WU

The distinctions below between Western and Aboriginal learning styles are not rigid. For example, farming is taught informally in western societies but with verbalization. Besides, an Aboriginal group might have some teaching about the law and its ceremonies as more formal teaching, but often this is reinforcing content that has been learnt informally over the years.

Western Preferred Style	Aboriginal Preferred Style
Formal	Informal
Institutional (buildings, administration, etc)	No building for the purpose
Trained teachers	Various relatives teach
Little application	Immediate relevance
Organized, compact courses	Time-consuming; skills learned over years with repetition and trial and error
Trouble shooting emphasized in problem solving	Persistence and repetition emphasized in problem solving
Highly conscious process	Usually not a conscious process
Oriented to future	Oriented to present. Planning for the future occurs, but is flexible
Extrinsic motivation "You must ..."	Intrinsic motivation "I want to ..."
Allows for questioning of authority	Pervasive trust in authorities; questioning not encouraged
Focus on scientific proof	Quality of thinking is okay
Learners are curious about technology	Learners are curious about familiar environment
More interest in knowledge for its own sake	Less interest in knowledge for its own sake
Focus on practice beforehand for real life	Learn in real life situations
More competitive	Less competitive
Focus on theoretical background and preparations	Focus on context-specific skills with less sequencing of skills
Information orientation	Person orientation

Aboriginal Learning Styles