PEARLs, Problems and Politics: Exploring Findings From Two Teaching and Learning Projects in Indigenous Australian Studies at The University of Queensland

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mackinlay ◽  
Katelyn Barney
Keyword(s):  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Education Theory ◽  
Curriculum Renewal ◽  
The University

This article explores the implementation of PEARL (Political, Embodied, Active, and Reflective Learning) in two courses at The University of Queensland: a first-year introductory Indigenous Studies course and a second year Indigenous Education course. We draw on findings from a 2-year (2010–2011) Office for Learning and Teaching (then ALTC) funded curriculum renewal project and findings from a pilot project (2013) implementing PEARL in a compulsory Indigenous Education course for all pre-service teacher educators in primary and secondary teacher training at The University of Queensland. Drawing transformative education theory into conversation with critical pedagogy and anti-colonial/racist education, we share student data from focus groups, questionnaires and reflective journals to examine the shift in students’ understanding of Indigenous issues, histories and peoples. Finally, we reflect on the ways the results hold great potential for the further implementation of PEARL into other university level courses, specifically in relation to a ‘pedagogy of solidarity’ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

scholarly journals Editorial

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. iii-iii
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mackinlay ◽  
Martin Nakata
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
New South ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Teaching And Learning Strategies ◽  
The University

We are very proud to present this timely and significant Special Issue of The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, guest edited by Katelyn Barney (The University of Queensland), Cindy Shannon (The University of Queensland) and Martin Nakata (The University of New South Wales). This collection of articles focuses on the activities of the Australian Indigenous Studies Learning and Teaching Network, an initiative funded by the Office for Teaching and Learning. The Australian Indigenous Studies Learning and Teaching Network was formed to bring leaders and early career academics in the field together to build relationships, debate and discuss central issues, and explore and share teaching and learning strategies in the discipline at tertiary level. These discussions at once untangle and re-entangle the processes, pedagogies and politics at play when Indigenous Studies becomes defined as a discipline.

Pearls, not Problems: Exploring Transformative Education in Indigenous Australian Studies

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mackinlay ◽  
Katelyn Barney
Keyword(s):  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Transformative Education ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
Critical Race ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Learning And Teaching

This article explores the shift in terminology that occurred in a 2-year Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC)-funded curriculum renewal project that set out to broadly explore current teaching and learning practice in Indigenous Australian studies (www.teaching4change.edu.au). While we started with the term ‘Problem-Based Learning’, it became clear as the project progressed that the terminology we were using was not politically or pedagogically appropriate. As the data began to reveal, the research team became increasingly uncomfortable with the colonial underpinnings and associations of the term ‘Problem-Based Learning’ (PBL), and began to explore the possibility of redefining what we do as something else entirely. A key outcome of the project was that PBL became PEARL, to describe the Political, Embodied, Active, and Reflective aspects of this teaching and learning approach in Indigenous Australian studies. The shift from PBL to PEARL was unexpected, but has resulted in exciting possibilities for migrating and extending theories of teaching and learning in Indigenous Australian studies into critical pedagogy, critical race theory and transformative education. Drawing on critical pedagogy, critical race theory and transformative education theory, this article explores the rationale behind the shift in terminology from PBL to PEARL. We also draw on student data from focus groups, questionnaires and lecturer reflection to examine the ways the results from this project hold great potential for the further implementation of PEARL into primary and secondary classrooms, specifically in relation to pedagogical practice in embedding Indigenous perspectives.

Disturbances and Dislocations: Understanding Teaching and Learning Experiences in Australian Aboriginal Music

2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Mackinlay
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Educational Setting ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Women's Music ◽  
Modes Of Representation ◽  
Education Today ◽  
The Many ◽  
The University

One of the biggest debates in Australian Indigenous education today revolves around the many contested and competing ways of knowing by and about Indigenous cultures and the representation of Indigenous knowledges. Using Bakhtin's theories of dialogue and voice, my concern in this paper is to explore the polyphonic nature of power relations, performance roles and pedagogical texts in the context of teaching and learning Indigenous Australian women's music and dance. In this discussion, I will focus on my experiences as a lecturer in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit at the University of Queensland and my involvement in this educational setting with contemporary Indigenous performer Samantha Chalmers. Like a field experience, the performance classroom will be examined as a potential site for disturbing and dislocating dominant modes of representation of Indigenous women's performance through the construction, mediation and negotiation of Indigenous knowledge from and between both non-Indigenous and Indigenous voices.

scholarly journals Repurposing virtual reality assets: from health sciences to Italian language learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 21-26
Author(s):  
Alessia Plutino ◽  
Tiziana Cervi-Wilson ◽  
Billy Brick
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Health Sciences ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
Health Care Students ◽  
Italian Language ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Modern Language ◽  
The University

