Developing teaching activities

This chapter explores how to develop stimulating teaching activities based on sound principles of learning. National consultations during the course of developing Teaching the Teachers: Indigenous Australian Studies materials have stressed that Indigenous educators generally prefer teachers to focus on units of work that examine Indigenous Australia now. Futures perspectives are placed at the top of the model to denote the importance of developing teaching activities that will enable children to contribute to creating a better future for all Australians. In the past, there has been an over-emphasis on developing teaching activities that relate to pre-invasion history-as safely remote in time and space, and nothing to do with Indigenous people and issues now-rather than articulating content to incorporate invasion and post-invasion history. Though demonstrative and expressive activities overlap, demonstrative activities ask students to demonstrate the degree to which they understand the data they have previously acquired and organised.