Welcome to the Educational Studies (EDST) 591 blog for our “Hands Back, Hands Forward” Service Learning Project. This blog introduces some of the work of our graduate (Master’s and PhD candidates) class at the University of British Columbia (UBC) from Spring 2012.
As members of this class and students at UBC, we would like to acknowledge the Musqueam people and their Ancestors and thank them for allowing us to study in one of the most beautiful places in the world, where eagles fly, salmonberries and blackberries grow in the bushes, and cedar trees reach up to the sky. On this traditional Musqueam, unceded territory, we acknowledge our privilege to be guests in this territory. Kw’as hoy.
In our class, we explored Indigenous epistemology and curriculum as it applies to the new Aboriginal Focus School in Vancouver, BC, Canada. In the top menu, you will find a link to some of the literature reviews completed by class members. The blog itself has several posts related to a variety of topics including building a healthy school, decolonizing pedagogies and more; as well, there are introductions and supporting materials for the projects we worked on such as handbooks, training materials and other practical applications of what we learned in our review of previous research and thought on a variety of topics.
Feel free to share and comment as you explore our blog. We hope that you find this blog useful in your work.
My Discussion Paper on Governance for an Aboriginal Focus School provides a sampling of literature surveyed for the purposes of identifying attributes of governance applied in successful Aboriginal schools which may be suitable for an Aboriginal Focus School.
Drawn from two major studies and additional literature, this review moves from a description of the current Milieu in Aboriginal Education and Models of Governance commonly represented in mainstream circles to specific examples of Governance in Successful Aboriginal schools which have worked in conjunction with public school districts. The review concludes with a discussion surrounding Key Success Factors found in the major Society for Advancement of Education studies of 2004 and 2007 and closes with the view that successful governance is a story about Good Relationshipsand What is Educationally Best.
In this video, Tom Happynook of Huu-ay-ut First Nation explains how traditional leaders are raised to learn the qualities and values of leadership. He also explains how traditional governance in his community is more democratic than the Canadian election process:
how and why educational scholars and Indigenous educators suggest they be used to support learning in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal education;
examples of decolonizing pedagogies (especially in history education); and,
some challenges identified by educators and scholars in implementing decolonizing pedagogies.
The project is based on a literature review using primarily Canadian sources, research that focuses largely on history education, and with reference to broadly/generally conceived notions of educational needs (rather than place- or community-specific). The booklet does not provide fail-safe formulas, but rather pieces of the puzzle that may help teachers, parents and learning-community members see a more comprehensive picture of connections between decolonizing education and making more space for Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy.
In our literature review entitled “Learning from Shi-shi-etko’s Story: Indigenous Approaches for a Healthy School“, we used the children’s book Shi-shi-etko by Nicola Campbell as an inspiration for exploring Aboriginal health and healing. Shi-shi-etko has only four days left before she is taken away from her home to attend residential school. “Shi-shi-etko’s people have always lived in North America” and have always understood their relationship as one with nature and their responsibility to the land. In this community, children are loved and raised together by parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, brothers, sisters and Elders. As the day to leave comes near, Shi-shi-etko’s sense memories of the land, like the smell and texture of wet soil after rain or the sound of her mother’s singing carried by the wind flowing through the valley, high up with the eagles, are all that she will be able to take with her to school.
Shi-shi-etko’s story is about a journey of learning through one’s heart, mind, body and spirit. Using her story as inspiration, we explore the topic of Aboriginal health by providing an overview of relevant literature and Indigenous epistemology and by suggesting principles for making health a priority in an Aboriginal-focused school. In our conclusion, we suggest that considerations for health should be part of all curricula, social and community gatherings, and administrative decision-making. To aid in this goal, we propose the adoption of seven principles for creating a healthy Aboriginal Focus School:
For our project, we have created blog posts which give an overview of each of the seven principles; for each principle, we have provided links to additional resources and examples of principles being enacted in schools and communities.
The foundation for this organizational development plan is the Indigenous concept of All My Relations – the interrelatedness of all things, human and non-human. The historical and contemporary challenges and issues of how to become “a good relative” are outlined and the steps taken to build good relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples are acknowledged while focusing on Education. In the team building process for the main stakeholders of the Aboriginal Focus School, a series of workshops are proposed for the teachers, principal, administrative staff, School Board, parents and community members. These workshops will incorporate Indigenous epistemology and pedagogy, that is experiential learning of how to connect land, spirit and heart to mind learning outcomes.
This project explores ideas for designing a curriculum for the instruction of more than one Indigenous languages, and one or more foreign languages at the Vancouver School Board Aboriginal Focus School. I will advocate for language immersion as a model of instruction. I will describe how that traditional instruction in Aboriginal performative arts – including theatre, music, dance, and oration – can serve as a framework for teaching Indigenous languages.
