Hi Sandra,

I have looked at your lesson plan and made some alterations. I’ve attached the lesson plan in a document so you can see the lesson clearly, but here are some notes for you to consider.

I really like the “Our Day” video. It enables students to gain insight into the daily activities of children their age and provides them with opportunities to consider similarities and differences. However, as the video only provides a fragmented view of life in each country, it needs to be explored further to avoid essentialising behaviours that purport ethnicity as a singular representation of culture and the formation of cultural stereotypes (Watkins, 2015). I’ve added another short clip for students to watch to provide another perspective of life in Vietnam.

High quality questioning is one of the most valuable tools when seeking to explore issues around identity (Brett, 2013). These videos can (and should) act as a stimulus for deep questioning regarding cultural differences, requiring students to draw comparisons and consider different perspectives. I’ve altered the line of questioning so that while students still make observational comparisons after watching the videos, they are encouraged to consider their broader implications.

Document similarities and differences using Venn Diagrams For some of the differences, discuss how they might impact children’s lives

I’ve framed this lesson around the concept of diversity and the overarching question “Do individual experiences represent the experiences of us all?” To begin responding to this question, I have incorporated an activity using everyday examples to explore the notion of diversity within the classroom.

Students respond to questions highlighting diversity within the classroom. Record results in table on board. Eg: How I get to school – car, walk, ride, bus Pets – dog, cat, other, none Siblings – Brothers, Sisters, Both, None

This exploration of diversity within the classroom, will help contextualise the idea of difference, which students can then apply to discussions relating to broader cultural contexts (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2015)

The culminating activity you provided is relatively one-dimensional. Although it allows students to express multiple things they enjoy, they are not invited to explore culture and identity much beyond the literal level.

Although your lesson allows students to express multiple things they enjoy, their exploration of identity is limited to things and activities. Identity is a complex notion to consider and thus activities should move beyond discourse surrounding notions of “I like to…” (Brett, 2013). As children develop their identity by reflecting on themselves and observing those around them, we want them to explore the myriad of factors that contribute to their identity (Mitchell, 2008).

I’ve designed a more open task that allows students to express parts of themselves in a more individualised way. The creation of mini-books not only enables students to share parts of their identity and culture, but facilitates intercultural understanding by encouraging students to engage with the stories of their peers through communal texts (Comber, 2015).

I hope this can be of some assistance to you,Laura

Are the experiences of children in the videos accurate for all children in these countries? If we were to make a video that portrayed an Australian “Our Day”, would each person’s experiences be the same? What if we were to create a video for the class?

Students will create their own “My Day” mini book, creating an artwork and providing annotations to explain their drawings.These will be collated and placed in the shared reading section of the classroom.

The unproblematic reproduction of discourse, which promotes generalisations, fosters deficit (Comber & Kamler, 2004). Everyday teacher discourse about minority students plays a pivotal role in the creation or destruction of a school culture that is characterised by low expectations for students of colour (Pollack, 2013). In the same way many marginalised students perceive their social reality as the status quo, rather than recognising that there are ways their situation could be transformed, students from the dominant cultural majority may view their position and its associated privileges as ‘the way things are’ and not recognise the assumptions of deficiency they are placing on their peers (Mills, 2008).

Habitual deficit ways of speaking about Indigenous Australians are underpinned by essentialist notions of culture, contributing to the prevailing black-white binary edifice, which remains largely unchallenged in Australia (Chong-Soon Lee, 1995, as cited in Shay, 2015; Shay, 2015). This lack of opposition and general acceptance of the ‘status quo’ is hugely problematic (Bourdieu, 1998, as cited in Mills & Gale, 2007).

Within the Australian context, the dominant story that continues to be told in relation to Indigenous Australians is that of hopelessness, cultural deficit and racial inferiority (Sarra, 2011, as cited in Shay, 2015). The notion that Aboriginal students are less capable than their white-Australian peers is key to this scenario. ‘Nicole’s’ positioning of ‘Sam’, as a student from a low socio-economic family, with low aspirations and poor literacy skills can be viewed as a reflection of her experiences as part of the dominant cultural majority, where whiteness is superior to ‘others’ (Shay, 2015). As teachers are the most important variable in making a difference for students, seeking to challenge ‘Nicole’s’ deficit discourse through strength-based talk is paramount (Comber & Kamler, 2004). Rather than opposing her critique, the teacher in this script acts to identify ‘Nicole’s’ deficit ways of thinking, whilst reframing them in a way that both alters her perspective of ‘Sam’ and guides her to an understanding that culture-based perceptions are both damaging and incorrect.

