T3 TOPIC TASK Teaching through culture

Teaching through culture

- 8 Aboriginal ways of learning

After reading the online journal by Rutherford and Kerr (2008) I became fascinated by the Australian Aboriginal learning culture in the sense that I wanted to learn more. Though, I think part of the fascination has existed within me already before hand due to the time I spent in Australia during the change of the millennium. Also seeing the movie Australia five years ago activated my interest in the Australian Aboriginal culture. Hence on my international study journey I've decided to travel to Australia and learn more about the 8 Aboriginal ways of learning and also expand my knowledge of the Australian Aboriginal learning culture or cultures by using the Table 4 learning culture characteristics examination frame, in somewhat modified. I am particularly interested in the usage of narrative and symbols and images as teaching tools. Also I want to find out the relation of teacher centred vs. student centred teaching as well as behaviourist vs. constructivist learning concepts in Aboriginal learning cultures. I am also interested in finding out the possible differences and similarities when comparing Australian Aboriginal learning culture to the Finnish one. In my opinion it is important to value contents of both (and other) learning cultures. Observing other learning culture or cultures will be a fantastic experience for me and I am eager to see what contents from the Finnish learning cultures I might be able to bring into the Australian Aboriginal one and vice versa.

Henderson (1996, 2007) talks about the constructivist approach and affirms that ”while it is important to incorporating cultural diversity into the learning context, it is insufficient”. According to Henderson a multiple culture model should be used, where academic culture, the dominant culture and the minority culture or cultures should be integrated into the course design. I am interested in knowing how or if the constructivist learning concept and the minority cultures are taken into consideration and brought into the course designs in Australian Aboriginal learning environments and cultures.

”In a Western epistemology, from either a constructivist or instructivist perspective, each individual has the right to acquire knowledge. These contrasts with the Australian Aboriginal epistemology, where access to certain forms of knowledge to the younger generations who, excessively influenced by Western culture, are unlikely to act as guardians of that knowledge. Furthermore, in Aboriginal culture, the person who possesses knowledge does not own it, but is rather its guardian. This important distinction is manifested in behaviours that be misunderstood in the Western dominated academic world: the requirement to cite sources in academic work is not culturally grounded in Aboriginal culture (Henderson, 1996).”

In my vocational teacher studies in addition to the AI-method we have focusing on using a narrative as a teaching tool. Szurmak and Thuna (2013) talk about narrative as a powerful tool for teaching and learning.

”Tell me a fact and I'll learn.

Tell me the truth and I'll believe.

But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever. ”

-Indian Proverb-

(A footnote: In my opinion the proverb fits regardless the Indian origin - cultures come together)

According to Szurmak and Thuna ”the power of narrative lies in the fact that it harnesses the strategies the brain already uses for learning”. The duo sees the following elements of narrative in teaching as particularly resonant:

A. Narrative makes something abstract more concrete/immediate.

B. Narrative contextualizes information by creating the framework for students to place the new knowledge into (and thus improve their retention and understanding).

C. Narrative allows students to have more immediate emotional experiences that they can relate to (and therefore remember).

The use of narrative as a teaching tool is present in the Aboriginal pedagogy framework called 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning (http://8ways.wikispaces.com/ ) with a term difference. In the 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning narrative-driven learning is called Story Sharing. The other interconnected pedagogies in Aboriginal learning are Learning Maps, Non-verbal, Symbols and Images, Land Links, Non-linear, Deconstruct/Reconstruct and Community Links (See below).

Tell a story. Make a plan. Think and do. Draw it. Take it outside. Try a new way. Watch first, then do. Share it with others.

The carving on above picture are considered learning tools for exploring the 8 ways. ”Each object carries and inform deep knowledge about a way of learning” (http://8ways.wikispaces.com/ ). At this point I can't help but think whether such object can be found in Finland which could carry and inform knowledge in the same deep sense in the Finnish learning culture.

Description below for explanations of each element:

Story Sharing: Approaching learning through narrative.
Learning Maps: Explicitly mapping/visualising processes.
Non-verbal: Applying intra-personal and kinaesthetic skills to thinking and learning.
Symbols and Images: Using images and metaphors to understand concepts and content.
Land Links: Place-based learning, linking content to local land and place.
Non-linear: Producing innovations and understanding by thinking laterally or combining systems.
Deconstruct/Reconstruct: Modelling and scaffolding, working from wholes to parts (watch then do).
Community Links: Centring local viewpoints, applying learning for community benefit.

8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning fascinates and tickles me. I am so eager to learn more about this pedagogy framework and how it affects and is part of the Australian Aboriginal learning culture or cultures. On the webpages(http://8ways.wikispaces.com/)

it is stressed however that these 8 simple pedagogies are ”merely a starting point for dialogue and that each school engages in a different way” and ”produces its own unique frameworks for Aboriginal education through dialogue with the community about local ways of doing things”. I think it is safe to say there is no one Australian Aboriginal learning culture, but many. I'd be eager to find out to what extend even if somehow modified or if at all the 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning are existing and taking place in Finnish learning cultures. Wouldn't you? What would be the 8 Finnish Ways of Learning?

On my international study journey I would be focusing on observing varied Aboriginal learning cultures by visiting several different schools and learning environments.

	Observations	Similarities	Differences
Student and teacher activities	Ways of teaching (teaching methods & practices)
	Teacher’s role
	Student’s role
	Relations between teachers and students
	Relations between peers
	Communication and collaboration in the school community
	General atmosphere / climate
Learning context	Subjects taught
	Timetables
	Class size
	Exams / evaluations / assessment
	Order/discipline
	Attitudes and values of student and teachers
Learning resources	Learning materials The use of ICT
Student consultation	How is it organised? Support given for students with learning difficulties Attention given to talented students
Other observations	Low / high context learning
	Teacher / Student centered learning
	Constructivist learning concept
	Individual / Collaborative learning processes
	The use of the AI-method
	The use of images and metaphors to understand concepts and content
	The influence of Western culture
	E-Learning environments

I think that with the help of the above learning culture characteristics examination frame with added perspectives combined with authentic observation experiences and face to face discussion and interviews I will be able to form a comprehensive understanding of the Australian Aboriginal learning cultures. I think learning both differences and similarities of different learning cultures is valuable and important and gives tools for further designing multicultural (e-)learning environments in the 21^st century. I can't wait to fly Down Under!

References

Henderson, L. 1996. Instructional Design of Interactive Multimedia: A Cultural Critique. ETR&D, 44(4), 85-104

Henderson, L. 2007. Theorizing a multiple cultures instructional design model for e-learning and e-teaching. In A. Edmundson (Ed.) Globalized e-learning cultural challenges (pp.130-153). London: Information Science Publishing.

http://8ways.wikispaces.com/

http://web.centria.fi/Page.aspx?id=2024&p1=2022&p2=2024

http://www.systechlearning.fi/?lng=en

http://tabula.tamk.fi/mod/page/view.php?id=147758

Rutherford, A. & Kerr, B. (2008). An Inclusive Approach to Online Learning Environments: Models and Resources. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education 9(2), article 2. Retrieved 14.2.2013 fromhttp://tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde30/pdf/article_2.pdf

Szurmak, J. And M. Thuna. 2103. Tell Me a Story: The Use of Narrative as a Tool

for Instruction. ACRL. http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2013/papers/SzurmakThuna_TellMe.pdf