This paper reports on the rationale for the implementation of a pilot project using a scenario-based Virtual Reality (VR) resource, originally developed by Health Sciences at Coventry University and now being repurposed for Italian language learning as a collaborative project with Modern Languages and Linguistics at the University of Southampton. The original aim of the resource was to prepare health care students for home visits by allowing them to experience a semi-linear conversation with a virtual Non-player Character (NPC). The authors will discuss how they are planning to repurpose the resource for Italian language learning and teaching and will analyse the potential pedagogical uses within the modern language curriculum, including emotional language, employability skills, and the year abroad.

scholarly journals Enhancing Teaching and Learning at the University of Venda Utilising Digital Mobile Devices

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Ratchel Chikurunhe ◽  
Armstrong Kadyamatimba
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Academic Experience ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Tablet Pcs ◽  
Level Of Use ◽  
The University ◽  
Quality Learning ◽  
Rural Student

The University of Venda(Univen) distributed tablets to students for facilitating and enhancing their studies. However, the provision of tablet PCs to students may not be a panacea for quality learning, especially to technological disadvantaged rural student  population. The aim of study was to investigate the use of digital mobile devices for enhancing teaching and learning at the Univen. The research questions focused on determining the current level of use of mobile devices, how they can be used effectively for teaching and learning. Mixed methods approach was applied with data being solicited from a convenient sample of students, lecturers and an IT technician. The results of the study indicated that many students and lecturers are active and have higher perceptions of mobile devices usage. The results of the study are to be used to explicate and advance the integration of the mobile devices for promoting learning and teaching accomplishments. The findings clearly showed that mobile devices have a positive impact on the academic experience. The results also indicate that there is a gradual acceptance of the Learners Management Systems (Blackboard) by both academics and students. The digital mobile devices are eventually enhancing teaching and learning at Univen.

Developing teaching and learning methods to innovate the Italian context of Higher Education. The case of University of Padua

2016 ◽  
pp. 53-70
Author(s):  
Monica Fedeli ◽  
Anna Serbati ◽  
Edward W. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Faculty Development ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Learning Methods ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Academic Center ◽  
The University

This article looks at theories and practices related to faculty development and innovation in teaching and learning methods in Higher Education, in order to respond to the European 2020 Strategy, in which the High level group on the modernisation of higher education has been established, whose aim focuses on improving the quality of teaching and learning in Europe's higher education institutions (2013). The paper is framed within the context of the project PRODID (Preparazione alla professionalitŕ docente e innovazione didattica), funded by the University of Padova, Italy with the major goal of creating a permanent and effective academic center for research on learning and teaching and faculty development. The theoretical framework of PRODID is informed by constructivism and social constructivism, and the student centered approach, encouraging student-teacher partnerships as a dimension for faculty development and teaching and learning innovations. The University of Helsinki and Michigan State University are mentioned as relevant examples of organizational settings integrated in higher education institutions that offer a great variety of practices consistent with the chosen theoretical framework. They also offer the Italian program of University of Padova models for critical reflection in how their teaching strategies can be created and developed on the basis of this international experience. The final discussion aims to highlight the strategies adopted during the first year of the project, characterized by the Italian culture and revealing new insights and ideas to create an Italian model of teaching and learning center.

Embedding an Indigenous Graduate Attribute into University of Western Sydney's Courses

2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (S1) ◽  
pp. 40-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berice Anning
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Competency ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Department Of Education ◽  
Disciplinary Culture ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Workplace Relations ◽  
The University ◽  
Professional Capacity

AbstractThe paper reports on embedding an Indigenous graduate attribute into courses at the University of Western Sydney (UWS), providing the background to the development and implementation of a holistic and individual Indigenous graduate attribute. It details the approach taken by the Badanami Centre for Indigenous Education in advising the UWS staff on the process for endorsement of the Indigenous graduate attribute. The UWS's recognition of its moral purpose and social responsibility to Indigenous people in Greater Western Sydney has led to the successful re-establishment of Indigenous education at UWS. The paper outlines the unique and innovative approach taken to implement the Indigenous graduate attribute, including: consultation across the Schools at UWS; developing and establishing relationships through the respect of disciplinary culture and tradition; the UWS-wide reform of the traditional discipline approach and the first step towards recognition of the domain of Indigenous knowledge in teaching and research; establishing a team of Indigenous academics; developing a learning and teaching framework for Indigenous knowledge and Indigenous studies; and integrating Indigenous content into curricula at UWS. The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations funded UWS to develop the Indigenous graduate attribute and implement it by embedding cultural competency and professional capacity into UWS courses.

scholarly journals Editorial

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. iii-iii
Author(s):  
Martin Nakata ◽  
Elizabeth Mackinlay
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
New South ◽  
Indigenous Studies ◽  
Special Edition ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Curriculum Renewal ◽  
Pedagogical Innovations ◽  
Key Participants ◽  
Renewal Project

The AIJE has an established tradition of publishing special Supplements to highlight papers on a particular topic. This special edition of the AJIE is an outcome of a 2-year curriculum renewal project funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council, which focused on teaching and learning practice in Australian Indigenous studies. The project involved collaboration between academics of Australian Indigenous studies in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. The articles in this special edition comprise descriptions of pedagogical innovations and discussions or reflections on the issues engaged in the course of the project by some of the key participants.

