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NAIDOC Week: General Teacher Resources

(screenshot from NAIDOC Week Teacher Resources 2023)

The Teacher's Role

The teacher does not always need to be the knowledge-holder when it comes to First Nations knowledges.

In fact, the teacher’s role is to facilitate the lesson using the content provided by First Nations peoples. Here are some key points:  

  • If this is a new way of running a learning opportunity, it might feel strange to begin with, but stick with it!  
  • Having your students drive the learning is a powerful way to engage students and let them demonstrate their knowledge. 
  • The teacher’s role is also to make sure that everyone is respectful to each other, and that everyone who wants to contribute constructively can be heard.

(information from SBS NAIDOC Week 2023)

Visible Thinking Routines to Help Unpack New Ideas

Visible thinking routines help support student inquiry into various topics.   

A thinking routine is a set of questions or a brief sequence of steps used to scaffold and support student thinking. 

The following routines can be used to help students unpack some of the big ideas behind Reconciliation Week.

Australians Together

Australians Together

Australians Together is a great resource with lots of information to help you as an educator feel confident to use Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in your classroom.  Watch the video below to have a quick overview of this great resource.

Indigenising Pedagogy

Consider weaving elements of Indigenous pedagogy into your teaching practice.

8 Ways of Learning

  • 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.

Dialogue circles (or yarning circles)