Paper 2: Both-ways: the practice

The work that we do at Batchelor Institute, as academic staff, is a vital
part of our implementation of the both-ways philosophy. What this
looks like in practice has not been written about as extensively as the
philosophy has been and this documentation is one of the current
challenges we face (AUQA 2006, p.5).
The teaching and learning that forms part of our both-ways practice
takes a professional and personal commitment by all on the
journey—we need to all have respect for each other and to be able
to learn together with the shared purpose of the students’ achieving
their learning goals or qualifications with the underlying purpose of
empowerment and strengthened identity (Marika-Mununggiritj 1998;
Murphy and Rickard 2007; Yunupingu 1993).
This can be a challenging way of teaching and learning for people and
so we must help new students and lecturers to become familiar with
this way of doing things. Over the past thirty years, Batchelor Institute
has developed some very effective teaching and learning approaches
and strategies. These will be explored in more detail throughout the
Curriculum Support Pack 2007 materials. This package will support
academic staff in their planning, delivery and assessment at Batchelor
Institute. In this package you will find general information about
teaching and learning and specific information about teaching and
learning at Batchelor, both Higher Education and VET. It is intended to
support these materials with a professional development series that is
being developed by the academic support team in SPARC (Specialised
Publications and Academic Resource Centre).
Both-ways practice is all about flexible learning practices, responsive
teaching and inquiry-based methodologies. It’s about communities
of practice and cooperative learning. Both-ways means starting from
where the student is positioned and then moving on together from
there. There are a number of different layers to both-ways practice.
‘Teaching strategies of both-ways include: teaching in small groups
using practical activities and discussion rather than a ‘readings-based’
or ‘lecture-based’ program although reading the work of others or a
short lecture may be part of the scaffolding process’ (Purdon 2002).