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Introduction - Broaden Literacy & Numeracy

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Introduction - Broaden Literacy & Numeracy

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Standard Australian English is not the first language of many Indigenous students. This distinction between 'home' and 'school' language can have long lasting impacts on the literacy & numeracy achievements of many Indigenous students (MCEETYA 2004; Warren and de Vries 2008).

A narrow view of Literacy & Numeracy focuses exclusively on the ability to read, write and understand numbers. However, this definition of Literacy & Numeracy is becoming increasingly obsolete as it does not acknowledge the importance of embedding social and cultural contexts (Freebody, 2007; De Lemos, 2002).

Schools should therefore incorporate a broader concept of multi-literacy & numeracy into the classroom, in order to cater for the changing environments (Cazden, Cope, Fairclough & Gee, 1996).

A broad definition of literacy & numeracy is especially crucial for Indigenous students as those concepts should encompass the traditionally oral and visual practices of Indigenous cultures (Freebody, 2007; Tripcony, 2000).

This padlet will draw from frameworks such as AITSL's (2017) '8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning' and 'Strategies for Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in Schools' [EATSIPS] guide to inform and ensure inclusive practice within the classroom.

Background artwork:

Tali at Kalipinpa by Benisa Marks

Source: https://www.artery.com.au/component/shop/product?catalogue=17421

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Teaching Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander culture

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Teaching Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander culture

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The Victorian State Government outlines protocols for teaching Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander culture.

These protocols seek to  express Koorie cultures respectfully and in a way which allows all Australians to feel connected to this identity.

These protocols also follow the 'Classroom Ethos' Component of EATSIPS to create an inclusive and diverse classroom through educating all students within a classroom about Koorie cultures.

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This resource provides information to teachers about the effectiveness of creating Personalised Learning Plans for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Students. It allows a tailoring of learning goals to each student's developmental and motivational needs.

Teachers can integrate the 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning  from AITSL into the PLPs. This could include pedagogies that centre around techniques such as:

Story Sharing

Symbols & Images

Community Links

For example, a teacher may  incorporate 'story sharing' into the classroom, incorporating traditional oral practices of Indigenous cultures. Furthermore, numeracy could be learned through symbols & images, rather than lengthy, worded questions. This form of deconstructing and reconstructing content takes into consideration cultural differences in learning, and the specific needs of individual students.

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This resource supports teachers to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into the teaching and learning of mathematics.

MAST is a 5-step pedagogical approach which focuses on storytelling, & describes how mathematical symbols & their meanings can be used to create stories.

Incorporating MAST into the classroom allows students to express their creative side, whilst simultaneously moving away from conventional mathematical symbols that may be daunting for some students.

This method demonstrates an expressive & creative way in which teachers can incorporate Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives into the classroom.

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Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority

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This resource supports teachers to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into the teaching and learning of mathematics. This approach can benefit the teacher and students in any classroom.

The QCAA thanks Dr Chris Matthews, an Aboriginal man from the Quandamooka Nation (Moreton Bay, Queensland), for his contribution to the development of this resource, through both personal consultation and his writings.

Background information

Culture affects the ways mathematics is learned. To understand the cultural aspects of mathematics, it is necessary to know what mathematics is. Figure 1 summarises Dr Matthews' view on the fundamental question of the epistemology of mathematics. Developing pedagogy that is centred on this cycle can lead to authentic mathematical literacy.

Explaining the cycle

Dr Matthews argues that most students (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) only experience mathematics in its abstract form (i.e. they stay within the cloud), and do not experience and appreciate the cycle of abstraction and critical reflection.

Students can develop mathematical understanding by:

choosing a particular part of reality (represented by the grey circle)

creating an abstract representation of a real-life situation, using a range of mathematical symbols, which are combined to form a symbolic language we call mathematics

using mathematics in its abstract form to explore particular attributes and behaviours of the real-life situation and then mathematically communicating these ideas to others

critically reflecting on their mathematical representation to ensure that it fits with the observed reality.

