Conducted 05/11/15 at 11.30am
in the Student Services
S2 is a student enrolled in Class2
| […] | |
| LE: | Ok ehm () so::: What is your or do you have a connection to Aboriginality? |
| S2: | I have () have a friend who is Aboriginal. I had a boyfriend that is Aboriginal. Ehm. But no personal identification. |
| LE: | Mhm (positive). () Ok. And how would you describe the way knowledge is conveyed in the ehm in the lecture and in the tutorial? () That we’re doing. |
| S2: | I find that it’s done in a really different way to other courses. They do it in a more conversational way rather than just the lecturing at you way. And I really like that. Heaps different to normal courses. They have more interaction with you overall I think. () () {Click here for analysis} |
| LE: | Ok. How would you describe the way you learn in the course? () () […] |
| S2: | I found a lot of the stuff that I learned was from writing the essays and doing the powerpoint. Cause I had to do so much research for that. Rather than what we learned in class, it was having to study for those things that was easier or more useful. () |
| LE: | Mhm (positive). () Ok so ehm () When you say it’s different than in other courses what is different exactly? Can you describe that? |
| S2: | Yeah. So I studied psychology and social work and they are a bigger cohort in general and there’s no connection between the lecturer and the students. They just come and they do the lecture and they go. Whereas in this one you can have more personal interaction with the lecturer and talk to them about things that are more important to you and they know you individually. () Completely different. () () |
| LE: | Ok. E::hm () So would you also say that the classes are structured differently? Or is it just the way the lecturer is or the tutors talk to you? () () |
| S2: | I don’t know about it being structured differently. It’s the same format of essays and powerpoints and () things that you have to do. That sort of criteria. And the way the lecturer lectures, I mean, you have to have that lecture bit but it’s more what happens afterwards. () I think it’s () different and it’s in keeping with how Indigenous society is anyway. It’s more conversational, it’s more relationships-based and I find that this course and the other courses at the Institute are the same. Based on the culture of what they’re teaching. |
| LE: | What other courses have you done in the Institute? |
| S2: | Ehm I’m doing – cause I’m doing the Bachelor of Aboriginal Professional Practice – So I think I’ve- oh I can’t remember the subject names. Ehm no, I don’t know. |
| (LE: | Ok. Ok.) |
| S2: | All the degree ones and they’re all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander courses. […] |
| LE: | So they were all kind of the same? Or () Same differences? |
| S2: | In what way? |
| LE: | In this conversational way that you just described. |
| S2: | Well, I’ve only had () two of those courses actually at the Institute, one was L3 and one was () I can’t remember her name. But that was an intro to Aboriginal studies which lots of people through the university do cause I think it’s a requirement () for courses they’re doing. All my others are online. So online you are more distanced from your lecturer but they’re still easily accessible and they’re really chatty and friendly and not all academic so I found it really different. |
| LE: | Mhm (positive). Ok. |
| S2: | Does that make sense? |
| LE: | Yeah. Definitely. |
| =S2: | Yeah. |
| LE: | Definitely, definitely. A::nd ehm () I sometimes had the impression that ehm L3 also talked a lot about personal experience. |
| S2: | Yeah. That’s true. Yeah. And that – well done – because that is really different to the other lectures I’ve done as well. They don’t come up with personal experience. Stuff that they academically learned, perhaps if they’re worked in but it’s not personal. |
| LE: | Mhm (positive). And e::hm do you mean the other lectures in the the other subjects or |
| S2: | In other courses. Like in Social Work and Psychology. Not in this one. () Yeah, this one is really – the whole six courses – the lecturers introduce themselves to you, who they are, what nation they’re from, they give you a bit of a background to themselves. Whereas the other courses don’t. You don’t know anything about the lecturers. |
| LE: | Mhm (postitive). () () So ehm does that make it easier or harder for you to learn? |
| S2: | Much easier because I feel like I’m () talking to a friend and I feel like when I’ve got any problems then I can approach the lecturer rather than feeling too academically stupid to wanna show my @stupidity@. I can be more open and honest and say ‘I just don’t get this. Can you tell me?’. {Click here for analysis} Yeah. () () Yeah. Definitely. |
| LE: | A:nd do you think it’s easier to learn or remember the the content we learn? Or we discuss? () |
| S2: | I think it is because it’s more interesting. Because it’s () mo:re () stimulating. Because I’ll probably remember things that you’ve said to me more than some random lecturer because we have some kind of relationship. So if you’ve got a relationship with your teacher of course you gonna remember stuff more. {Click here for analysis} |
| LE: | Ok. And e::hm does your learning experience feel different in that course? Ehm or is it just- |
