Day Twenty

Day 20 - Dr Bronwen Cowie University of Waikato


I met with Dr Bronwen Cowie to discuss the research she has completed in Aboriginal perspective through the Science curriculum. She referred to a project that she completed in the past where students were provided with a "homework" style book that they wrote questions down in to take home and talk about with their parents. Many of these questions had a cultural connection.

A task such as this was completed to engage family and community in the development of cultural knowledge. Students were providing the information throughout varying topics.

Bronwen also talked about a unit of work that students in early primary school completed on Tuatara, a lizard endemic to New Zealand and of cultural significance.
Students learnt about the ecosystem the lizard is found in, made clay models of the lizards, saw the lizards at a reptile park and brainstormed everything they found out about the lizards. Fathers were invited into the school to assist with the clay modelling, this was a non-threatening activity for family members. A father of one student was able to share the significance of the Tuatara with the class, as it appeared on a carved tuata or pou whakairo belonging to his family.
This was a simple unit, but it embedded cultural and scientific knowledge in a local context. Each student was provided with a booklet that contained photos and samples of work from the unit at the unit conclusion.

Bronwen said that she made a point of inviting parents and caregivers to an afternoon tea, so that they were aware of the projects taking place and had the opportunity to have input into what they thought would be best for their children.

Another project conducted by a teacher working with Bronwen was a unit of work on heat conduction. The unit of work was predominantly practical and collaborative learning was a main focus, as this is regarded as a Culturally Responsive Teaching strategy. This was also a great opportunity for these late primary school aged students to develop skills in measuring and recording data. The conclusion of the unit was building an oven, this was a wonderful opportunity for students to use inquiry, as they were required to develop the best oven through observation, data collection in the cooking of their food and by making gradual changes.

One of the key points I took from meeting with Dr Bronwen Cowie is that ensuring best learning and social outcomes for Indigenous students requires Culturally Responsive Teaching. Culturally Responsive Teaching is determined by the pedagogy used in the classroom, not just the cultural knowledge shared. She talked about the way in which cultural knowledge and tradition is passed on from person to person through voice and performance. It is for this reason that her projects have involved students sharing knowledge with students and children accessing cultural knowledge at home and through community, by asking questions. Bronwen suggested that I encourage students to share knowledge with students in our Primary School, having them pass on knowledge in a culturally traditional way.

Bronwen also told me about the New Zealand Science Learning Hub.  http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/ This website contains superb information, activities, pracs and wonderful short videos of scientists working in each of the scientific areas on the website. A great deal of the information is embedded in a New Zealand context, but I think that there are definitely parts of this website that Australian teachers can utilise.