Consequently, the abstraction and critical reflection processes form an important cycle in which mathematics and its knowledge are created, developed and refined.

The MAST approach

Maths as Storytelling (MAST) is a pedagogical approach that originated from the model in Figure 1. Dr Matthews developed this approach in a research project to explore new ways of teaching algebra to students who are underachieving. The approach focuses on stories, and explores how symbols and their meanings can communicate these stories.

The five steps of the Maths as Storytelling process are described below. Students:

1. explore the meaning of symbols and how symbols can be used to tell and create a story

2. explore simple equations by acting out a story and identifying its mathematical elements

3. create their own symbols to represent the story using concrete materials

Figure 2 demonstrates an example from a Year 2 student who used the MAST approach. When the student was asked what his symbols meant, he explained his mathematical story: a vortex sucks the two groups together and the cloud gently places them down.

4. share their symbols with the group (this step gets students used to writing within different symbol systems, and helps develop a standard classroom symbol system)

5. modify the story (a key step in introducing algebraic ideas) with help from the teacher.

MAST in the classroom

The MAST approach can help students understand more complicated equations, e.g. algebra. In Dr Matthew's publication, Creating your own symbols: Beginning algebraic thinking with Indigenous students, this Year 8 class situation was described.

Students were asked why equation 2x = 8 was divided by 2 to find x.

Students were asked to represent the equation in a creative manner with two xs on one side of a line, and eight circles on the other.

Students were then able to see that dividing both sides in two (see diagram below) will give the value of x.

The teacher believed that this could not have been done without the students having previously experienced the MAST approach. In addition, students also expressed a sense of freedom in being involved in creative activities, shifting the focus away from conventional mathematical symbols to an approach that focuses on the underlying meaning and structure of mathematics.

Questions for teachers to consider

Do you understand the meaning of the symbols or story in the artwork above?

What would help you to understand the meaning?

Could this help you to understand what would help students gain an understanding of maths symbols?

Is the way that you teach maths engaging all students in your classroom?

How could the maths as storytelling process be implemented in your classroom?

How would this process benefit students - both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous students - in the classroom?

How could presenting this as an Indigenous process show Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students that their culture is valued in the classroom?

How could this help non-Indigenous students to gain some understanding about Indigenous culture and processes?

More information

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This resource supports teachers to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into the teaching and learning of mathematics. This approach can benefit the teacher and students in any classroom. The QCAA thanks Dr Chris Matthews, an Aboriginal man from the Quandamooka Nation (Moreton Bay, Queensland), for his contribution to the development of this resource, through both personal consultation and his writings.

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This video highlights a process for supporting Indigenous EAL/D students in learning Standard Australian English.

It is called the "3 way strong" approach:

Recognise

Engage

Support

The video calls for a destigmatisation of creole and Pidgin English. Teachers should take into consideration the historical context of students and implement the above process to help all students succeed in learning Standard Australian English.

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Cazden, C., Cope, B., Fairclough, N., & Gee, J. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60-92.

Purdie, N., Reid, K., & Buckley, S. (Eds.). (2011). Literacy learning : what works for young indigenous students? Lessons from the Longitudinal Literacy and Numeracy Study for Indigenous Students. Literacy Learning : The Middle Years, 19(3).

Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2018, July 25). Mathematics as Storytelling. Retrieved from https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/about/k-12-policies/aboriginal-torres-strait-islander-perspectives/resources/mathematics-storytelling

Queensland Department of Education. (2018, Sep 16). My Language Matters. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmS09FOobIA&t=2s

Victorian State Government. (2019).

Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. Retrieved from https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/multicultural/Pages/koorieculture.aspx

What Works National Office. (n.d.). What Works. The Work Program. Retrieved from http://www.whatworks.edu.au/upload/1311202974899_file_CoreIssues10.pdf

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Positive Learning Environments for Indigenous youth

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Positive Learning Environments for Indigenous youth

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Storytelling in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander cultures

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Storytelling in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander cultures

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Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority

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Oral traditions substantiate Aboriginal perspectives and Torres Strait Islander perspectives about the past, present and the future.

