Posts from — September 2011

The First Peoples’ Project
(http://www.iearn.org.au/fp/)

(click on above image to be redirected to a video on the edutopia.com website explaining a project completed by the Choctaw Tribal School)

Description:
The First Peoples’ Project uses computer technology (and the web) to connect Indigenous youth from around the world. It is a way to encourage and engage students to participate in a form of education that is meaningful, personally relevant and valued. All submissions and stories must be made with the authorization from community leaders and elders therefore nothing is posted without consent which adds to the credibility and authenticity of the project. Unfortunately it appears as though it only ran for 10 years – 2007 being the last year of the project (although I hope I am wrong on this point). I feel as though this is an excellent example of technology being used to bring Indigenous cultures together.

~ Ryan

The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education is a peer reviewed research journal publishing articles in the field of indigenous education. It is the only journal for educators devoted specifically to issues of practice, pedagogy and policy in indigenous education in Australia. It includes topics on the participation of indigenous people in education and training; equitable and appropriate access and achievement of indigenous people in education and training; and, the teaching of indigenous studies, cultures and languages to both indigenous and non-indigenous students.

http://www.atsis.uq.edu.au/ajie/

The First Nations Education Council is an association, which is built upon the collective strength of all the Nations of Quebec, together in a common vision of quality education for all First Nations children. Some of its functions are taking political action to ensure that First Nations regain full control of their education, conducting studies and making recommendations on governments’ political and administrative decisions on Aboriginal education and producing pedagogical documents, newsletters and pamphlets on issues that are of interest to the indigenous communities.

http://www.cepn-fnec.com

The Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre (MFNERC), was given a mandate by the Chiefs of Manitoba to provide second and third level education services to fifty-five First Nations schools in Manitoba. The MFNERC facilitates a community education process based on First Nations needs, priorities and education plans. The process is First Nations driven and authority remains with the First Nations.

The MFNERC is actively involved in promoting community development by providing training and coordinating opportunities for families and other community members. The MFNERC is committed to working with Manitoba First Nations in the development of partnerships to ensure the highest standards of education are achieved in First Nations schools. The MFNERC web site also contains its journal: First Nations Perspectives.

http://www.mfnerc.org/

The Alaska Native Knowledge Network (ANKN) is an AKRSI (Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative) partner designed to serve as a resource for compiling and exchanging information related to Alaska Native knowledge systems and ways of knowing. It has been established to assist Native people, government agencies, educators and the general public in gaining access to the knowledge base that Alaska Natives have acquired through cumulative experience over millennia. This web site presents a wide range of resources and activities for indigenous knowledge systems and ways of knowing.

http://ankn.uaf.edu/

The Promise of Place web site is a project of Center for place based learning and community engagement. It is a public/private partnership that works to advance the state of the art in place-based education by facilitating collaborative efforts in research, program design, technical assistance, resource development and dissemination. It plans to immerse students in local heritage, cultures, landscapes, opportunities and experiences, using these as a foundation for the study of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science and other subjects across the curriculum.

http://promiseofplace.org/

In this research, I will try to investigate the significant role of place based learning in Indigenous education and culture. The purpose is to present how place based learning can be used to facilitate an integration of Indigenous cultural diversity into a rapidly changing globalized world, while preserving their community ties. In recent decades, western culture and its economic globalization has been effective in homogenizing Indigenous cultures in different countries. It seems that in this process western education systems have played an effective role in alienation of Indigenous people from their own cultures.

Place based learning, on the other hand, can be used to integrate indigenous culture into traditional education systems through a culturally adapted curriculum that considers a wide range of social, cultural, and economical aspects of Indigenous communities. Instead of standardized in a public education system, indigenous learners have the opportunity to understand the relationship between Indigenous knowledge and knowledge associated with western cultures and mainstream education. Consequently, schools have a crucial part in interconnecting various aspects of Indigenous life (culture, environment,…) to positive features of our globalized era. In this research I will also address some cases presenting effective and efficient examples of such integrations.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have a keen interest in the aboriginal support system employed by my school district. Continuous within my district is the cultural vs academic support debate. There are those who would see aboriginal support workers provide mostly academic support with only the occasional opportunity for students to engage in cultural activities. On the other side of the spectrum some education community members believe that cultural enhancement is key to academic success and must be maintained and developed further. Who is correct? Is the best chance for success a more equal opportunity to both academic and cultural support? What does the research indicate?

If research and inquiry does provide some insight to the above questions, what next? And . . . how might technology benefit and/or hinder support? As with all of our posts and responses to date in ETEC 521, question after question presents itself.

As I embark upon this study, I can’t help but be grateful for the relationships that are developing within this cohort and within my own educational community that will help guide me. This week I am completing the Inquiry Grant Application provided by the BCTF (BC Teachers’ Federation). The purpose of securing the grant would be to involve others in an inquiry based learning opportunity similar to that outlined above.

I do not pretend to be knowledgeable about Indigenous cultures, and all that I know about these cultures I have learned from popular media.  This course is helping me think critically about issues that surround Indigenous education, especially when Westerners impose their ways and modes of knowing on these peoples.

My research interests will focus on place-based learning.  This topic interests me, not only because of its novelty to me had (I had no idea what it was prior to ETEC 521), but because it is related to two areas of cognition that interest me:  situated learning and embodied knowing.  Place-based learning is a form of situated learning, where learning takes place in social and environmental contexts in which the knowledge is used. Learning takes place when problems that are authentic to the context are tackled.  Embodied knowing is a bit more difficult to define simply because it has different meanings.  One definition which is useful in this context is placing the learner in the context in which he will need to use specific types of knowledge.  For instance, although a driver’s manual is helpful, the way to learn how to drive a car is to sit behind the wheel of one and drive.

This is a blog post written by Tasha Beeds, who is of nêhiyaw (Cree), Métis and Caribbean ancestry.  She asserts that traditional and Western knowledge can co-exist and be taught, as long as the Indigenous knowledge isn’t compromised.  The author advocates writing down narratives that pre-existed in oral forms.  She states that the written form will not supersede the oral because orality comes from a lived experience, and whatever is written down must emanate from the experiential.

Reference:

Beeds, T. (2011).  Finding a place to stand:  Indigenous education through oral and written narratives.  Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences.  Retrieved from http://blog.fedcan.ca/2011/03/23/finding-a-place-to-stand-indigenous-education-through-oral-and-written-narratives/