Tag Archives: FPPL

M4. P5

In the last of my blog posts, I wanted to share the process of self-inquiry. Throughout this course, I have begun to explore who I am as well as recognizing and acknowledging the damaging and lasting effects of colonialism in our Education System. I know that we must begin to embed Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing in every aspect of our Education and that there are no longer “one-offs” or “single activities” to check off a box. I know that I am responsible for sharing the knowledge I have gained so Indigenous Education can become Education one day. That we are all working towards acknowledging the colonialism that still resides in our classrooms and schools, and doing everything we can to change it.

Kelly Hansen, a Doctorate student from UBC wrote the paper; The First Peoples Principles of Learning: An Opportunity for Settler Teacher Self-Inquiry which speaks about her experiences with embodying the First Peoples approaches to learning. In her writing, she notes the following questions for daily practice:

How is what I am teaching related to nurturing well-being for myself, my students, our
community, and the greater world?
Where am I learning, and what is my relationship to this land? How do these
relationships represent the consequences of our actions?
How am I considering multiple generations in my learning?
To what extent am I considering and appreciating Indigenous knowledge in my
teaching and learning?
What stories am I learning from, sharing, and creating?
What is my relationship to time? Am I acting with patience?
Who am I at this moment and who do I want to be?

It is this type of self-inquiry that allows us to be the Educators that our students and this world needs. To come from a place of understanding, compassion, and respect of language, land, and culture. To build relationships, listen to stories, and reflect on who you want to be so that you can help guide others in the same inquiry. These questions will become a part of my daily practice not only with my students but with my children as well.

M4. P3

When creating a Unit that focuses on FPPL I wanted to ensure that I had a framework from which I could follow – a guide you might say – that I could refer back to throughout my planning. The Alberta Government developed a collaborative framework building relationships companion resource which speaks to teaching the whole child which is located at the center of the framework and is represented by the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual dimensions. Within an Aboriginal understanding of knowledge, education and learning, there is no separation of mind, emotions, body and spirit. Learning is understood to engage all four realms and is integrated into one’s daily activities at every stage of life. Therefore, the needs of the whole child must be addressed in order for the child to experience success, both academically and in life overall.

Although this particular framework focuses on First Nations, Metis, and Inuit Education, I believe it can be used to teach all students as we should always be focussing on our students and who they are first.

I’ve attached the guide – collaborative-frameworks-building-relationships – for your reference.

M4. P2

When the topic of Identity comes up in conversation, usually the first question people get is, “What are you?” or, “Where are you from?” Usually, I respond with something witty such as, “I’m a human, from Earth.” But, as you can imagine, I get a lot of eye rolls and will eventually tell people my incredibly elaborate racial and ethnic background.

As I continue to create my Unit, I keep coming back to Identity and how the importance of Place is in regard to Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing. In order to authentically develop a sense of our identity, I believe that the place(s) in which we have lived and/or have had lived experiences is crucial to our story.

Below is one option for Mapping our Identity.

Using Google Maps or MapMe you can create your Identity Story by dropping pins in places that have helped you develop or create your Identity. Click HERE for a PDF on how to do this.

M4. P1

Jo-Anne Chrona said it best when speaking about the FFPL and what needs to happen first:

“a deep understanding of the FPPL is first necessary, and this understanding can then be used to guide educators’ choices about what is important to learn, and what kinds of learning experiences to create for, and with, learners in the contexts the learners and educators are in. This will vary from place to place, and community of learners to community of learners” (2014).

As I was researching the worldviews, I came across this incredible video resource from Focused Education Resources. You can find the link HERE. Of note for me, was the video below which goes through connectedness and relationships. Through this course I have developed a deep understanding for the importance of these particular principles and how we must “look for ways to relate learning to students’ selves, to their families and communities.”