Differentiation Students placed in mixed ability pairs Presentation of learning tasks conveying information using text, images and audio Freedom of choice over research topics – examples provided or students can explore others if

known Multiple resources available for research; internet, books, video clips Opportunities to select any place of personal relevance to students. Freedom of choice over way they represent their ‘place’ Personalised questions in learning journals

No single medium works for every learner (Meyer, Rose & Gordon, 2016). As such, it is critical for teachers to provide multiple ways for students to approach learning experiences (Meyer, Rose & Gordon, 2016). This activity has been designed to ensure that students who have difficulty with one particular medium are not hindered in their learning or expression (Meyer, Rose & Gordon, 2016).

The cultural composition of this class means that students may vary enormously in their personal experiences, knowledge of vocabulary and language and confidence in expressing their understanding or ideas (Meyer, Rose & Gordon, 2016). This activity supports individualisation by differentiating tasks by interest (exercising choice over content and product of paired representations), learning profiles (freedom to represent in ways most suited to strengths) and by encouraging personalised reflection (Tomlinson, 1999).

Providing students with choice does not necessarily lead to meaningful, long-term learning (Tomlinson, 2014). While students in this activity are afforded opportunities to exercise choice, these choices are meaningless if not underpinned by clear learning goals and supportive measures (Tomlinson, 2014). A number of strategies have been employed to ensure students are supported throughout this activity, including multi-modal task instructions and mixed ability pairings (Tomlinson, 2014).

Some students will be partnered with a student from a different cultural background. These pairings are not only beneficial to the language development of students for whom English is a second language, as they interact with native English speakers, but to all who work with students from backgrounds different to their own (Mitchell, 2008). These pairings encourage students to interact with people of different ethnicities and cultures, providing insight into the lives of their classmates and contributing to intercultural understanding (ACARA, 2015).

Differentiation does not simply mean providing choice and support; it must provide opportunities for extension and challenge (Tomlinson, 2014). While the overarching learning intentions of this activity are the same for all, the nature of the task places no limits on the depth to which students wish to explore their representation of place.

In pairs: Research ways the Nuenonne People use art, language and movement to

express their spirituality. You may select options from this list, or choose others that you know

Kelp art

(Nichols, n.d.)

Shell necklaces

(Harley, n.d.)

Woven baskets

(Mundy, n.d.)

Story Dance Song

Select three methods of representation and answer the following questions:o What is it?o Draw a picture of the object/to accompany the story/song/danceo What was its purpose?o How is it made?

ORo What does it represent?

Individually: Think of place you feel a connection to. Ideas:

o School, home, local areas (Cataract Gorge, beaches), somewhere outside of Tasmania or Australia

What makes it special to you?

In pairs: Using your knowledge about ways the Nuenonne People express their spirituality and connection with land, as well as your own understanding of “place” and “country”, create a representation that shows a connection between your two ‘places’.

You might like to: Create a dance, make a comic strip, record a song, write a story…

Teachers and learners need to reflect on their own cultures, explore others and make comparisons between cultures in order to develop intercultural competence (Oranje & Feryok, 2013). Engagement in this activity not only enables students to explore the

culture of peers in their class, but encourages all students to express elements of their own cultures and religions by describing places they feel strongly connected to.

The development of intercultural understanding requires individuals to obtain knowledge about other cultures and belief systems (Maclean, 2007). This activity provides students with knowledge about the Nuenonne clan, their connection with land and ways in which it is represented. While this knowledge is crucial, a one-dimensional transmission of cultural information is not enough to ensure the development of intercultural understanding (Oranje & Feryok, 2013). Students may gain insight into particular attributes of a culture, but this approach does not guarantee they will show empathy toward the people of that culture unless development occurs at an attitudinal level (Maclean, 2007).

At the attitudinal level, intercultural understanding requires the acknowledgement that being different does not imply being inferior or unacceptable (Maclean, 2007). For this level of understanding to occur, students must employ skills of comparison and analysis, which enable the appreciation of similarities and differences between cultures outside of one’s own (Maclean, 2007). By encouraging individual consideration of the notion “What makes a place special to me?” and reflecting upon the attributes that contribute to these feelings (such as familial bonds, nature, events, traditions or ceremonies), students are invited to make comparisons between their own experiences and others. These comparisons enable students to consider alternative perspectives, promoting further reflection upon Indigenous cultures and providing insight into ideas of cultural relevance to their peers (ACARA, 2015).

