Geography · Year 11

Active learning ideas

Indigenous Land Management Practices

Active learning helps students grasp Indigenous land management by moving beyond abstract facts into tangible, culturally grounded practices. When students analyze real case studies, debate policy roles, and map ecological overlaps, they connect academic knowledge to lived Indigenous stewardship in ways lecture alone cannot.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9GE12K05
• AC9GE12S05

• 35–60 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Jigsaw
• 50 min · Small Groups

Jigsaw: Fire Strategies

Assign small groups to research one aspect: Indigenous cool burns, Western suppression, sustainability evidence, or integration examples. Each group prepares a 2-minute presentation with visuals. Regroup into mixed teams to teach and synthesize findings into a class chart.

Explain how indigenous fire management practices differ from Western approaches.

Facilitation Tip

In Jigsaw Expert Groups, assign each group one fire strategy (e.g., cool burning, cultural burning, hazard reduction burns) and provide a shared document template to organize research findings on effectiveness and cultural significance.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are advising a national park manager. What are two specific benefits of incorporating Indigenous fire management practices into their current strategy, and what is one potential challenge they might face?' Students should respond with at least one specific practice and one ethical or logistical hurdle.

• Understand
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 45 min · Pairs

Gallery Walk: Case Study Posters

Pairs create posters on real Australian sites, such as Arnhem Land burning or post-2019 fire recovery. Display around the room for whole-class walk-through with sticky notes for questions and insights. Conclude with pair-share reflections on key learnings.

Analyze the long-term sustainability of traditional land use systems.

Facilitation Tip

During the Gallery Walk, place posters on walls at varied heights to encourage movement and minimize clustering, and provide a simple observation sheet for students to record two key takeaways from each poster.

What to look for

Provide students with a short case study describing a land management issue, such as invasive species or increased wildfire risk. Ask them to identify one traditional Indigenous practice that could address this issue and explain how it differs from a common Western approach, referencing at least one key vocabulary term.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Case Study Analysis
• 60 min · Small Groups

Role-Play Simulation: Policy Meeting

Divide into roles: Traditional Owners, scientists, policymakers, conservationists. Groups debate integrating practices into a fire management plan, using evidence cards. Vote on proposals and debrief as a class on compromises reached.

Evaluate the potential for integrating indigenous knowledge into modern conservation strategies.

Facilitation Tip

In the Role-Play Simulation, assign roles with clear briefs—e.g., Indigenous Elder, National Parks Director, Climate Scientist—so students prepare arguments grounded in their assigned perspective before the debate begins.

What to look for

On an index card, students write one sentence explaining the concept of 'Country' and one sentence describing how it relates to Indigenous land management. They should also list one skill or knowledge area that Indigenous land managers possess.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management

Activity 04

• Case Study Analysis
• 35 min · Individual

Mapping Exercise: Land Use Overlays

Individuals overlay historical Indigenous management maps with modern satellite imagery using simple software or paper. Annotate changes and benefits, then share in pairs to discuss sustainability patterns.

Explain how indigenous fire management practices differ from Western approaches.

Facilitation Tip

For the Mapping Exercise, provide transparent overlays for students to trace traditional pathways, fire scars, and water sources, and require each pair to add two annotations explaining why a practice was used in that location.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are advising a national park manager. What are two specific benefits of incorporating Indigenous fire management practices into their current strategy, and what is one potential challenge they might face?' Students should respond with at least one specific practice and one ethical or logistical hurdle.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Self-Management

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should center Indigenous voices by using video clips or transcripts from Traditional Owners when introducing the topic, and avoid framing Indigenous knowledge as ‘alternative’ to Western science. Research shows that when students see these practices as sophisticated systems—not just historical footnotes—they engage more critically. Emphasize the continuity of these practices today, not just in the past, to counter the myth of irrelevance.

By the end, students will articulate how Indigenous methods differ from Western approaches, explain regional variations, and justify integration into modern land management using evidence from their group work and mapping. Clear oral and written explanations during discussions and poster walk-throughs will show this understanding.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Jigsaw Expert Groups, watch for students who dismiss Indigenous practices as ‘less scientific’ or ‘just cultural.’

  Interrupt these comments by redirecting to the research rubric, which requires evidence from peer-reviewed sources or government reports showing reduced wildfire intensity or increased biodiversity in areas using cool burning.

• During Gallery Walk: Case Study Posters, some students may assume all Indigenous fire practices are identical across Australia.

  Prompt students to compare posters that represent different regions—e.g., savanna vs. temperate forest—using the ‘Regional Variations’ section of the poster template, which explicitly asks for climate, vegetation, and cultural context.

• During the Role-Play Simulation: Policy Meeting, students might argue that Western science is the only valid approach to land management.

  Guide them to consult the ‘Synergies’ section of their role briefs, which include examples of Western agencies adopting Indigenous practices, and require each argument to reference at least one real-world case from 2019–2024.

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Methods used in this brief

• Jigsaw
• Gallery Walk
• Case Study Analysis