An Alternative Pedagogy for the Teaching of Anatomy and Physiology Beyond the Classroom

Abstract

Valuing Indigenous culture is a requirement for teaching at the Charles Sturt University and we enact this on the Port Macquarie and dubbo campuses through the principles of Indigenous pedagogy/andragogy (IP). In this paper we share our experiences of IP-inspired learning activities, in particular our use of the 8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning (Yunkaporta, 2009), to increase student engagement with anatomy and physiology and support the retention of Indigenous students in their first year of university study. Indeed, we propose that this approach will increase the educational success of all students.