I lived and worked in Chiapas Mexico in the mid 1990s at the height of the Zapatista movement and worked in several Mayan villages throughout the province with ProNatura Chiapas who was trying to build sustainable farming practices for coffee growers in these communities. The Mayan face a great number of challenges and security, both physical and economic, is a primary concern for communities and individuals. An organization in San Cristobal is attempting to provide education that will allow Mayan youth to participate in the local economy and provide them with some sense of human rights and confidence. This is not the ‘voice’ or culturally distinct education that have been discussed in this module and though this will hopefully come to Chiapas one day, this form of education provided in this example, in this environment and political context, seems culturally responsible at this time for the Mayan people.
Tag Archives: Culturally responsive
Module 3: Post 3- Learning through Culturally Responsive Education
Many of the discussions in Module 3 have focused on the importance for students to learn about and through Indigenous pedagogical beliefs. It is exciting to hear about the research being done and the collaborative planning between researchers, educators, elders and other community members. Culturally responsive education and allowing students different ways to share their learning needs to take place not just in the Elementary years but continue through high school and university through the First Nations values of respect, relevance, reciprocity, and responsibility. One example that I just read about in my nephew’s Queen’s Faculty of Education Convocation Program is the Aboriginal Blanket Ceremony, a tradition established of presenting Aboriginal graduates with The Creation Turtle Pendleton Blanket in recognition of the barriers and challenges faced at post secondary institutions and to acknowledge their potential in being role models for the Aboriginal youth of their communities.
Here are some resources as a starting point to use in elementary classrooms in the development of a culturally responsive curriculum through a transdisciplinary approach across subject areas.
Aboriginal Head Start Association of BC- http://www.ahsabc.com/index.php/resources/other-resources
This website- http://www.ahsabc.com/images/other_resources/aboriginal-childrens-books_janhare.pdf includes a link to is an extensive list of books for and about young Aboriginal children. This list was compiled by Dr. Jan Hare PhD, Associate Professor of Indigenous Education in the Department of Language and Literacy Education (UBC). Canadian First Nations, Métis and Inuit cultures are represented. Early literacy and numeracy titles are also listed.
Dr. Marker suggested the Alaska Native Knowledge Network as a valuable place to find educational resources. Here are some links from their website (http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/)
Guidelines for Respecting Cultural Knowledge http://ankn.uaf.edu/publications/knowledge.html
Culturally Responsive Units/Lessons http://ankn.uaf.edu/Curriculum/Units/
Online Resources- http://ankn.uaf.edu/curriculum/resources.html
Handbook for Culturally Responsive Science Curriculum http://ankn.uaf.edu/publications/handbook/index.html
First Nations of Canada– http://ankn.uaf.edu/IEW/firstnat.html
Module 3.2: InTime (Integrating New Technologies into the Methods of Education)
Post 2: InTime (Integrating New Technologies into the Methods of Education)
http://www.intime.uni.edu/multiculture/curriculum/culture.htm
InTime is a website that is designed to help educators of all grade levels integrate technology and multicultural education into the classroom. They provide models, videos, case studies, and questions that educators can incorporate into the classroom to improve learning in all areas. While this site does not focus solely on Indigenous learners, the models and methods could be applied to any cultural aspects. Also included in this website is a section on culturally responsive education.
Module 3.1 – Culturally Responsive Science Curriculum
Post 1: Culturally Responsive Science Curriculum
http://ankn.uaf.edu/publications/handbook/
The topic covered in Week 9 (Culturally Responsive Education) was directly related to my topic of choice for the final research paper, so of course I had to delve deeper! I found a website that featured a “Handbook for Culturally Responsive Science Curriculum” in both online and PDF format published by the Alaska Science Consortium, the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (ARKSI), and the Alaska Department of Education. In it, the author (Sidney Stephens) outlines ways in which to involve cultural experts, topics of cultural significance, cultural standards, science standards, and best practices for integrating curriculum into culture.
Module 3 Post 1 – Culturally Responsive Mathematics
One of the greatest barriers to implementing more culturally-responsive activities into my math lessons is my lack of local Indigenous knowledge and resources.
The First Nations Education Steering Committee has created the Math First Peoples resource that Math 8 and 9 teachers in BC can use to become more responsive to the cultural perspectives of First Peoples. This resource is intended to:
1. Help all students appreciate the universal presence and importance of mathematics
2.Help all students appreciate the significant role First Peoples play in BC
3. Help Aboriginal students feel more comfortable in mathematics and more motivated to participate.
In addition to describing First Peoples perspectives of mathematics, this resource suggests several ways that educators can form meaningful connections between mathematics, students, community members and Indigenous knowledge. The resource also provides several sample unit plans for teaching mathematics in a culturally responsive way.
The University of Toronto has also provided a blog post with a list of culturally-responsive mathematical lesson plans and games.
Jaclyn
First Nations Education Steering Committee. (2011). Teaching mathematics in a first peoples context – Grade 8 and 9. Retrieved from www.fnesc.ca/curriculum/math
University of Toronto. (2015, July 6). Deepening knowledge: Resources for an about Aboriginal education. [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/deepeningknowledge/Teacher_Resources/Curriculum_Resources_%28by_subjects%29/Math/index.html#Lessons