Assessment Title

2 Written Assessment

Assessment Title

Written Response to Stimulus

Task Description

This assessment task requires you to write a letter responding to the below context.

CONTEXT

Gudamulli (hello),

My name is Amy and Im a Darumbal girl and a year nine student at my localhigh school. Ive lived in Rockhampton all my life and been raised by my Aboriginalmother and my aunties.

Mum and my grandparents (when they were alive) would tell me storiesabout my culture including the Dreaming. They would also tell me storiesabout what happened in the old days. These stories are not very nice and included things like The Act and how they were not free to travel withoutthe whitefellas permission. I remember grandfather talking about how hewas frightened to speak our language and to practice our culture properly.He said that his grandfather was beaten as a child by a whitefella with a bigstick down on the riverbank when he was looking for work at the old docks.Grandfather said that it was another whitefella from Tasmania that steppedin and saved his life. That man then adopted my great, great grandfatherand gave him his surname. We still have relatives down in northeastTasmania today.

Sometimes I feel angry about what the non-Indigenous people have done tomy family over the years since Australia was colonised. All those bad storiesmake me sad, and angry.My family were pleased when Mr Eddie Koiki Mabo won his case in the highcourt and got back his native title for all the people of Mer (Murray Island).While we were hopeful that this would mean that all Indigenous Australianswould get their traditional lands back, we realised that the AustralianGovernment were quickly passing laws to extinguish native title and tolimit the entitlements of traditional owners to less than those of freeholdtitle.

We were pleased when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised to all our mobsabout the kid stealing the whitefellas did in the name of assimilation, but wehave not seen anything more come out of this apology.

I feel out of place when Im at school. I know that Im not as smart as manyof the non-Indigenous kids, but Im good at other stuff and Im proud of myculture. Many of my teachers seem to know that Im not as smart as thenon-Indigenous kids and sometimes give me stuff that I can already do tomake sure that I dont cause them any trouble. I still do muck up sometimesthough.I often hear on the news that our State and Federal Governments are tryingto close the gap in education and health by funding support systems for usblackfellas. Yes, it's true, we have a couple of Indigenous support workers atour school, and it is good to talk to Auntie Millie when Im feeling a bit lost. Ialso know that there are some scholarships just for us mob, but I think thatis more for our people who go to Uni.

Even though the governments are spending lots of money to close the gapin education I just dont see it working. I think maybe they are spending it onthe wrong stuff!

This is where you come in. I am asking you to write a letter to your localState and Federal Members of parliament explaining what you see as theproblem and why things are not getting better in education for our mob. Iwould also like you to suggest additional government strategies that willmake our educational outcomes better.I know from my conversations with your Unit Coordinator thatthe members of parliament will not take your letter seriously unless youwrite it in a scholarly matter using citations from the literature which hasbeen provided and other scholarly sources.

I also want you to share three of your own experiences from your IndigenousStudies and Learning Unit in your letter to make them politicians understandwhat you have learned and how it has affected you.

Thank you in advance for your time and for your commitment to helping meand my mob to get better outcomes in our school education.

Amy

Expectations for your written response

Your letter, of no more than 2000(+/-10%) words, must respond to Amy's request above and be addressed to your Stateand Federal members of parliament that represent your electorates. You can also, if you wish, address it to theeducation ministers and shadow ministers of your State and Federal governments.

Your letter must:

1. be written in a scholarly manner which includes supporting all of your assertions with reference to the scholarlyliterature. This means that the vast majority of the sources you cite should be articles from peer-reviewedjournals, books and conference papers.You can and should reference Government websites where they are the primary source of policy information.

2. use references from the Unit readings to show your knowledge and understanding of the impact of government policy and past and present representations on culture and identity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and students (APST2.4) (criteria 2).

3. include your own reflections on the impact of our shared Australian history (and your cultural background) on theattitudes and views you have formed of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as students and learners.

4. make reference to your participation in at least three (3) learning experiences associated with studying this Unitthat have shaped your understanding on the importance of teachers acknowledgment, recognition, and respectfor Indigenous history, culture and languages (APST2.4), (criteria 1).

5. explain effective teaching strategies for supporting theidentityneeds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderstudents and how you would promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, within classroom contexts and the broader school communityby:

acknowledging and teaching our shared Australian history,

paying respect to the local Indigenous culture by embedding Indigenous perspectives into your curriculum and encouraging all of your students to take pride in the local Indigenous culture, and

developing strong relationships with the local Indigenous community through effective and sensitive communication (APST 1.4), (criteria 3).

Letter Structure

Your submission is to be structured as a business letter and submitted as MSWord file.

You must write an introduction first that provides:

the context for your communication (writing in support of Amy as part of an Indigenous Studies and Learning Unit in your Course).

an overview, as you see it, on the reasons why the "closing the Gap" strategies for education are not working.

a brief outline of some strategies you believe will work to improve educational outcomes for Indigenous students and contribute to reconciliation.

You need to follow your introduction with a discussion that:

demonstrates your knowledge and understanding of the diverse Australian Indigenous histories, cultures, and languages.

analyses the impact of historical government policy and past and present representations on culture and identity of Australian Indigenous peoples and students.

critically reflects on Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives and the impact of diverse views on engagement and participation in education and care settings.

use culturally appropriate language and academic conventions to construct a convincing and persuasive argument (criteria 4, APST 2.4).

The conclusion of your letter should:

re-state the purpose of the letter.

provide a summary of the critical points you have made in your persuasive argument.

thank the reader for the time they have taken to read what you have written.

include a final section for your references.

ends with a business salutation "Yours sincerely" then your name and place for your signature.

Guiding questions for your discussion:

1. What are the differences between the way in which we teach Australian history at schools and the way

Indigenous people have experienced it since colonisation?

2. What impact do some non-Indigenous peoples' stereotypes have on Indigenous students?

3. What is intergenerational trauma and what impact does this have on Indigenous students?

4. What impact has suppressing Indigenous cultural knowledge and languages over the years since colonisation hadon the way Indigenous school students see themselves in terms of identity and confidence with regard toeducational success?

5. Why is it important to know and understand Indigenous cultural practices and protocols?

6. What strategies would you suggest that would help drastically improve the performance of Indigenous schoolstudents and lead more quickly towards reconciliation?

Assessment Due Date

Friday 15th December 2023 @11:45 p.m. AEST

Return Date to Students

Assessment tasks will be returned once moderation has occurred.

Weighting

50%

Minimum mark or grade

Pass: To pass the unit, you must pass ALL 3 assessment tasks

Assessment Criteria

Knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal histories, cultures and language (APST 2.4)

Analysis of the impact of government policy and past and present representations on culture and identity ofAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and students (APST 2.4)

Critical reflection on Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives and the impact of diverse views onengagement and participation in education and care settings (APST 1.4)

Use of culturally appropriate language and academic conventions to construct a defensible position in Letter to the stimulus (APST 2.4)

Referencing Style

American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)

Submission

Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed

Use correct terminology and protocols when referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, culture and histories

Analyse the impact of deficit views of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students on learning and engagement

Analyse and respond to representations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in contemporary and historical texts and their impact on race relations with non-Indigenous Australians

Critique government policies and approaches to the education of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in past and present society

Evaluate the capacity of current programs and initiatives for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, families and communities for promoting engagement and participation in education and care.

Graduate Attributes

Communication

Problem Solving

Critical Thinking

Information Literacy

Cross Cultural Competence

Ethical practice