I am, in terms of the cultural climate in Australia, ‘normal’. As a middle class, white, heterosexual female, who was brought up within a nuclear English speaking family, I am positioned as part of the dominant cultural majority in Australia.

Much research indicates a disparity between teachers and their ability to cater for students whose cultural values and beliefs differ from the majority (Santoro, 2009). This understanding and the realisation that I, along with most teachers in Australia are from the ‘dominant cultural mainstream’ (Anglo-Australian, monolingual) who have had similar life experiences (middle-class schooling and living or working in predominantly culturally homogenous contexts) has had huge implications on my feelings of accountability (Santoro, 2009). In the social field that is education, the power lies with the dominant majority (Ferfolja, Jones Diaz & Ullman, 2015). I cannot assume that discourses that challenge cultural essentialism and place members of the ethnic minority in deficit will be challenged by specialty teachers or cultural experts.

Implicit within my positioning as middle class, white and monolingual, is an understanding that I have not experienced the educational deficits placed on those who exist outside of this. In terms of the forms of social and cultural capital that are considered of value in Australian schooling, I possess the currency of most worth (Moustakim, 2015). I do not know what it is like to experience financial instability, access education in a language outside of my native tongue or attempt to belong within an institution that does not align with my cultural ideals. As a heterosexual, cisgendered female, my experiences lie within the dominant heteronormative ideals that are most commonly accepted in schools and the broader society (DePalma, 2010). I do not know what it feels like to have these markers influence others’ perceptions of or the expectations placed on me and as such, must consistently reflect upon my daily discourse within the school, as well as my pedagogical actions to ensure that my unknowing does not serve to perpetuate current inequalities.

I redid this activity six times. Each time I felt I had completed it, I became concerned that I was stereotyping, marginalising, essentialising or creating tokenistic learning experiences in one way or another. These concerns highlighted the influence of the cultural markers identified above on my confidence in planning for culturally responsive teaching.

I was forced to consider not only the accuracy of cultural information but ways to enable expression that neither resulted in Indigenous stereotypes or misappropriation (making our own shell necklaces, for example). I had to consider ways in which students with little or no prior knowledge of Indigenous Australian cultures could both relate to, and engage with the content. At one stage, I considered an activity which required students to contemplate the impacts of being forced from their ‘place’ or ‘country’. Only afterwards did I realise the implications this could have for the Syrian students in the class.

Within the educational context, heteronormativity refers to the institutional procedures, classroom pedagogies and dominant discourses which support heterosexuality as normal and anything outside of that, as deviant (Youdell, 2011; Donelson & Rogers, 2004, as cited in DePalma, 2010). Individuals who do not conform to the set of linear relationships, which suppose coherence between biological sex, gender and assumed (hetero)sexuality, challenge normative conceptions of gender and sexuality and are subsequently identified as different or unusual (Butler, 1990, as cited in Ullman, 2015).

The photograph of the female partner was intentionally included into this photo-stream to spark discussion pertaining to LGBT relationships and the ways in which they are perceived in this current social climate. The conversation that ensued required the students involved to identify their own assumptions around gendered parenting and encouraged them to reconsider the notion of a ‘normal’ family unit.

Homophobia and transphobia are common in schools (Ferfolja, 2015). Not only are lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) students and teachers frequently exposed to homo and transphobic discrimination and harassment, representations of themselves are often silenced or rendered invisible (Ferfolja, 2015). These silences, at the curriculum, classroom and institutional levels serve to perpetuate understandings that content relating to LGBT people and relationships is taboo and by extension, imply that they are ‘wrong’ (Ferfolja, 2015).

Heteronormativity manifests itself in many ways in schools; from parental disapproval of LGBT resources, the assumption that LGBT issues are irrelevant to children’s lives, the reluctance of LGBT parents to make their presence known at school and a tendency for LGBT teachers and students to conceal these aspects of their life for fear of adverse reactions (DePalma, 2010). Implicit within this marginalisation, are negative impacts at an individual level, pertaining to a decreased sense of belonging, increased levels of absenteeism, lower academic achievement and increased mental health issues for students who identify as something outside of the ‘norm’ (Ullman, 2015).