Chloe Boykett 1090567

EDU410 Assessment Task 2

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers 1.4

‘Strategies for Teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students’
Goal 1
Aim: To build my personal knowledge of inclusive teaching and learning
strategies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and
students with English as an additional language (EAL/D).
Plan:  Gain knowledge of inclusive practices for Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander students through
- Engaging with local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
community members;
- Researching and reading literature that proposes successful
teaching strategies; and
- Connecting with teachers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander students, and gaining their insight into effective
strategies
 Use this knowledge to create an ongoing portfolio/e-portfolio of
inclusive teaching strategies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
students, which can be referred to when I begin my teaching career
 Add this portfolio as evidence for achieving standard 1.4 of the
Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
Criteria and Justification: This ongoing goal will be achieved by the end of my degree, through the
creation of a portfolio of inclusive teaching strategies for Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander students. By creating this portfolio, and educating
myself of these teaching practices, it essentially ensures I have the
capacity to accommodate to all of my students learning needs with
regards social and cultural justice (Angelo, 2013). Consequently,
resulting in an inclusive and supportive learning environment, that
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students can thrive in.
Goal 2
Aim: To engage with the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
community that my future school stands on, and start to build
meaningful relationships with local elders and families.
Plan:  Reach out to admin at my school, and ask for community contacts.
If this is not possible, contact the Department of Education, and use
them as a link in contacting the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander community members
 Contact the community member and tell them a little bit about
myself, and my story. Ask if they would be interested in meeting up
for a cup of coffee, and having a yarn
 Display authenticity when I am engaging with the community
member/s, and show I am genuine when wanting to learn about
their history and culture
 Invite local community member into the classroom to teach my
students about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and
histories
 Continue to build a respectful relationship with the local
community, and get involved in events and occasions that are
happening outside of school
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Criteria and Justification: This goal is ongoing and will continually be achieved as I am moving
through my teaching career. I will know I have achieved this goal, when
I have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander elders, parents and
community members playing an active role in my classroom. The steps
outlined above will start a respectful relationship between myself and
the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community in a culturally
sensitive way. Consequently, allowing me to gain knowledge and
wisdom of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures in
the most authentic way, which will benefit my teaching of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander students, and also Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander content (Duchesne, McMaugh, Bochner, & Krause, 2013). By
creating these meaningful relationships with local community
members, it not only creates a respectful environment which values the
involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, but
also provides the opportunity for the community to share their concerns
and goals for education (Duchesne, McMaugh, Bochner, & Krause,
2013).

