Exploring Indigenous Resources to Enhance Teaching and Learning

This essay delves into the use of indigenous resources to support teaching and learning, with a focus on history education. It highlights the importance of indigenous studies in fostering critical thinking and addressing historical injustices. The paper examines key considerations for integrating indig...Read More

Using Indigenous Resources To Support Teaching and Learning 1
USING INDIGENOUS RESOURCES TO SUPPORT TEACHING AND LEARNING
By (Student’s Name)
Professor’s Name
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Using Indigenous Resources To Support Teaching and Learning 2
USING INDIGENOUS RESOURCES TO SUPPORT TEACHING AND LEARNING
Critical indigenous studies have grown to be a highly controversial topic in the
educational field. In the Australian education sector, a current trend in the learning, as well as
teaching of Indigenous studies, have shown that there is more into the topic than what meets the
eye. When one talks about indigenous studies, the simple idea that comes into mind is programs
that are put in place to educate both indigenous as well as non-indigenous students as they
prepare for future engagements or more general understanding of Australia’s first people. During
the last decades, a new trend of events has been witnessed in that Indigenous people across the
globe have initiated the act of taking concrete steps in decolonizing and taking greater control of
the institutions that influence their culture, language as well as livelihoods. In relation, this is
where the concept of a school, and more specifically, a classroom joins the conversation.
Greater control over educational systems has seen indigenous communities experience
success in supporting cultural as well as linguistic integrity. Examples of the efforts can be
drawn from Canada and Australia. The two countries have built greater indigenous control of
school administration as well as authority, using indigenous languages as the primary languages
of instruction and redesigning the school curriculum to reflect indigenous cultures. Also, there is
also training and hiring of indigenous teachers to aid in the process.
Consequently, the paper will in an in-depth analysis examine key issues to be considered
when using indigenous studies in teaching. More focus, however, will be embedded towards the
teaching of History. The results will also be weighed against learning outcomes to determine
exactly how influential and practical the teaching strategy is. In this case, the selected movie
from the list given is Dean (2013). The biggest estate: 9000 years ago to 1788. Australia: Screen

Using Indigenous Resources To Support Teaching and Learning 3
Australia. The selection was exclusively based on the fact that it is more inclined towards history
as compared to other fields hence making it a credible source.
To understand key issues to consider when including critical indigenous studies, it is
equally vital to, first of all, understand the importance of indigenous studies classes. According
to Mallory Whiteduck, an Aboriginal Cultural Liaison officer at the Carleton University,
Indigenous studies provide the platform for Aboriginal scholars as well as other intellectuals to
make a conclusive reflection on the past to find a way through which they can forge a stronger
and more stable future for the nation in general.
Additionally, Mallory argued that several skills can be gained in aboriginal studies that
cannot be gained in other academic fields. In relation, the adoption of skills learned in the
indigenous studies can be used in other respective disciplines such as History and even religious
studies (Gibbs and Jenkins 2014). One of the most profound skills associated with the same is
learning how to think critically. Simply put, Indigenous studies matters, it matters because it has
always been viewed as a fundamental pillar in addressing the nation’s unfinished business.
Additionally, it also matters because the taken proactive steps in building aboriginal studies have
a positive impact for not only the individual, but also the school and the society in general.
After an analysis of its importance, it is equally imperative to examine key issues to
consider when including critical indigenous studies in teaching History. Through the years, there
has been a growing wave for the need for learning institutions to indigenize the curriculum and
additionally decolonize how exactly teaching is carried out (Van Dijk 2015). Many educators
today understand that the future of our education system is exclusively dependent on how
effectively the past is reconciled with the future to bring about holistic development. In relation,
the following section presents a concise summary of the key variables to be considered when

Using Indigenous Resources To Support Teaching and Learning 4
including indigenous studies in a contemporary classroom setting. Just like any other subject, the
level of Indigenous history that is taught differs from one place to the next. Particularly in my
case as a History teacher, its starts with acknowledging the fact that recent changes have fallen
short of covering the real struggles of indigenous people (Lomawaima 2016).
Dean (2013 is, however, is an imperative resource because it takes this into consideration.
It is therefore imperative to start with advocating for a more inclusive curriculum that touches on
the scope that has been technically left out. How the teachings in the movie translate into the
classrooms will also be dependent on some factors such as the added teaching strategies. Despite
the fact that embedding Indigenous cultural content in public schools is very crucial, many
educators still don’t feel very comfortable exercising the same. Subsequently, this can be
credited to a number of factors (Lai 2015).
However, it is also equally vital to recognize that efforts have indeed reaped substantial
benefits because several success stories have been told. Relatively, many stakeholders still hope
that the indigenous knowledge will not be limited to history classrooms only, but on the contrary,
woven into other subjects like science as well as health studies. Another key issue to consider in
the integration of this form of learning is the role that it plays in the achievement of the set
educational goals (Kovach 2015).
New findings on the subject in question demonstrates that aboriginal students’ self-
esteem is normally a crucial factor in their academic success achievement. It is imperative
therefore to set an educational system that honors culture, language as well as the worldview
perspective of the aboriginal student. Dean (2013) particularly achieves this set goal. The subject
of history therefore needs to extensively integrate Aboriginals people’s contribution, innovations
as well as inventions. The learning environment for history students should therefore honor who

