Science

How we engaged with the Aboriginal community

Our group visited the site on the 4th of October, which is an important part of the local community and
is on Darug land. We toured around the site and found weapons that were used in the past, as well as
in the present but to a much lesser extent, instruments and Aboriginal artwork. We behaved in a
respectful manner and refrained from talking about or discussing European settlement and the fights
that took place, stolen generation, stereotypes, in order to not upset or offend. Rather, we paid a
closer attention to the knowledge they had and tried our best to absorb as much as we could. This visit
provided us with an insight into Aboriginal knowledge and culture and in turn enthused us to develop a
unit of work that reflect on the sites’ historical, cultural, political, heritage, social or spiritual value; and
how it could be used as a component of the school curriculum.

Links to science

The science aspect of the unit requires students to learn knowledge from traditional cultural practice
that has been passed down in the Aboriginal community.

Science activity

Prior to undertaking a visit to the site with the students, I have decided to develop a pre- and post- site
visit component to visually show students what they know about Aboriginal knowledge and will add
value to their overall learning experience. Here they can measure their own level of awareness of
Aboriginal culture and knowledge. The pre-visit activity will essentially comprise of asking students
“how do you paint”. This will serve to gouge the students’ knowledge and perception on painting. They
may provide answers such as: buying paint from Officeworks or mixing food colouring and then
painting on a canvas. The post-visit will consist of reflection for students. This will enable students to
develop a higher-level of critical thinking, a component of their general capabilities outlined in the
syllabus, and draw stronger connections to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures,
the cross-curriculum priority outlined in the syllabus.

During our site visit, we came across interesting findings on how Aboriginal peoples paint and the
methods involved. Aboriginal peoples in the past, and present, used ochre pigments for painting
(including their bodies), sun protection and funeral practices to name a few. Ochre is a natural clay
Earth pigment and comes in 4 main colours: red, yellow, purple and brown. It is extracted by rubbing
two ochre sandstones together until it forms a decent amount of dust.
AITSL

2.4 Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation
between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians

3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs

3.3 Use teaching strategies

4.1 Support student participation