| S2: | Yeah no, it has been really different and I think that’s because a lot of the resources, a lot of them are ehm like – not just for L3’s course but the other ones – are rather reading not research (for course) but journal articles and () and a lot of it is watching YouTube clips which is really useful. It’s much more () () It’s easier to take on, easier to comprehend, it’s more real life than just stuff out of a book. It’s real people are talking about real experiences. Slightly different to any other course I’ve ever done.[…] {Click here for analysis} |
| LE: | E:hm so:: that sounds as if you like the differences. ((laughs)) |
| S2: | Very, very much. This course is amazing. And I can really see myself sticking with it and going through with it and just loving every subject and looking forward to what I’m doing and enjoying talking about it and () it’s changing who I am as a person () which other degrees didn’t |
| LE: | That’s great. |
| S2: | Yeah. |
| LE: | E:hm so:: the next thing is a () statement we we discussed while ehm during my degree last year. |
| S2: | Ok. |
| LE: | We said ehm ‘Many methods used in universities world-wide can be described as Western and provide little room for example for storytelling or spirituality.’ Do you agree? |
| S2: | Oh, I absolutely agree. With other courses being like that? Oh absolutely. Westernised, just preaching at you, telling you and not inviting interaction or other opinions or ideas or anything. Not even accepting them or bringing them in unless you’re a culturally diverse course but even then it’s from a Westernised perspective teaching about culturally diverse populations. |
| LE: | Mhm (positive). Do you think that’s problematic? |
| S2: | Well, yeah, because then it leads people to want to – when they get a job to work from that framework. And a Westernised perspective rather than what L3 teaches and everyone at the Institute, it’s all about culture and spirituality and relationship and it’s a completely different way of looking at (right) and relating to other people. |
| LE: | Ok. () So:: what do you think could be done to change that Westernised focus or Westernised ehm () yeah? […] |
| S2: | The thing is I don’t think anything will be done. I don’t () It’s a dominant culture and I think people accept it that way and that’s how their life is and I think they find spirituality and culture to be really airy-fairy and not science and not facts. So I don’t know that you can take someone from a Westernised point of view to something else unless they want it. I think it’s just gonna be rejected. |
| LE: | Could the:re- is there something teacher could do to change that if they want to? |
| S2: | () I really don’t- |
| =LE: | Or contribute to it? |
| S2: | I just don’t think so because I think it’s too () it’s just not the same teaching format. In any way. I don’t know if you can breach that gap. |
| LE: | Ok. Do you think it has- that question had anything to do with our class? |
| S2: | How do you mean? |
| LE: | So you already said the Institute is different. So:: () e:hm () is it less () ehm less of a dominance there? In our class in the Institute? |
| S2: | Of a Westernised? Oh () yeah. Absolutely. It’s not taught from that viewpoint at all. I was just thinking about other courses in general. () Ehm () the Institute is very different. I think () they care more about your personal development than about anything else. It’s about whether the stuff connects with you, whether the information they’re giving you connects rather than () if you get it on a heads level. () I think that’s how they mark everything. It’s like L3 with the powerpoints and the essays and papers and stuff. I think he () I think he marked based on our understanding and our research but also on (our) responded to it. Could be just me but that’s how I felt he marked it. […] And a lot of my courses have been like that. They had weekly posts about how you’re responding to the course. And even though we have a basic structure to follow it’s not – you’re answers wouldn’t be the same as my answers. But they’re somehow marked () I don’t know. On a (equivalent) basis. Yours are just as valid as mine. That’s what I’m trying to say. |
| LE: | Mhm (positive). Ok. () Ehm the:n that would be it from me. Do you have anything else you would say? About the class, about the topic? () () |
| S2: | I think () I think with the Institute, I think it’s a completely different learning environment. As such. I think you walk in there and it really is a cultural place and you could pretty much approach anybody and that would be ok. And the way they have barbecues and the way they have all that free food that you and I are too afraid to go down (from upstairs). Cause that’s so different. From you and I and what we’re used to {Click here for analysis} and I find it && that ehm && sense and personal && to L3 as well which he has responded to in a really friendly way. And I like that. And in the last lesson when he encouraged us to come back and talk to him and say hi and tell him how we’re doing, I think that’s – he cares about us. I’ve never had another lecturer do that. |
| LE: | That’s true. |
| S2: | I thought the course was good. I thought that () I thought that the information was a bit dense. In this particular one. It was really thick. (Those topics) and a lot to cover. I did struggle with that. Cause a lot of the lectures are just () stats so I couldn’t take it in. I had to go home and read it. Myself. […] So that’s all I would say. That not only L3’s course but all the courses that are run in the Institute are () just- they come from a cultural base. Cultural identity rather than academic- purely academic background. And I think that that’s probably the sole () or the core () difference. […] |
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