Kinslow, A. A. (2012). Language Immersion & Performative Arts: Recommendations to the Vancouver School Board for approaching an Indigenous languages curriculum [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://blogs.ubc.ca/edst591/
In conducting my literature review, it became apparent that many terms related to culture are often defined, used differently, and/or conflated within the body of research. Terminology such as tolerance, culturally-sensitive, culturally-centered, and culturally-relevant may all be used to describe how Indigenous cultures could be included in the curricula, but clarification is needed in order to select the research that best supports what the community wants. Based on my own understandings of these concepts, I began to distinguish between the two broad categories as they might apply to educational practices:
Cultural sensitivity or tolerance frameworks
Culturally-relevant or centered frameworks
Dominant structures may allow for differences, so long as they fit and do not disrupt the status quo
Emerges from cultural ways of knowing and being, may or may address to dominant frameworks
Full integration of culture allows for extended engagement, deep understanding
Subject oriented, examines “Other”
Thematically oriented, integrates knowledge
Teacher preparation essentializes populations
Teacher preparation encourages immersion
May reinforce the dichotomy of dominant vs. other, reify ethnocentrism and/or stereotypes of “other”
Moves toward cultural competency
Mainstream content with Indigenous stories or lessons sprinkled in
Indigenous content with mainstream lessons sprinkled in
In reviewing the community feedback in the document titled “Reporting on the Vancouver School District, January 2011 Aboriginal Education Forums: Community Responses to Creating a School or Model with an Aboriginal Focus,” several priorities stand out. The feedback from the community suggests a specific understanding of the role of culture within the school and community, specifically, one in which the term Aboriginal-focus suggests “emerging from Aboriginal knowledge, and relevant to Aboriginal peoples.” For our purposes, this understanding of the role of culture in the school aligns closely with the culturally-relevant and culturally-centered frameworks, and less so with the frameworks of sensitivity or tolerance. Thus, in collecting relevant tools, strategies, and research, the characteristics on the right column be helpful as criteria that ensure that the material is in alignment with community understandings.
In my own teaching practice, I observed master teachers, borrowed from their methods, and eventually developed a process that worked for me. One of my major concerns was a habit of asking questions to the whole class, and calling on the first hand. Inevitably, there are one or two students who will always be ready, and usually have the right answer. However, this habit can marginalize students who are shy, not as fast, or passive by failing to involve more than the one or two students in the question.
To address this, I began using hand signals. By reformulating my questioning technique, I could ask a question and have all of the students respond to multiple choice, true/false, agree/disagree, or point to the answer. For example,
“Show me on your fingers which paragraph contains the answer.”
“Thumbs up/thumbs down, do you agree or disagree with Charlie’s answer?”
“Show me on your fingers, is this (1) igneous, (2) metamorphic, or (3) sedimentary?”
“I’ll know that you are ready when you are pointing to the title.”
By incorporating non-verbal signals, students could respond freely, simultaneously, and demonstrate engagement without dominating the conversation or interrupting each other. Without singling anyone out, I could give positive feedback,
“I see the correct answer here, over there…
“I see all of Table 6 is ready.”
Even the most shy of my students participated in showing what they were thinking, and being recognized for their good ideas. Regardless of whether or not they had the right answers, they were engaged. No learners could hide out, or avoid participating by sitting quietly, not making eye contact.
Eventually, I also incorporated a system that ensured an equitable chance of being called on. Each student was assigned a “roster number”, from 1 to 36, which were written on popsicle sticks and kept in a large, clear beaker. In the course of the lecture/discussion, I would ask an open-ended question, then draw a stick from the beaker, and hold it up for the class to see. Students could answer, ask for think time, or pass.
If they answered correctly, their stick would go into a second cup, number down. If the student passed or answered incorrectly, their stick went into a pile on the table. By the end of a fifty-minute period, I would usually have called on almost all of the students. At the end of each class, I’d draw one stick at random from those who answered correctly, and the student could choose a pencil, sticker, eraser, etc. from the goodies box.
This process dramatically increased their attention, participation, and engagement in class, ensuring that each student could have a turn. The same system could be used for each of the six class periods I taught, and the numbered sticks were an excellent way to assign random seats, partners, and groups with little fuss.
A mainstream school is often set up as a hierarchal pyramid structure, in which the many students form the foundation, above which teachers preside, above which fewer administrators monitor, above which a principal wields power over all. The structure is fixed, and persons are often replaced with little change in the overall function of the school.
In approaching the Aboriginal-focused school as a community, it may be more useful to reimagine the structure of the school community in a holistic way, perhaps as a changing, interrelated living system, such as a cell or ecosystem. In doing so, we can recognize the learning spirit in all persons who spend time in the school community.