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they are, where they have come from, and where they are heading to. Consequently, it has been
proven that these strategies nurture the self-esteem of students and in the long run, there is
positive interconnection between the emotional-mental, physical, intellectual and spiritual realms
of the Aboriginal students (McGloin 2015).
Regarding learning outcomes, the following is a review of the most relevant learning
outcomes associated with the teaching strategy. Respect is one of the highly sorted after learning
outcomes from any educational process. This principle governs the learning outcomes of
indigenous studies. It is crucial that students exposed to the learning strategy show the utmost
respect for their culture as well as the cultures of other people. Subsequently, this can be
associated with one of the learning outcomes in Social Studies and History (Moreton-Robinson
2016).
The concept of respect is two ways; however, in this regard, the students must also feel
that they have a special place in their respective schools and that their teachers have very high
expectations of their potentials. On the other hand, regarding Indigenous pedagogies, diversity is
a concept that has been highly valued, even traditionally (Simonson, Smaldino and Zvacek
2014). In relation, all people are considered equal, and hence all have equal rights to be heard in
the very same way. In relation, the Aboriginal people have always been educated in a slightly
different way from the way the rest of the people are educated. Generally, this is because they
are educated for different purposes. In relation, this approaches this segment quite complicated
considering the dimensions involved in its analysis (Sillitoe 2016).
In summary of this analysis, it is justified to argue that the current educational climate
calls for relevant changes in the educational system. More and more institutions are seeking to
redefine themselves in attempts to increase students’ participation in critical indigenous studies

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(O'Brien and Warrior 2016). The said changes have technically been reflected in revised strategic
plans like the new history curriculum and so forth. In this case, three common objectives have
emerged, global awareness, indigenous education, and pedagogical shifts (Foreman and Arthur-
Kelly 2017). The shift has seen the transition from a teacher or instructor-centered mode of
instruction to more of a student-centered model of instruction. As a result, this has increased
student engagement, and many educators are hopeful that this is an indication of a bright future.
The government has also played a very significant role in the process by implementing a new
Australian curriculum with prescribed indigenous content. Subsequently, this was initiated with
the aim of dispersing the inconsistencies that are associated with teaching aboriginal
perspectives. However, the stipulated and set changes can only be effective if teachers are
equipped and motivated to implement the said changes (Bond, Cox and Munanjahli 2014).
Educators however as previously stated have been reluctant in placing the changes into
practicality because of the numerous cons associated with the teaching strategies. One crucial
lesson has, however, come out very clear, the lack of in-depth teaching of aboriginal perspectives
points out the deeper issues rooted down in the Australian society. Education, most especially in
subjects such as History, plays an imperative role in bringing a balanced perspective to the
school system. Subsequently, this is possible through changing colonial values as well as the
negative stereotypes of Australia’s indigenous people through encouraging reconciliation. The
steps that have already been initiated such as the new Australian Curriculum forms a very good
foundation for the needed changes. The best thing is that it also advocates for providing a diverse
education for all Australian school students.

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References
Bond, C., Cox, L. and Munanjahli, C., 2014. International Journal of Critical Indigenous Studies
Volume 7, Number 2, 2014. Blood, 7(2).
Foreman, P. and Arthur-Kelly, M., 2017. Inclusion in action. Cengage AU.
Gibbs, G. and Jenkins, A., 2014. Teaching large classes in higher education: How to maintain
quality with reduced resources. Routledge.
Kovach, M., 2015. Emerging from the margins: Indigenous methodologies. Research as
resistance: revisiting critical, Indigenous, and anti-oppressive approaches, p.43.
Lai, C., 2015. Modeling teachers' influence on learners' self-directed use of technology for
language learning outside the classroom. Computers & Education, 82, pp.74-83.
Lomawaima, K.T., 2016. Indigenous Studies. American Quarterly, 68(1), pp.149-160.
McGloin, C., 2015. Listening to hear: Critical allies in Indigenous Studies. Australian Journal of
Adult Learning, 55(2), p.267.
Moore, T., Pybus, C., Rolls, M. and Moltow, D., 2017. Australian Indigenous Studies: Research
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Moreton-Robinson, A. ed., 2016. Critical Indigenous studies: Engagements in first world
locations. University of Arizona Press.
O'Brien, J.M. and Warrior, R., 2016. Building a Professional Infrastructure for Critical
Indigenous Studies: An (Intellectual) History and Prospectus for the Native American and
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Sillitoe, P., 2016. The Dialogue between Indigenous Studies and Engaged Anthropology: Some
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Using Indigenous Resources To Support Teaching and Learning 8
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S. and Zvacek, S.M. eds., 2014. Teaching and learning at a distance:
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Van Dijk, T.A., 2015. Critical discourse studies: A sociocognitive approach. 2015). Methods of
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