Speaking is the primary form of communication in Aboriginal cultures and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Concepts and beliefs have been passed on from generation to generation through specific cultural practices, traditions, languages, laws and family relationships. The oral traditions of instruction include storytelling, song, dance, and art- and craft-making.

Important communications and histories have been carried across history via various mediums such as message sticks, rock and sand art, body painting, song, dance and carvings. Nowadays, more contemporary histories and events are often expressed through the visual and performing arts, songs, multimedia and literary expositions including prose, poetry, plays and other scriptwriting.

Though there are many different types of stories they fall into four broad categories: collective histories, spiritual narratives, cultural practices and life histories. There are also some stories by Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples that do not fit into any of these categories, such as fiction stories.

Below are some examples of various types of stories and the mediums used to tell them.

Torres Strait Islander examples

Gelam - creator of dugong: A modern telling of a creation story using children's artworks and narration by Matilda Bani.

Hammerhead shark mask: Ken Thaiday Snr's artwork aligns his spiritual and natural worlds and tells his spiritual narrative.

Stories under the stars from Badu Islands: Digital recording of stories about traditional star legends.

Kab kar dances: Traditional dances such as these sustain cultural practices by depicting daily life in the islands. Naigai kawa shows looking for fish and Sambai ba shows finding the fish and scooping them up.

Baidam Thithuyil: Brian Robinson of the Kala Lagaw Ya and Wuthathi language groups of the Torres Strait, uses printmaking and sculpture to tell his stories in bold, innovative and distinctive works.

Winds of Woerr: Ghenoa Gela's theatre work blends traditional and modern elements and uses song, dance and narration to communicate a story.

Aboriginal examples

K'gari:The digital story of K'gari gives two perspectives about what happened when Eliza Fraser was shipwrecked on K'gari (Fraser Island), which is the Country of the Butchella peoples. It invites viewers to 'help destroy one of Australia's first fake news stories', and this is incorporated into interactive elements of the story. Using spoken and written words, images and music, the drama raises questions about perceptions, history-making and truth-telling. At the end of the tale there is a link to PDF teacher notes.

Patyegarang: This dance theatre production by Bangarra tells a historical story of first contact in the Sydney area. Teachers' notes, the program and a sample of the soundtrack are available online; the full show and soundtrack are available to buy.

Big Yam Dreaming: Kwementyay Kngwarreye's art work tells the story of the finger yam in the Alhalkere Country sacred to the artist.

Putuparri and the Rainmakers: This universal story about the sacred relationship between people and place is told in an award-winning documentary film focusing on the traditional custodians of Australia's Great Sandy Desert and their twenty-year struggle for Native Title of Kurtal, their traditional Country. A trailer is free to view online and the film can be purchased on DVD; a study guide is also available.
This documentary is rated M: some parts of the film are not suitable for young audiences. Teachers should watch first and choose the most relevant parts to show their students.

The Rabbits: This allegory of colonisation is a picture book with text by John Marsden and illustrations by Shaun Tan. It has inspired a range of story-telling methods

The Rabbits: An allegory of colonisation - Videos of the book are set to music by Bernard Kotze . Teaching points and a sample assessment are also provided.

The Rabbits - A music theatre production was created. A 33-page learning resource pack is available to download from a link near the end of the page.

The Rabbits: Kite Song (Live) - 'Kite song', from the music theatre production, carries the pain of the Stolen Generations in music. Lesson 1 of the learning resource pack at the previous link focuses on 'Kite song'.

Ngambri youth illustrate stories of generations past: Rob Williams talks about writing and illustrating stories from the Canberra plains, Ngambri and Ngunnawal country, of which his family are traditional custodians.

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Storytelling in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures

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Oral traditions substantiate Aboriginal perspectives and Torres Strait Islander perspectives about the past, present and the future. Speaking is the primary form of communication in Aboriginal cultures and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Concepts and beliefs have been passed on from generation to generation through specific cultural practices, traditions, languages, laws and family relationships.