In this case, educators include teachers, administrators, and support staff as a team. Within any population, there is diversity, which must be recognized and incorporated, drawing out each person’s strengths. In cultivating a holistic learning environment, just as the children are allowed the flexibility to learn and grow, so too can the educators be embraced in a supportive process of growth. Rather than finding “the best” teachers and administrator, the Aboriginal-focused school could “grow” the right teachers and administrators for their particular community.
Aspect 4: Educator as Co-Learner
Reflective and Strength-Based learning opportunities for professional development
Examining personal bias
Examining our roles within inequitable systems
Facilitating student learners’ full potential, moving away from deficit models and language
Evolves from “person in charge” to “co-learner”
Incorporates organized mentorship amongst the teachers on staff (structured and allocated time)
Utilizes time for reflection and relationship-building (for example, allowing first-year teachers additional planning/non-teaching time)
Co-teaching with more experienced teachers
In practice, allows teachers to develop their pedagogical practices to include:
Incorporating multiple learning modalities
Cooperative learning strategies
Inviting Elders and community members
Modeling behaviors that emphasize personal choices
Developing equitable systems of classroom participation
As a community, consider how to align the various realms of context in ways that are cooperative and reaffirming. In doing so, learners will experience support from multiple levels within the learning environment. Part of this process includes examining how unintentional biases may unconsciously impact the school community.
Aspect 3: Logistical Alignment
Examine the school environment for inclusiveness, anti-bias representations. This includes:
All learning spaces, including the cafeteria, gymnasium, hallways, and auditorium
Pre-printed Materials/Wall decorations
Pre-printed or boxed curricula
Schedule time to nurture relationships through field trips, community service, cultural celebrations
Center the emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, and volitional development of all community members
Relationships are very much like a garden. They need nurturance, patience, and attention to flourish. So, too, do the relationships that support a healthy learning environment. As a community, dedicate time to learn and practice ways of communicating that are mutually supportive.
Aspect 2: Cultivating Relationships
Bring together Students, Teachers, Parents, Administrators, Community members, in a social, informal setting with activities that include all ages and share a meal
In an open forum, discuss and establish possible goals for the year:
transformation via collaboration
healthy, respectful communications
constructive problem solving
Model relationships built upon respect, trust, inclusion, and community relations. Be explicit with instruction and offer positive feedback.
Seek help in facilitating and modelling healthy communications:
Model a consensus process
Practice conflict resolution
Model respectful disagreement
Strategies for emotional support during interpersonal communications
Essentially, classroom management is a social agreement entered into by the students, teachers, and families of the learning community. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all plan, but there certainly are particular approaches that can help learning communities move toward creating a holistic, culturally-relevant management plan that works in their context. The first aspect to consider is a practice of critical reflection, both as an individual, and as a group of engaged collaborators:
Aspect 1: Critical Reflection
Collectively define:
Discipline
Management
Inclusive teaching practice
Behavior support
Examine personal biases and assumptions that are the normal inclination of all people. Once we are aware of our own, we can learn how to work around them.
Examine the roles of teachers in a historically and inherently inequitable schooling system
In your classroom, consider:
Reparations instead of punishments
Preventative instead of reactive approaches
Collaborative instead of Us against Them
Strength-based instead of Diagnostic/Pathologizing language
The metaphors we use in our daily conversations are so powerful. The convey imagery, suggest relationships, and in just a few words, tell entire stories. Context and timing matter in their telling, as do how we incorporate them into speech or writing. Metaphors can enlighten, engage, confuse, or alienate audiences, depending on how and when we use them.
I have often reread Jeanette Armstrong’s article entitled “Let Us Begin With Courage” as a fantastic reference for understanding the Okanagan-specific term En’owkin as a framework and metaphor for education. En’owkin calls to mind the imagery of “liquid being absorbed drop by single drop through the head (mind)”, describing the integrative, gentle, nurturing process of learning. En’owkin is also the name given to the learning center by the community Elders, as well as the name of the process of collaborative community decision making. Within this one word is packed a metaphor for learning, a process of problem-solving, and culturally-centric framework for supporting the community.
Conversely, I remember how a poorly chosen school metaphor abruptly triggered my defenses. I was the new teacher at a district-wide professional development day, one of few visibly racialized teachers in the two hundred or so faculty. Most of the day was a blur of new names and faces, but I distinctly recall the superintendent saying one single sentence: “we’ll just circle up our wagons and wait it out.” I couldn’t hear anything after that except my own heartbeat in my ears. Was she assuming all these teachers would be in the wagon train with her? All I knew was that historically, my people were not wagon riders. At that moment, I knew I was not in a community that was inclusive of me.
What are the metaphors we use when we talk about education? What language do we use to describe schools, teaching, and our classrooms? What are the images we invoke when we talk about classrooms as battlegrounds or students as customers? How do these metaphors impact our relationships?
