Shared Learnings (M2-2)

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/abed/shared.pdf

As I mentioned in my previous post, Shared Learnings is a document that was published in 2006 by the British Columbia Ministry of Education.  The purpose of Shared Learnings is to assist teachers in the incorporation of B.C. Aboriginal content in various K-10 subject areas.  It is the goal of the Ministry and document collaborators that through the resources presented in this document, teachers will feel more comfortable in including aboriginal content in their program, and in turn, aboriginal and non-aboriginal learners alike will become engaged with the content, developing an understanding of and appreciation for traditional knowledge.

The resource is divided up into sections based on grade level and subdivided by subject area.  In addition to providing curricular connections, Shared Learnings provides resource lists in each section, instructional strategies, ideas for projects and activities, sample lesson plans, ideas for planning and implementing your program, as well as strategies for discussing sensitive issues.

Shared Learnings, in my experience, is a resource that is widely unknown to practicing B.C. teachers, and upon stumbling across this resource again myself, I am reminded that I need to go through it again to see how I can improve my practice.  In my experience, many teachers often push aside aboriginal content in favour of the need to “meet literacy or numeracy outcomes”.  Through the use of Shared Learnings as a starting point, I think that B.C. teachers can in fact guide students toward meeting all outcomes, through the incorporation of traditional aboriginal content, rather than in addition to exploring aboriginal content.