18th November 2014

It came to my attention whilst teaching one of my Religious Education lessons today that many students were not engaged in the learning process, thus making me question how I could improve on future lessons to increase participation in the classroom. After a discussion with my associate teacher about the number of Indigenous students in the class, she provided me with further insight into promoting engagement in the classroom using techniques such as; - Hands on experiences - Working collaboratively - Student choice

As I wanted to further enhance my understanding of ways to promote engagement and participation in the classroom, particularly for the number of Indigenous students we had in the classroom I did some further research this evening to explore this concept. I used a reading which I had previously obtained from my volunteer school which was especially insightful as it explored Culturally Appropriate Contexts and ways effective teachers can demonstrate, create and maintain culturally appropriate classrooms on a daily basis (Meyers, 2014). This research provided me with a range of ways to increase engagement levels, whilst also providing a culturally appropriate learning context (Meyers, 2014, p.3). A number of points I have listed below and taken from this reading will be implemented into my practices as they coincide with the techniques suggested by my associate teacher, further enhancing my knowledge of culturally appropriate ways to enhance engagement: - Providing planned opportunities for students to be self-determine about how they deliver/present their learning (Meyers, 2014, p.6) - Providing opportunities for students to work collaboratively to support one another in learning (Meyers, 2014, p.6)- Demonstrating a willingness to learn from he cultural knowledge students and their families bring to the learning context (Meyers, 2014, p.6)- The students see their lives and their interests reflected in the learning contexts (Meyers, 2014, p.6)