Hi All
(I am back on board after a week or so of taking care of a sick child), I have just watched David Vadiveloo on Message Stick, bringing his Community Prophets project to the remote North Qld community of Aurukun. My first thoughts were that after completing our teaching training many of us will spend some time teaching in remote or rural schools. And although not all these schools will be indigenous, the techniques used in this clip could be applied to any classroom with disengaged students. David emphasised the primary point that a story comes from within you whilst explaining that the technology and equipment was secondary, a tool only for the telling. In this way he was celebrating the students individual voices and culture. David described the story telling process by acting out with the students the key elements of a narrative structure, appealing to their kinaesthetic learning needs. He scaffolded learning by beginning with simple animation to show how moving image worked. Brainstorming activities were conducted to generate and establish ideas. Responses to student input included continuous positive reinforcement helping build confidence and pride in their work. An added benefit of the projects was the positive results in reducing behavioural problems. A very useful pedagogical approach for teachers struggling with engaging their students.
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/messagestick/stories/s2496801.htm.
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I was most interested in this film as I have worked twelve years in remote indigenous communities and have been amazed by the enthusiasm and skill young indigenous kids display, when offered the opportunity to be involved in, and work with, digital technologies. It's as if their cultural consciousness immediately locks into digital consciousness without the step of analogue (print (non hyperlinked text), non-manipulatable (is this a word?), photographs etc.consciousness.
ReplyDeleteI am uncertain of the reasons for this wide embracing of digital learning, but it is the case. This being so it is an ideal educational strategy for non-engaged Aboriginal students and for non-engaged mainstream students.
However, there is one thing that in our enthusiasm for the new technologies we should not overlook. And this is the need for the students to be literate, even though they are working online much of the time and the need for all students to learn the discipline that will eventually be essential if they are to become productive members of our mainstream workforce. Strategies for these learnings need to be implemented and outcomes achieved.
I believe it is great when learning is such fun that students just want to learn because they are enjoying it so much. However this raises the question as to whether there are aspects of learning that may not be as much fun but still need to be attended to all the same? There is a return to some rote learning and to explicit teaching of grammar etc again in Qld schools and sometimes this isn't fun for a student... it is simply boring, hard work. If students only come to school when it is "fun" then they still may not ever be able to take a useful and rewarding place in the mainstream workforce.