INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE; BEING AND BELONGING IN LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT

Abstract

It was over a decade ago in 2008 that the University of Western Sydney (UWS) now Western Sydney University developed a specific Graduate Attribute focussed on the “Knowledge of Indigenous Australia” to enhance the prominence and status of Indigenous culture, knowledge and studies and acknowledge the teaching, learning and research that had occurred for tens of thousands of years (Anning, 2010). In more recent times, the importance of Indigenous knowledge has been recognised in the re writing of “understanding science” in the Science Threshold Learning Outcomes (STLOs) (2023) once again to acknowledge Indigenous perspectives. Today approaches such as 8-way pedagogies (8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning, n.d.) allow ways forward and value learning as a process rather than a narrow product. In this presentation we will further unpack the Indigenous graduate attributes so needed in a Bachelor of Science from how to integrate traditional and scientific knowledge through to supporting lifelong learning and engagement of graduates to deepen understanding of Aboriginal cultures. We will use two examples from undergraduate and postgraduate science units which have embedded within them time to listen to Indigenous staff and for Elders to share their knowledge about the environment, through practice and story. Further we will address the challenge of assessment, especially assessment which must be authentic and a process, rather than narrow formative traditional approaches such as quizzes and exams. Finally, we will raise to the surface how critical a more holistic assessment approach is needed to understand whether students are able to acknowledge and value Indigenous ways of knowing Science.