Standard 1.
102096 Research Teaching and Learning 1 – Assessment 2 [modified lesson
plan excerpt]
“The modified lesson activity will explore the work of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
and his music success as an Indigenous Australian musician. Gurrumul’s music differs from
other Indigenous musicians, as he offers personal accounts of his culture (Greenberg, 2019).
In the modified lesson activity, students will engage in both the auditory and visuals of the
following clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKC-Jd7KN64 (DramaticoMusic, 2009).
The song is sung in Gurrumul’s traditional native tongue and uses no English. This differs
from the clips in the original lesson activity, showing Rochelle singing in English classic
popular music songs. Students are to write the meaning of the song based off their
understanding of the visuals in the clip, as well as incorporating the concepts of music (pitch,
texture, dynamics, tone colour, structure, duration, and dynamics and expressive techniques)
in their answer. Students are to then share their answers with the class.
Modifying the lesson activity to include a song written and performed in the Yolngu
language (Greenberg, 2019), the lesson plan is able to achieve the Music syllabus
expectation, which looks at developing students’ understanding of language in relation to
Aboriginal and Indigenous music (Board of Studies, 2003, p. 21). The activity aims to
validate and promote cultural inclusion in the educational experiences for Indigenous
students (Lewthwaite et al., 2017). In order to address the recommendation of code-
switching, the modified lesson plan will include a “Two Way Approach” (Bevan &
Shilinglaw, 2010, p. 12) in developing the language and literacy of Indigenous students and
exposing non-indigenous students to the Aboriginal language. This approach works parallel
with Power and Bradley (2011), as they state that an important way to teach Aboriginal
Australian music is by “working with community members and musicians… that represents
Aboriginal ways of knowing” (p. 24). According to Locke and Prentice (2016), in order to
create meaning, and for students to create meaning in their learning, Indigenous music must
be looked at from an Indigenous worldview, not a western worldview. By including a
member of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to share their perspective on
music and what it means to Indigenous culture, students are able to “connect specific features
and purposes of music… to explore viewpoints and enrich their music making” (ACARA,
2019).
In addition, by modifying the lesson activity to include a song sung in a language
other than English, Indigenous students are given the platform to celebrate their culture,
rather than abandon it (Rahman, 2013). This activity also provides a way for teachers to
include the perspectives of Indigenous students in their classrooms, rather than exclude.
Thus, resulting in a positive classroom environment (Lewthwaite et al., 2017). Students are
given the opportunity to share their responses under the instruction that student answers are to
be respected and accepted by their peers and the teacher. “
