Module 1 – post 1: Student Engagement- FNMI Youth

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Based on this week’s readings, I have decided that I have to make more of an effort to consider first nation youth perspectives in research articles. Why? Because the cultural emphasis on common values and tribal community culture may not be evident in peer reviewed and North American centric research.

As such, I will begin my research explorations on “student engagement” – how is it defined and what is the evidence of “engagement” in First Nations Metis or Inuit (FNMI) learning environments?

As I consider technology in the aboriginal classroom, the biggest hurdle I have faced thus far  is student engagement. In order to try and define “student engagement” I will be examining a Literature Review on literature written about student engagement called, “ Improving Student Engagement” (2011) by Leah Taylor and Jim Parsons. Here’s the link: http://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/745/162

Before I read this article, I am aware that I have to consider the cultural representation of the research. For example, some questions I need to ask myself are:  is the research based on multicultural examples from around the world, is it north american “centric”, what point of view are the researchers taking? Parsons and Taylor reviewed current examples of research in student engagement, but which students were researched?

If there is no mention of FNMI youth in the research, I will ensure that I explore other research in order to try and create a more balanced perspective for my own research. Although knowing Dr.Parsons, I imagine he has tried to create a balanced approach or at least mentioned the lack of research from one particular cultural group.

I will focus on how I can “track” student engagement in my work with my students, and consider how I can consider “engagement” in the learning design for future blended and online projects with FNMI youth.

My next blog will focus on the literature review itself and the next steps. Does anyone else have examples of literature on student engagement? I will also be going through the previous blogs to see if there are other examples. Does anyone else have examples of literature on student engagement that I could consider?

Verena 🙂