Teaching Beginning Teachers to ‘Think What We Are Doing’ in Indigenous Education

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Kameniar ◽  
Sally Windsor ◽  
Sue Sifa
Keyword(s):  
Beginning Teachers ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Formal Schooling ◽  
Indigenous Australian ◽  
Hunger Games ◽  
White Middle Class ◽  
University Lecturers

Working with beginning teachers to assist them to begin to ‘think what we do’ (Arendt, 1998) in both mainstream and Indigenous education is problematic. This is particularly so because the majority of our teacher candidates, and indeed most of their university lecturers, are positioned close to the racial, social and cultural centre of Australian education. That is, teachers and teacher educators tend to be white, middle class, educationally successful, and accepting of the main premises and assumptions, purposes and values of formal schooling in Australia. This proximity to the centre can lead to an inability to question ideas and practices that, while everyday and seemingly innocuous, are frequently dangerous and destructive for those at the margins. In this article, we illustrate the normative power of hegemonic ideas by using aspects of the teen fiction The Hunger Games as an analogy for ‘thoughtless’ and unquestioning acceptance of authority. We then describe and discuss a pedagogic practice used within the Master of Teaching program at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education. The practice is designed to challenge normative understandings about Australian history, teaching Indigenous Australian students, and to encourage engagement with the German-American Jewish philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt's provocative question ‘What are we doing?’ (Arendt, 1998, p. 5). We conclude the article with a challenge to re-think current policies and practices in the education of Indigenous Australians.

scholarly journals Resultados generales de la puesta en práctica de 29 casos sobre el desarrollo de sistemas de evaluación formativa en docencia universitaria

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Manrique Arribas ◽  
Cristina Vallés Rap ◽  
Juan Manuel Gea Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Formative Evaluation ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Independent Learning ◽  
Important Conclusion ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
La Red ◽  
The University

Resumen: El siguiente trabajo muestra los resultados de 29 experiencias de innovación en docencia universitaria, en las que se ha aplicado un sistema de evaluación formativa. Han participado en el estudio 7 áreas de conocimiento de 4 universidades, con un total de 1.770 alumnos y 29 profesores. El marco de referencia lo constituye la Red de Evaluación en Docencia Universitaria, centrada en investigar el potencial de la evaluación formativa para mejorar el proceso de enseñanza- aprendizaje del alumnado universitario. La metodología empleada en esta Red de profesorado es la investigación-acción y el estudio de casos. Entre los resultados obtenidos en el estudio destacan las siguientes ventajas: a)-aprender formas alternativas de evaluación, b)-permitir mayor implicación y motivación del alumnado y c)-facilitar la adquisición de competencias de aprendizaje autónomo. Se observan algunos inconvenientes como: a)-mayor carga de trabajo para el profesor y el alumno y b)-falta de costumbre del profesorado y alumnado en la aplicación de este modelo de evaluación formativa. Sin embargo, la relación entre la carga de trabajo para el profesor y el alumno está en consonancia con el requerimiento que establece el nuevo crédito ECTS de los nuevos grados según los datos obtenidos. Los resultados extraídos permiten afirmar que la evaluación formativa supone un medio adecuado para que el alumnado alcance las competencias que exigen las titulaciones, sirviendo también como elemento dinamizador del proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje que permite buenos resultados académicos así como la motivación de los alumnos y profesores. Overall results of the implementation of 29 cases on the development of formative assessment in higher education Abstract: In this paper we show the overall results after having implemented 29 innovative experiences in university teaching, based on the application of formative assessment systems. This implementation covers 7 areas of knowledge, 4 universities, 1,770 students and 29 teachers. The framework is the University Formative Evaluation Network, formed by university professors who focus on researching the potential of formative assessment to improve student learning and teaching process. The methodology used is “action research” and case studies. The results show that this evaluation system has many advantages: a) it allows learning new practice of assessment, b) greater involvement and more student motivation and c) it facilitates the acquisition of independent learning skills. It also presents some drawbacks, such as increased workload for the teacher and student, and a traditional lack of practice of teachers in the application of this model. However, the relationship between workload for the teacher and the student is in line with the requirement set by the new ECTS credit of the new degrees. The most important conclusion we have reached is that formative assessment is a very appropriate means to achieve the competencies required by the degrees, and it develops a dynamic process of teaching and learning that improves academic performance and students and teachers’ motivation.

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