8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning

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.

Aboriginal perspectives are not found in Aboriginal content, but Aboriginal processes...

The framework is expressed as eight interconnected pedagogies involving narrative-driven learning, visualised learning plans, hands-on/reflective techniques, use of symbols/metaphors, land-based learning, indirect/synergistic logic, modelled/scaffolded genre mastery, and connectedness to community. But these can change in different settings.

This is a pedagogy framework that allows teachers to include Aboriginal perspectives by using Aboriginal learning techniques. In this way, focus can remain on core curriculum content while embedding Aboriginal perspectives in every lesson. It came from a research project involving DET staff, James Cook University’s School of Indigenous Studies and the Western New South Wales Regional Aboriginal Education Team between 2007 and 2009. AECG and SERAP approval was granted for the project.

The research project sought to engage teachers with Indigenous knowledge at the Cultural Interface (overlap) between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal cultures, finding innovative ways to apply this common-ground knowledge in the classroom. It was contended that Aboriginal perspectives do not come from Indigenised content, but from Indigenous processes of knowledge transmission. So Aboriginal learning processes were identified and a rich overlap was found between these and the best mainstream pedagogies (e.g. Quality Teaching). A common-ground pedagogical framework was developed and trialled during this Aboriginal research project, using an Indigenous standpoint methodology inspired by the work of Dr Karen Martin and Dr Martin Nakata. The framework was nicknamed “8ways” by teachers, although the RAET team resisted naming it so that it would not be seen as a commercial product or program.

"8ways" is a constantly developing body of communal expertise held by the traditional keepers of knowledge in Aboriginal communities throughout western NSW. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal teachers contribute to the framework in an ongoing cross-cultural dialogue via wiki (http://8ways.wikispaces.com). It is managed by the RAET team at the Aboriginal Knowledge and Practice Centre, Dubbo.

It is not intended to constitute an entire Aboriginal program for schools, but is rather a culturally safe point of entry for teachers to begin engaging with Aboriginal knowledge and cross-cultural dialogue in the community.

If you use anything from here, please respect our communal protocols for knowledge and cross-cultural dialogue ethic. Please share any new understandings or applications here on the wiki. Simple rule - if you take something, put something back.

These carvings are learning tools for exploring the 8 ways. Each object carries and informs deep knowledge about a way of learning. You can see what they mean by referring to the diagram above. See brief descriptions below for explanations of each element. These objects are kept at the Aboriginal Knowledge and Practice Centre in Dubbo, NSW. Phone 02 6841 3852 for details.

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.

How we learn - culture way

1. We connect through the stories we share.
2. We picture our pathways of knowledge.
3. We see, think, act, make and share without words.
4. We keep and share knowledge with art and objects.
5. We work with lessons from land and nature.
6. We put different ideas together and create new knowledge.
7. We work from wholes to parts, watching and then doing.
8. We bring new knowledge home to help our mob.


Testimonial from M. Whitla:
For such a long time the ways Indigenous Australians learn have been ignored, but that is slowly changing and a big part of that change starts with us. We need to become more educated on the Indigenous heritage of Australia and learn more specifically about how to best teach students from this culture.
After exploring the 8 Aboriginal ways of learning I feel much more capable of teaching these students effectively. I understand that the best process of learning for these students is not always sitting at their desks in a classroom reading words from the board. I aim to have an interactive, visual classroom that brings the outside environment inside the classroom. As this is a different method of learning that does not all come naturally to me I feel I will be learning along with the students, which I am happy to do. I acknowledge that I will have students who may know more on specific topics as I am not a part of the Australian Indigenous culture and I am happy to take a step back and let these students co-construct their teaching and learning.
These 8 ways of learning have changed my perspective on incorporating the Aboriginal culture into the classroom and how simple, yet effective it can be. I feel at ease knowing that the 8 Aboriginal ways of learning diagram is there to relate back to and reflect upon as it is so simple and easy to understand and incorporate into the classroom. I will work to incorporate these 8 ways of learning throughout the entire curriculum. For example, I will not only include story telling when teaching English but instead I will include story sharing throughout a range of KLAs, using narratives to convey what I am teaching.