Tag Archives: equity

M3P1: Where are we starting?

To be a BC teacher that embeds indigenous knowledge and creates a culturally responsive classroom requires that I be aware of my own biases, privileges, and sources of knowledge. The questionnaire put out by the Alberta Civil Liberties Association asked me poignant questions that helped me understand myself better at this moment in time. I can easily see this being a tool I use before the start of each new school year. Further, the spirit of the questions could easily be adapted for in-class use, though the wording is likely too advanced for most young learners. It returns to the theme of what do we know and how do we know it; two central questions that are recurring themes in decolonizing the classroom.

Alberta Civil Liberties Association self-assessment: https://www.aclrc.com/self-assessment

M.2 P.3 Indigenous Rights and STEM Education

The STEM teaching tools website has resources, tools, PD modules, news, and newsletters to help teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

I was particularly drawn to this website for the resources found under the TOOLS dropdown menu that highlight ways of working on specific issues that come up during STEM teaching called “Practice Briefs”. Each brief highlights the issue, why it matters, things to consider, reflection questions, equity, and actions you can take in an organized, concise, and effective way to easily access. Below are some briefs that I found particularly useful to my research on TEK and STEM.

#10 Teaching STEM In Ways that Respect and Build Upon Indigenous Peoples’ Rights: It is vital that educators incorporate Indigenous knowledge and rights into their teaching and lessons.

Teachers should understand and leverage Indigenous students’ ways of knowing and values.

#11 Implementing Meaningful STEM Education with Indigenous Students & Families: Integrating traditional ecological knowledge and western science is important if students are going to connect meaning to experiences.

Teachers should focus on Indigenous ways of knowing & encourage Indigenous students to navigate between Indigenous & Western STEM.

#55 Why it is crucial to make cultural diversity visible in STEM education: Students need to see themselves represented in STEM careers that collaborate and integrate Indigenous knowledge.

Teachers should carefully weave subject matter with activities and images within relevant contexts that validate the contributions of individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds.

#57 How place-based science education strategies can support equity for students, teachers, and communities: Place holds significance to Indigenous ways of knowing and learning. Knowledge rooted in land is at the heart of many Indigenous cultures, this needs to be at the forefront of education.

Teachers should connect science learning experiences in and out of the classroom to students’ sense of place, cultural perspectives, and community assets and issues

References

STEM Teaching Tools. (n.d.). Teaching Tools for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Education. http://stemteachingtools.org/

Module 1 Post 1

As a French Immersion classroom teacher, I have been interested in the protection of French culture and comparative lack of protection of indigenous culture within Canada. The immersion program was initially designed as a way of preserving and maintaining Quebec-French culture in Canada. No such program exists with the same participation or funding for protecting First Nation traditions and cultures, though they can exist to some degree independently.

In my first year of teaching, I worked at a school where the students learned Salish as their second language instead of French. I saw firsthand how it helped to grow and expand their understanding of the complexities that existed around them. First Nations students in the class felt represented by the curriculum and their peers gained a cultural lesson while all students benefitted from increased understanding of local history and current reality. As a teacher, it was both humbling and illuminating to have my local knowledge challenged and expanded so quickly.

This interactive website presents some important “first step” information to learning about one of the Nations on who’s traditional territory my school is located: the Sto:lo Nation. I appreciate that it is an authentic voice that can help guide class learning.

http://digitalsqewlets.ca/index-eng.php

Module 1, Post #1- One Laptop Per Child (OLPC)

Link:
https://nationtalk.ca/story/students-of-first-nation-school-receive-laptops-from-one-laptop-per-child-canada

In ETEC 510, I came across the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Initiative. The idea of providing access to a laptop to every child in developing countries sounds like a wonderful idea. Given some communities have the similar issue in accessibility in devices, I wonder if this is something that is embraced and welcomed by Indigenous people? The reason is that Ginsburg (2008) mentioned the notion of Aboriginal people viewing media and technology, which are dominated by western ideals, as a mean to “wash out” indigenous lives and cultural practices. They don’t want their traditional knowledge to be under the Western systems of intellectual property. Hence, I am intrigued to explore the effect of this initiative in aboriginal communities further more.

Reference:

Mmnationtalk (2013, May). Students of First Nation School receive laptops from One Laptop per Child Canada. Nation Talk. Retrieved from https://nationtalk.ca/story/students-of-first-nation-school-receive-laptops-from-one-laptop-per-child-canada

Mod 1 post 1 – First Nations Technology Council

This technology council is in North Vancouver, my hometown, and they are actively trying to fight for “digital equity” and “are working collaboratively with provincial and federal agencies, telecom companies, as well as partner Indigenous organizations to eliminate the digital divide and create equitable, affordable and sustainable access to digital and connected technologies for all 203 Indigenous communities in BC”. They are also working to educate Indigenous youth and adults around various technology through courses to get more people engaged with the digital economy.