¹School of Dentistry and Medical Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia.

²Client Services, Division of Library Services, Charles Sturt University, Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia.

³Casual Academic, School of Engineering, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW, Australia.

⁴Client Services, Division of Library Services, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, NSW, Australia.

Introduction: Charles Sturt University serves a diverse and non-traditional student population. This population includes a large proportion of mature-age students [1], First Nations students, students from low-SES backgrounds, from regional or remote areas, and students whose parents did not continue their education beyond Year 12 [2]. Student cohorts such as this require very specific teaching strategies that includes scaffolding, practice, feedback, engaging learning activities and interactivity to overcome the possibility of attrition and ensure educational success [3]. The aim of this work is to illustrate how the pedagogies of the 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning [4] and the “unnamed” [5] can inform the development of meaningful learning artifacts that support inclusivity in learning and teaching.

Methods: The methodology of this work comprised of an iterative, framework-guided design and prototyping process. The concepts that were selected were those that were the most difficult for students to understand and those that were difficult to teach using materials that are currently available. The following was done for each concept: identified the learning objective, identified the specific conceptual barrier, determined which essential relationships needed to become tangible and decided what learners should be able to move, connect, separate or reconstruct. Each concept was informed by the pedagogies of Non-verbal Learning [4], Symbols and Images [4], Non-linear concepts [4], Deconstruct/Reconstruct [4] and the kinship mind [5]. All models were designed using Tinkercad prepared for printing using Bambu Studio and printed using a Bambu Lab X1 Carbon 3D printer.

Results: A total of 5 models were created. Alveoli, a fibroblast, the muscle organ, bone tissue and the hypothalamic pituitary portal system (Fig. 1A). Informed by Indigenous pedagogies (4 and 5), each model supported hands-on learning with minimal words, the sharing of knowledge through objects that could be engaged with in any order, learning from whole to parts, all whilst fostering connectedness between students. Learners could move, connect, separate and reassemble components. Learners could explore basic anatomical relationships and visualize physiological processes (Fig. 1B). Simplification was necessary to ensure that each model clearly communicated its intended anatomical or physiological learning objective.

Figure 1. Models on the left (A); students interacting with the bone tissue model on the right (B). — Figure 1. The models (A) and students interacting with the bone tissue model (B).

Conclusion: Aboriginal pedagogies can inform and guide the design of models for teaching. The models that were created provide a tangible, hands-on way to learn complex anatomy and physiology. Even though the anecdotal evidence is promising, more study is needed to formally measure the effect of the models on student understanding.

References: 1. Greening et al. (2017) The CSU outreach team: Building confidence, success and persistence amongst online learners. In: Proceedings of STARS Conference 2017. Adelaide: UNISTARS.ORG; pp. 1–9. 2. Charles Sturt University (2024) Charles Sturt University Annual Report 2023. Bathurst, NSW: Charles Sturt University. 3. Higher Education Standards Panel (2017) Improving retention, completion and success in higher education: Discussion paper. Canberra, ACT: Department of Education and Training. 4. Yunkaporta (2009) Aboriginal pedagogies at the cultural interface. Professional Doctorate (Research) thesis. Townsville, QLD: James Cook University. 5. Bilton et al. (2020) A conversation about Indigenous pedagogy, neuroscience and material thinking. In: Hill B, Harris J, Bacchus R, editors. Teaching Aboriginal Cultural Competence: Authentic Approaches. Singapore: Springer; pp. 85–97.

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