By doing a bit of quick research into Tim Michel, whose video interview we watched this week, I found this article (“Undergraduate Research Examines Class Discussions”) about a research project undertaken by a group of UBC students. Their work resulted in the project and website, “What I learned in class today: Aboriginal issues in the classroom”, which asks educators the question of how they discuss Aboriginal issues in their own lessons. The project did a number of video interviews with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal UBC students, asking them to recount some of their experiences of talking about Aboriginal issues, including when it was clearly difficult to do so. They also interviewed a number of UBC instructors, who shared their experiences and beliefs about this topic.
Another feature of the website that is incredibly interesting and helpful for instructors who have questions about how to best address Aboriginal issues are resources and discussion topics for self-education, tied back to the interviews. Most of the website’s components and resources also appear to be available for download, including a workshop (and trouble-shooting guide!) model for interested parties. I look forward to absorbing this project’s contents, and considering how I might be able to use these excellent primary resources and guides in my own teaching!