Australian Professional Standards for Teachers 2.4

‘Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation
between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians’
Goal 3
Aim: To gain an authentic education on the histories, cultures and
background of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, so I am able
to deliver this genuinely in my classroom.
Plan:  Undertake professional development in the means of
- Completing a series of modules from the AITSL ‘A unit outline
and content for professional learning units to support teachers
in meeting Focus Areas 1.4 and 2.4’ handbook (AITSL, 2013)
- Taking part in the ‘Crossing Cultures’ workshop provided by the
Department of Education (Queensland Government, 2014);
and
Criteria and Justification: This goal will firstly be achieved when I have completed the modules
suggested by AITSL before the end of my degree. These modules include
videos, activities and readings which will assist in developing my
understanding and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
histories and cultures (AITSL, 2013). Secondly, when I begin teaching I
will complete the ‘Crossing Cultures’ workshop, which will assist in
achieving this ongoing goal. This workshop was suggested by Lynn
Chapman in Lecture Two of the Intensive week, and explores the history
of Australia, through an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
perspective. Both of these professional development programs will
expand my knowledge of the histories and cultures of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples, connect these to teaching and learning
principals and essentially improve learning outcomes for Indigenous
students (AITSL, 2013; Queensland Government, 2014).
Goal 4
Aim: To educate myself on what racism looks like within a classroom, and
strategies to stop racist acts from uprising and occurring. This will assist
in achieving my long-term goal of employing a no tolerance policy with
any association to racism in my future classroom.
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Plan:  Read and analyse the ‘Racism No Way – A Guide for Australian
Schools’ project to gain insight into
- What racism looks, sounds and feels like in the classroom
- What Australian Schools are doing to prevent racism
 Explore the ‘Racism No Way’ website
(http://www.racismnoway.com.au/teaching-resources/school-
planning/)
 Start to research strategies, and gather resources which prevent
and combat racism in a classroom context
 Create an online folder of the resources, strategies and tips that I
can implement in my future classroom
Criteria and Justification: This goal will be achieved by the end of my degree, when I have
completed reading the ‘Racism No Way – A Guide for Australian School’
project and am aware of my rights and responsibilities as a teacher, in
relation to racism. By completing this goal, it essentially ensures I will be
able to implement effective strategies to both prevent and combat
racism when it occurs in my classroom (Conference of Education
Systems Chief Executive Officers, 2000). It will also allow me to educate
my future students on the subject of racism in a culturally sensitive way,
which encourages students to take a stand against racism, and exercise
their rights and responsibilities (Conference of Education Systems Chief
Executive Officers, 2000).
Goal 5
Aim: To gain an understanding of the current reconciliation policies and
strategies in education, and create a plan on how I will promote
reconciliation in my future classroom.
Plan:  Read and familiarise myself with the Reconciliation Plan July 2017 –
June 2020 (The Smith Family, 2017)
 Explore the ‘Reconciliation Australia’ website
(https://www.reconciliation.org.au/) as suggested by Monique
Proud in Lecture Three of the Intensive Week
 Complete the ‘Respect, Relationships and Reconciliation’ module as
suggested by Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership
(AITSL) as Professional Development and use this to;
 Construct a ‘Personal Reconciliation Plan’ which will include actions
that I can take in my classroom to promote reconciliation
 Add this Personal Reconciliation Plan as evidence of achieving
standard 2.4 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
Criteria and Justification: This goal will be achieved at the end of my degree through the creation
of a Personal Reconciliation Plan, which has been based off my built
knowledge of the current reconciliation policies, and aims in education.
This Personal Reconciliation Plan will outline small but significant
actions I can take in my classroom, which will consequently support
reconciliation (AITSL, 2016). By completing this goal, I can essentially
foster a safe and supportive learning environment that embraces
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage, and views these cultures
and traditions as the ways of Australia’s First Nations peoples, rather
than as ‘exotic’ (Wood, 1998).
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Reference List

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL]. (2013). Teacher Professional
Development in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education. A unit outline and content for
professional learning units to support teachers in meeting Focus Areas 1.4 and 2.4, 37-63.

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL]. (2016). 3 R’s Learning Resources’, 3Rs
Learning Resources: Become a more Confident Teacher of Indigenous Education and Students.
1-40.

Angelo, D. (2013). Identification and assessment contexts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
learners of Standard Australian English: Challenges for the language testing community.
Papers in Language Testing and Assessment, 2(2), 67-102.

Conference of Education Systems Chief Executive Officers. (2000), Racism. No Way! A guide for
Australian Schools, NSW Department of Education and Training, 1-52.

Duchesne, S., McMaugh, A., Bochner, S., & Krause, K. (2013). Educational Psychology for learning and
teaching. Cengage Learning Australia Pty Limited: Melbourne.

Queensland Government. (2014). Crossing Cultures Program. Department of Education and Training
– Indigenous Education. Retrieved From
http://indigenous.education.qld.gov.au/school/crossingcultures/Pages/default.aspx

Santoro, N., Reid, J., Crawford, L., & Simpson, L. (2011). Teaching indigenous children: Listening to and
learning from indigenous teachers’. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 36(10), 65-76.

The Smith Family. (2017). Reconciliation Action Plan July 2017 – June 2020. Reconciliation Action Plan
Stretch. 1-21.

Woods, D. (1998). Racism, Reconciliation, Rights – The 3 R’s of Indigenous Education in Australia today,
Australia Educational Researcher, 25(1), 53-70.