Relating the abstract content of classes to aspects in real life, gives it a “true point of reference” (Donovan 2007: 100) and “weav[es] real life into the curriculum” (Burgess 2016: 116). According to Yunkaporta, this being “connected to real-life purposes and contexts” (Yunkaporta 2010) is one of the key features of Aboriginal pedagogy.

In Aboriginal cultures, knowledge is seen as strongly interrelated to place and locality (Burgess 2016: 113). This relation is also present in the two classes.

“In today’s first presentation, the student mentions a place called Condamine. When he finished his speech, L2 asks him whether he knows where Condamine is situated. He is unsure and so is she, so he looks it up on Google Maps and L2 then shows us on the map on wall which shows the borders of the Aboriginal nations.” (Class 1: Tutorial 17/09/2015)

By pointing out the town on a map, L2 creates a connection between the content of the student’s presentation and a real place which students can picture. The information becomes more substantial. At the same it, this method pays respect to the diversity of Aboriginal nations and cultures through the creation of a link between the knowledge and the area in which it originates. Among the experts, this “localised praxis” is preferred by Butler (2009: Abstract) and described as an “indication of cultural integrity” by Yunkaporta (2009: 6).

Butler also states that for her classes she “deliberately choose[s] examples from New South Wales” (Butler 2009: 6), the state in which her university is situated. I was able to witness the same: On several occasions the local area of the university or the university itself served as real-life examples and context for the content treated in L1’s lectures (e.g. “L1 also adds an example from the local area of the university.” (Class 1: Lecture 25/08/2015) or “L1 now turns to the RAP of the university in order to explain the process and structure of RAPs.” (Class 1: Lecture 27/10/2015). That the information in this case is not connected to a far-off place, likely unknown to students, but to their own local environment further increases the significance it has for the students (Donovan 2007: 102). “She told us to go to like Mount X because that’s close by”, says S1 (Interview with S1). If she would really visit this significant Aboriginal site, what she learned about it in class would become part of her reality and her lived experience.

Historical events might also receive their link to the students’ world through connection to a place which still exists today and could be visited. L1 uses this localised practice to emphasise the significance of oppression of Aboriginal people in the colonial era:

“Afterwards L1 switches to the present, more precisely to names of electorates and routes still existing today. She talks in detail about an incident of oppression surrounding the mapping-out of Western Australia. [annotation: The name of the oppressor served as a source for the name of one of the routes mentioned before.]” (Class 1: Lecture 25/08/2015)

A few weeks later, however, she uses another method to make the past relevant:

“L1 then gives some more general information about Aboriginal activism, before turning to the story of Yagan, an Aboriginal man from the colonial past. […] She then shows a video about the repatriation of Yagan’s remains which also introduces the discourse of Yagan as a hero. For a long time, L1 says, it was impossible to see him as a martyr because there officially never was an invasion. She then reads out a poem which connects Yagan to a recent topic in order to depict the attempt to bring colonial freedom fighters into contemporary life.” (Class 1: Lecture 13/10/2015)

In this case, the connection is not established through place but through relation to a contemporary debate which is most likely known to the students. In contrast to Yagan’s life, the debate happens now, during the students’ lifetime.

Furthermore, by including what Butler terms “popular culture” (2009: 95) into the lecture in form of a poem and a video, L1 provides another point of reference for the students who are very familiar with these media. In addition, in Butler’s opinion, the emotions which these media have the capacity to convey “facilitat[e] a greater attachment with” the content (2009: 98). Therefore, L2 not simply tells the students about contemporary Aboriginal issues, but rather regularly watches an Indigenous TV series with her tutorial so that the students will gain “some idea of Aboriginal youth today […] and the issues that they might face” (Interview with L2). S2 describes the effect of learning with audiovisual material as follows:

“[I]t has been really different and I think that’s because a lot of the resources […] [are] YouTube clips which is really useful. […] 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.” (Interview with S2)

While in S2’s perception the “realness” of the people presented is created with the help of visuals, L1 frequently uses a different method, such as in this example:

“After giving some general information about the discourse on Aboriginal activism, she describes the way in which a particular governor treated Aboriginal people and how an Aboriginal woman named Barrangaroo reacted to this behaviour. In order to tell the story of Barrangaroo, L1 refers to a particular marine about whom she also gives some information.” (Class 1: Lecture 13/10/2015)

L1 gives extensive background information not only on the actual person of interest, Barrangaroo, but also on every other person who is part of the story. This makes these people appear less one-dimensional and more real.

All in all, the lecturers and tutors use methods of localisation, relation to the present, visualisation and personification to connect abstract knowledge to the real life.

To move on to the next section of the analysis treating the inclusion of the students’ background and knowledge through active engagement, please click here.

To return to the overview over the first part of the analysis, please click here.

(Also see the categories “Connection to students’ world“, “Connection to place“, “Audiovisual learning“, “Examples” and “People and their background“.)