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In my classroom, I use the following strategies of a culturally inclusive pedagogy to effectively embrace culture, language, and diversity;

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• Build trust and promote reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians (2.4)

I include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and perspectives in my teaching resources and use the cross-curriculum priority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures to embed awareness of the past mistreatment of these cultural groups across Australian History (see ‘Poetry Lesson – Slideshow’) (see ‘Poetry Lesson – Lesson Plan’).

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• Embrace cultural differences and diversity (1.3)

Through the resources I use, create, and display within my classroom, I ensure that I use culturally diverse resources that reflect the rich multiculturalism that is currently present within Australia. I ensure that the resources I show and use include people from diverse social, cultural, and economic backgrounds (see ‘Culturally Diverse Resources’).

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• Use local resources (1.3)

When planning units and lessons, I try to find ways that I can include and embrace local cultural influences to incorporate their views and create rich learning experiences for my students. For example, when looking at ‘weather and seasons’ the class looked at the Kaurna weather calendar and we compared the similarities and differences between their seasonal calendar and the four seasons that are commonly referred to across the world. Throughout this unit, we also went for a nature walk to look at the seasonal native plants in our garden and connect these to the seasons throughout the year, where we referred to native plants by their indigenous names (see ‘Kaurna Seasonal Calendar’ and ‘Seasonal Word Wall).

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• Respect and acknowledge cultural norms in my teaching practices

In order to effectively acknowledge, include, and cater for students with diverse cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, I currently implement and will continue to use the following inclusive practices which will inform my teaching and contribute to a culturally inclusive classroom climate and culture.

 

• Acknowledge and value cultural and linguistic diversity among students and their families and communities (1.3, 1.4)

• Pronounce students' names correctly (1.3, 1.4)

• Be approachable, welcoming, and supportive and encourage all students to do the same

• Avoid stereotypes or generalisations of cultural or ethnic groups (1.3, 1.4)

• Cultivate a climate of respect and appreciation for all forms of diversity

• Establish inclusive and respectful ground rules for group discussions

• Speak clearly (as students may have trouble understanding accents)

• Respect and allow for silences and respect silence as a part of communication (1.3, 1.4)

• Gently encourage students to ‘speak up’ and contribute to discussions 

• Separate listening activities from reading activities (to avoid cognitive overload) (1.3)

• Give clear, explicit instructions—written instructions clearly set out (heading and dot points) (1.3)

• Incorporate activities about digital literacy so that all students become skilled in critically evaluating multi-media sources (see ‘English – Ethical Persuasion Lesson Plan’) (1.3)

• Acknowledge and respect cultural practices and norms (e.g. behaviour, sense of shame, appropriate eye-contact (or lack of), religious beliefs and practices, willingness to speak in front of peers, etc.) (1.3, 1.4)

• Respect and understand that students will have unique experiences in regard to their cultural identity (1.3, 1.4)

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(Korff, 2020;"Culturally and linguistically diverse students", 2020)