TEACHING INDIGENOUS STUDENTS CULTURAL AWARENESS & CLASSROOM STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING LEARNING OUTCOMES

Indigenous children, like all children, deserve a future they choose for themselves. This book aims to empower teachers to help halt the cycle of disadvantage for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and make a real difference to their relationships, learning outcomes and opportunities in the short and long term. Based on their many years of experience in teaching and research, the authors provide approaches that have been proven to be effective. There are strategies for developing sensitivity to a student's cultural background, creating a tone in the classroom conducive to learning, building strong teacher-student relationships and effectively managing student behaviour. The authors show how to bridge the demands of the curriculum with the learning Indigenous students bring with them to the classroom and how to work with the learning styles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. There is a focus on the best approaches for assessment and an exploration of the particular challenges for teachers of students in remote locations. Both practical and inspiring, this is an essential reference for all teachers working with Indigenous students, whether they be in the city or rural areas, in a class of twenty-five or just one student.