Teacher learns important lessons from Indigenous communities – new online learning products for Indigenous learners
01 October 2002
A Kangan Batman TAFE staff member has received national recognition for his work adapting an online horticulture course to suit the needs of Indigenous students.
Peter Robertson, a Senior Consultant in Kangan Batman TAFE's Learning Research and Design Department, was invited to speak at the national Partners in a Learning Culture conference, held 6-8 November on the Gold Coast by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council (AITAC). AITAC advises the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) on Indigenous education issues.
Mr Robertson spoke about the challenges and lessons he has learnt in the process of developing the Indigenous Horticulture Toolbox. A 'Toolbox' is a collection of training materials which enable people to study vocational education courses online.
Funded by the Australian National Training Authority, Toolboxes are gradually being developed for courses across the vocational education and training (VET) system, and are available to teachers and students Australia-wide. The Indigenous Toolbox is one of the first recently launched ‘Equity Toolboxes’.
With funding provided to Kangan Batman TAFE and managed by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework (2000-2004), Mr Robertson's project originated with a proposal to contextualise two existing VET Horticulture Toolboxes for Indigenous learners. The outcome is two separate products revised by the original development teams at Kangan Batman TAFE (Vic) and Challenger TAFE (WA).
Mr Robertson said that overcoming his presumptions about engaging Indigenous learners was the first lesson learnt when developing a set of new online learning resources for Indigenous communities.
“With Indigenous communities all around Australia participating in the development of these ground-breaking online learning resources, the reviews and validation of the product have come straight from Indigenous groups. It has been an eye-opening journey for me, trying to come to grips with the richness and breadth of Indigenous communities from Alice Springs to Redfern.”
Mr Robertson said that an invaluable resource for outlining how to effectively consult and engage with Indigenous groups was the Australian National Training Authority’s (ANTA) Blueprint, Partners in a Learning Culture.
Its guiding principles are that: Indigenous people play substantial roles in developing resources; review and validation of the resource is by Indigenous people, communities and organisations; and that Indigenous people appear in the resource telling stories of themselves.
“We visited Indigenous communities in many parts of the country, and showed them units from the original material and invited suggestions. The main amendment was that Indigenous representatives from various local communities now introduce the content and provide audio commentary. Images and contextual references were also changed to create settings more relevant to the Indigenous context.”
The project now has identified a range of protocols for consultation with Indigenous communities and representation of Indigenous characters in the materials. Validation of the resource was undertaken through a number of Indigenous organisations.
The two Flexible Learning Toolboxes developed by the Kangan Batman TAFE and Challenger TAFE teams are:
- Certificate II in Horticulture for Indigenous learners (modification of Series 3 mainstream Toolbox) and is available now; and
- A second Horticulture for Indigenous Learners product focusing on the three study areas of weeds, irrigation & chemicals and available in early 2003.
All Toolbox products are available through Australian Training Products www.atpl.net.au. For more information about the Equity Toolboxes range visit: http://flexiblelearning.net.au/toolbox.
Kangan Batman TAFE has strong links with the local Indigenous community and has a Koori Programs Unit based at its Broadmeadows campus. The unit supports Indigenous students studying mainstream TAFE courses, as well as running programs specifically designed for Indigenous students, such as courses in Koori Art and Design, and the Coorong Tongala (Koori Education Course).
The unit also offers support services including mentoring, tutoring, counselling, and referral to other services. It is currently used by more than 500 students from diverse backgrounds, ranging from 14 year olds to people in their 50s.