References

Chrona, J.First peoples principles of learning. Retrieved from https://firstpeoplesprinciplesoflearning.wordpress.com/

Focused Education Resources. (2021). Retrieved from https://focusedresources.ca/en/supports-tutorialsvideosguides

Coyote Science – Indigenous Science videos M4 P5

Coyote Science is a Canadian production on the APTN (Aboriginal People’s Television Network). Instead of throwing on Bill Nye (I might be aging myself here, but the kids still love it!) or Brain pop, using these videos to show science through another lens would be awesome. The episode list has a plethora of topics which would be great for students of elementary or middle school ages.

Practical, easy to use First People’s math lessons M4P2

This resource is detailed and long with a large amount of content covered though the perspective of Indigenous peoples. It was written and shared by the First Nations Education Steering Committee. I found a great connection between the Forest Math book in my previous post and the mapping lesson. Its a great way to blend both ways of approaching a similar end goal, all while looking at math through the lens of Indigenous ways of knowing. This resource is a fantastic resource for teachers who may not yet be comfortable incorporating Indigenous ways on their own as it’s clearly scripted and connected to the curriculum.

Math in the Forest – M4 P1

Trying to incorporate Indigenous ways of knowing into the classroom doesn’t have to be fancy, or resource heavy. It can really be around the APPROACH (as we see in the First People’s Principles of Learning). Talking about the Syilx people’s connection to the land that we see through their stories (like the 4 Food Chiefs) and then taking students outside to look for math (and science) in the forest takes the Euro-centric silos of these subjects out into the blend of the real world. This digital book was a resource sent out by my district’s Indigenous Advocates as a great set of questions to help teachers see the possibilities of non-siloed teachings possible outside (and of course there are way more). By having specific examples of what you can do outside, the questions you can ask the students and the extension questions as well makes it an approachable task for any teacher!

Holistic approach to Indigenous Integration M3P5

This resource from Alberta is specifically designed for teachers to help them incorporate a wide range of Indigenous ways of learning into their classrooms. This is certainly coming from a more holistic approach as opposed to specific content connections which, as we’ve been learning, is more authentic. I think, in terms of making teachers more comfortable trying some of these ways, this site does a great job. They have a lot of text based descriptions of different options for classrooms, as well as a wide range of videos or audio from different sources to help teachers feel more comfortable. A perfect example of this, which would certainly make me feel more confident trying this practice is the video of Judy Louis engaging a class in a circle story technique. Seeing the technique in action with an authentic group of kids is so much better for a nervous teacher than just reading about possibilities they might encounter. So overall, a great resource for what I’m trying to accomplish!

M2. P5.

The following are Identity-based activities from the University of Michigan’s Inclusive Teaching site. Although not developed based on the FPPL, I believe that they would be valuable activities to do with students to begin the conversation surrounding who they are and how they see themselves. Even though the site doesn’t state any relation to FPPL, these activities are labelled as “Personal Identity Wheel,” and “Social Identity Wheel.” It immediately creates this connection to Indigenous ways of knowing and learning from the term “wheel” which I can connect to circles, which we know are incredibly important to Indigenous culture as they relate to the cycles of the natural world.

A note on the last image here – there is language and terms that I would absolutely refrain from using as they are negative in nature. I would even remove the “body size” category and ensure that Gender/Sex had appropriate examples that were inclusive of all.

M2. P3

Whenever I develop Units, I’m always thinking about the end goal first. What is it that I want my students to know and what should they be able to do. However, after viewing the Ways of Knowing chart in my previous post, I can see that part of the assessment is also student-focused (and I do currently include my students in their assessment) where they evaluate their own learning.

As I was researching Indigenous ways of knowing, I came across a rubric developed in SD68 along with input from FNESC and their Aboriginal Department. It speaks to beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge towards and of Aboriginal Peoples. What I love the most is how this isn’t labelled a scale but instead, a progression as one of the FPPL is that learning involves patience and time and is not about expected learning, but instead focused on experiential learning. In my district, we have a Proficiency Scale for assessment for reporting which, after reading the differences in Euro-centric views vs Indigenous in my last post I can see clearly how they do not align for Indigenous Understandings of learning.