In our ETEC 521 discussions, I (and some others) expressed a desire not to teach ‘straight line theory’, not to inadvertently act in ways that alienate or culturally harm indigenous students. This desire ties into my overall goal for this course, to learn better ways to teach and retain my indigenous students. I believe that the key to all of this will be to foster more effective relationships.
Looking for some support in this, I approached the Aboriginal Education teacher at my school. She provided me with a chart contrasting cultural behaviors on fifteen different points. I’ve included the first four below, as an example:
|
Traditional Aboriginal |
Non-Aboriginal |
|
| Eye contact during conversation | Very little eye contact – most conversation conducted looking away from each other. | Eye contact is continuous or nearly continuous during conversation. |
| Answers to a question | Reply is delayed until facts are sifted through. Thus a period of silence before a reply is made. | Reply is immediate although the first few words may contribute little to the answer – talks while formulating the answer. |
| Speaking voice | Tends to pitch lower. Speech is slower, softer. | Tends to speak with a higher pitched voice. Speech is louder, faster. |
| Body Language | Nodding of the head and exclamations indicate understanding of what is being said, not necessarily agreement. | Nodding of the head and exclamations indicate agreement and / or acceptance. |
What this chart emphasized to me is that treating all students equally is not sufficient. My research focus, as a result, will be on learning ways to enhance my relationships with indigenous students, through culturally sensitive behaviors that lead to more effective teaching and higher student retention.
This is a broad topic and I expect to narrow my focus. I’ll start by looking for current and local research to help create that focus. So far, dissertations and the www.ccl-cca.ca/aboriginallearning/website have provided some direction.
Alana