Activities and Observation

  • Tool Comparison Investigation (9:00-10:30 AM): Compared traditional digging sticks with modern garden tools 
  • Preservation Experiments (10:45-11:45 AM): Tested different methods to preserve leaves, flowers, and food 
  • Community Documentation Project (1:30-2:30 PM): Interviewed staff about their jobs for future time capsule 
  • Deep Digging Engineering (2:45-3:30 PM): Explored pulleys and levers to move heavy soil and rocks 

Professional Practice Elements Engaged 

Professional Teaching Standard 6 (Engage in Professional Learning): An ongoing professional learning is key to quality teaching practice (AITSL, 2018): 

6.1 - Determining Professional Learning Needs: due to reflection of elder visit, identified the need to have a greater knowledge of follow items:  

  • Domestic Native history and guidelines  
  • Pedagogies of cultural responsiveness  
  • Development of community partnership  
  • Evaluation within the cross-cultural environment  

6.2 - Professional Learning: Professional development entails hands-on involvement in new learning and practices (Timperley, 2011): 

  • Research: Read papers on how to embed Indigenous perspectives in a real way 
  • Network: Linked to regional Indigenous education Advisor 
  • Reflection: Reflected on what occurred with mentor yesterday and I was able to identify areas I needed to grow on  
  • Application: Future cultural learnings which are modeled via enhanced protocols  

6.3 - Connect with Colleagues Professional Learning Conversation with Mentor: Mentor: How do you feel the impact of the elder visit on the children was about their understanding? More than that, I noticed more respect and curiosity particularly in the way they related traditional tools to their ongoing investigations. However, I should not have the misconception that I am viewing culture as an event that only happens once. Mentor: What a way to think. What are some of the ways that you can incorporate an Indigenous view more permanently out into the future?" My Development: Planned to have frequent cultural engagements as opposed to extra special ones 

Holistic Child Development - Dispositions and Learning 

Dispositions Learning Dispositions Strengthened: Learning patterns of thoughts and behavior that sustain life learning are habitable (Carr, 2019):  

  

Curiosity: Emma: "When old people did not have metal means to work with, how were they able to cut really hard stuff?" It has led to the study of knapping, pressure methods and material characteristics.  

Inability to give up: Jackson laboured for 45 minutes attempting to crack nuts out of the use of stones only and refused to make use of simpler approaches, a sign of being persistent to learn ways of the past.   

Creativity: Nathan made up hybrid tools such as a hybrid combination of old and new on them: "This is a digging stick with a phone holder so you can call more diggers in case you find something important!"  

Group work: The work on the ancient settlement helps children to build trade mechanisms and involve engagement on resource negotiating and exchange of expert knowledge.  

Critical Thinking: Jovana posed a question, asking how they know that Elder is telling the truth with his stories. Which leads to the debate between oral tradition, types of evidence, and validation of cultural knowledge. 

Dignity, Equity, Diversity, Cultural Competence, and Inclusion 

Multicultural Tool Sharing, Inclusive practice honors the cultural expertise that every family has (Banks, 2019):  

  • Grace (Chinese origin): Family chopsticks are used as eating utensils and they were shown the right way of using it  
  • Jovana (Italian descent): She brought her grandmother pasta-manufacturing equipment, which is reminiscent of the past food preparation of ancient times   
  • Kylo (Pacific Islander): Away to specify conventional harvesting instruments within the family culture of the island  
  • Gina (Greek origin): Common ways of pressing olive oil were inherited by their ancestors  

All-inclusive Documentation: Documentation activities should be all-inclusive of all children and families (Kemp, 2018):  

  • Visual: The use of picture cards of tool sequences by EAL children  
  • Multilingual labeling: Names of tools, written in the native languages, are phonetically spelled  
  • Inclusive engagement: Adaptable experiments and equipment: Accessible equipment, tools to accommodate children with varied physical capacities  
  • Cultural sensitivity: It was made sure that sacred or ritualized tools were not acted upon as a show and tell  

Fair Access to Learning Opportunities: Equitable practice guarantees equity in the access to rich learning experiences (Souto-Manning & Martell, 2019): 

  • Accessing resources: All children received an equal amount of time with specialist tools and materials  
  • Leadership rotation: All the children were given chances to take the lead in other investigations  
  • Various abilities appreciated: Strengths in academics, artistic, physical, social and cultural achievement are all applauded  
  • Differentiated challenges: Different levels to examine the same concepts 

National Regulatory Considerations 

National Quality framework - continuous improvement: Services are expected to improve continuously in its educational programs and achievements (ACECQA, 2020): Quality Area 1 improvement: shows more evident continuity and progression of learning and development of skills.  

Evidence of an Increase:   

  • The exploration of simple interest and basic tool utilisation   
  • Diagnosis and treatment of complex problems; culture integration  
  • Community connecting and multi-analysis. Connections and complicated analysis. Community bonding and multi-analysis  

Progression Documentation: Evidence on building complexity and greater involvement is evident  

Adherence to Rules:  

  • Safety Protocols: New risk assessment due to increased complexity of the investigations   
  • Cultural Protocols: Made sure adequate clearances and recognition existed in cultural sharing  
  • Documentation Requirements: Achieved all standards of documentation of assessment and planning

Learning Environment Provision - Responsive Adaptation 

The environment should be adjusted to promote the developing level of interests and abilities of children in the following ways (Curtis & Carter, 2020): Evolution of the Environment in Three Weeks:  

  • Adjustments: Introduced excavation tools and the areas of investigation  
  • Adjustments: Introduced construction materials and precision tools  
  • Adjustments: Introduced a community phoning space and preservation laboratory  

Responsive Modifications:  

  • Acoustical Reflections: Made quiet areas in times of research noise  
  • Traffic flow: revised spaces with projects expansion and space needs became larger   
  • Storage solutions: Derived storage systems with projects materials to be handled continually  
  • Evolution of displays: Documentation displays were developed to exhibit the progress of learning