of Studies NSW.Question 4How could you engage the local Aboriginal community both at the school and in your classroom? In your answer you must identify the positions employed by the DEC to work in and with the schools, as well as other types of community support that can be available.Response 4Engaging with the local Aboriginal community is a process that, like the

support of Aboriginal students and the successful implementation of the

AETP, is ongoing and requires dedication and planning. There are protocols

for consultation of the Aboriginal community that need to be respected and as

steps of the process, must be fulfilled, in order to successfully engage the

local Aboriginal community. To assist with this process there are specific

employees of Department of Education and Communities, including Aboriginal

Community Liason Officer’s (ACLOs), Aboriginal Education Workers (AEWs)

and Assistants (AEAs). ACLOs are often shared between a number of

schools as they are based in district offices that responsible for a particular

area or region, but they are professionals on the local Aboriginal communities

of each school. They are an invaluable resource when attempting to establish

and maintain contact with a local Aboriginal Community. Aboriginal Education

Workers and Assistants are school employees that can improve the

engagement of Aboriginal students and their community in classroom practice

as well in in school policy and environment through direct contact and

relationships. AEWs and AEAs are likely to be Aboriginal people from the

local clans and nations, making them equally valuable resources in the

process of engaging the local community.

The Board of Studies has published a useful guide Working with Aboriginal

Communities (2001) that provides guidance for the protocols and consultation

involved in the process of initiating and maintaining contact with the local

Aboriginal community. The process the guide outlines involves firstly

identifying the local community and identifying the local Aboriginal Education

Consultative Group. (AECG) They suggest following this with accessing

‘systemic support networks’ such as the DEC employees mentioned earlier,

as well as other support networks that may be available, such as the

Aboriginal Studies Team that is based in the Professional Support and

Curriculum Directorate, and the Aboriginal Programs Unit, based in the

Student Services and Equity Directorate of the DEC. Access to as many of

these resources as possible will assist the success and effectiveness of

establishing rapport with the local Aboriginal community. This will lead to

engagement of the community in the school, an important element of the

school’s cultural awareness and the cultural competence of the school’s staff,

pedagogy and practice.

Other community support will be particular to the area of the school, but could

include local Aboriginal elders and Aboriginal land councils. Contact with

individuals of significance to the local Aboriginal community will greatly

improve the school’s chances for success in engaging with the local

Aboriginal community. ‘Success is genuinely derived from partnership of [..]

student, family, community [and] institution.’ (McRae et al, 2002) The end goal

of initiating a process to engage the local community should be an authentic,

lasting partnership of the school with local Aboriginal families and the

community.

On the classroom level, engagement with the local community can provide

great enrichment to the learning content and process for all students, but in

particular Aboriginal students. Input from the local community can inform

current classroom pedagogy on how to improve to maximise the effectiveness

of learning for local Aboriginal students. A successful partnership with the

local Aboriginal community has the potential to influence learning in

secondary schools across all subjects, as local Aboriginal knowledge could be

integrated into English, History, Geography, Science, and Creative Arts

syllabi, subject to availability of resources. Every local Aboriginal community

has knowledge and resources that they may offer to the school that can

enrich the learning and Aboriginal cultural competence of all staff and

students. In English classrooms, the local dreamtime can be studied and

respect for their spiritual value can be encouraged and maintained for all

students. In History classrooms, the local Aboriginal community could offer a

perspective on the English discovery of the local area and the how initial

contact was experienced and recorded by Aboriginal people. This knowledge

can enrich the student’s experience of Australian History in stages 4-5 with

local knowledge and multiple perspectives. In Geography, mapping,

navigation and relationships with the land can again be enriched by local

Aboriginal knowledge and perspectives.

The engagement of the local Aboriginal community is essential to the respect

of the complete history and culture of the school. A community partnership

has the potential to achieve this greater awareness and respect, but also

greatly improve the learning experience of all students.

ReferencesBoard of Studies NSW. (2001). Working with Aboriginal Communities. Sydney: Board of Studies NSW.McRae, David, Ainsworth, Geoff, Hughes, Paul, Price, Kaye, Rowland, Mike, Warhurst, Joan, . . . Zbar, Vic. (2002). What Works. The Works Program. Improving Outcomes for Indigenous Students. The Guidebook. Canberra: Australian Curriculum Studies Association and National Curriculum Services.