Posts from — November 2011

First Nations Pedagogy Blog

This blog is a compilation of resources pertaining to indigenous activism, education, governance, health, history and knowledge. It contains a set of featured articles and videos relating to pedagogy and action movements. The original author, is named June and is a Metis, from Anishinabe and European bloodlines. She was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, close to where her ancestors settled. Surprisingly, June is/was a PhD Candidate in Curriculum and Pedagogy Studies at the University of British Columbia with a focus on educational technology. Her website features a number of articles on course design for indigenous learning, adult education and learning, and curriculum development.

Aboriginal Canada Portal

This site is part of the Government of Canada website and it includes resources for teachers, specifically educational resources, lesson plans and activities. Some educational resources worth noting include: aboriginal arithmetic, aboriginal literatures in Canada, aboriginal youth justice, first nations films, and native dance and drums. On the lesson plans and activities side, the website provides some of the following types of resources: aboriginal societies in Canada, contemporary Inuit sculpture, culture and its meaning, First Nations contributions, language and culture, Inuit of the Canadian Arctic, and pathway to wellness handbook.

This site forms part of the School of Information website. This page listed as a subpage of the pathfinder classification is entitled, “A New Understanding of Culture and Communication: The impact of technology on Indigenous Peoples” and was created by A.J. Johnson.  He provides a guide to finding online and text based resources on the different technology issues affecting Indigenous peoples. The layout and use of preset questions followed by referenced information and links to the resources within each content specific area makes access to relevant information quite simple.

Given the nature of the site however, it is a bit of a disappointment to see that the site is not being maintained very well which is evidenced by the many broken links encountered.

http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~vlibrary/edres/pathfinders/ajohnson/pathfinder.html

The Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT) website has creativity, sharing, collaborating and honouring of Native culture listed as its core values. The aim of the website is to share the Native Stories with the world through the development/creation and distribution of native media. The very setup of the web site exemplifies its mission by utilizing the various forms of media available. The site provides viewers with the option to: (i) watch news stories and discussion guides or (ii) listen to live streams of programs, native radio or podcasts, to name a few. An interactive timeline on the Native American Battles and Massacres adds to the intrigue of the site. In addition it offers a wealth of information on educational resources available with special links to new releases. Search options for subject or grade specific text contributes to the overall ease of use. This is a very dynamic and media rich website which will bring a colourful insight into the lives of FN people.

http://www.nativetelecom.org/

This webpage forms part of the larger website developed by the Congress of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE). CONAIE, established in 1986, is the representative body that was organized to ensure that Indigenous people had a political voice that would articulate their needs and rights as a people in society. The site/web page publishes the Political Declaration of the indigenous people that came out of their fourth congress sitting held in 1993. Included in the list of declaration are their rights of self-determination, sovereignty, and independence. The details and tone of the site signals adamancy, resistance and pride. It echoes in a very clear and concise manner the sentiments and desires of the indigenous people.

http://conaie.nativeweb.org/conaie4.html

The People’s Movement for Human Rights Education  formerly the People’s decade for Human Rights Education (PDHRE) website is dedicated to human rights learning for social and economic transformation.  The organization is an independent, international and non-profit body.  It was established in 1988 to fulfill the need for greater understanding of human rights issues as it related to FN people. The home page is packed with information on human rights issues as well as details about indigenous people;  their livelihood, sexual orientation, work, and minorities to name a few. Users are able to access pictures, video clips and links to numerous resources, articles, reports, dialogue/dissertations and publications. They are also prompted from the onset, to join the different interest groups shown on the site, that seek to address the human rights issue of the FN people.

The outlining of specific subject areas makes navigation much easier. Details on human rights issues are not mentioned only in generalized terms but explained in relation to how it applies to indigenous people,. Overall it is a very comprehensive and well developed website.

http://www.pdhre.org/index.html

While I was studying the Indigenous peoples’ learning approaches for my research paper, I found the following important document. This is a report that introduces the Holistic Lifelong Learning Measurement Framework used to measure the state of Aboriginal learning in Canada. The three main elements of this framework are: sources and domains of knowledge; the lifelong learning journey; and community well-being.

According to the report, sources and domains of knowledge serve as important contributions to Aboriginal learning as a holistic, lifelong process. This element of the framework includes the various learning indicators related to language, culture, the natural world and the world of people (family, Elders, community). Second part of the report (the journey of lifelong learning) measures learning across the lifespan and in different environments such as school, home, community, work and the land. This element of the framework includes the various indicators related to learning for infants and children, youth, young adults, adults and elders. In Final part of this document, community well-being indicators are presented that highlight how economic, health and social challenges can impact Aboriginal people’s learning opportunities.

http://www.ccl-cca.ca/pdfs/StateAboriginalLearning/SAL-FINALReport_EN.PDF

Linguist Ron Scollen and his wife Suzanne Scollen propose their idea for an “ideal” academy that takes an holistic, place-based approach to education.  At the Academy, three questions get asked of students and faculty:  how well do you know your place; how well do you know your community; and how well do you communicate.  Based firmly on a sense of place, the physical location that is meaningful to the Academy’s teachers and students, the curriculum covers a multitude of disciplines, geology, archeology, history, art, journalism, writing, etc under three heads:  communications, cultural studies, and bioregional studies.

The idea behind the curriculum is to produce graduates who are productive members of society and who ultimately will have a choice of careers to pursue.  So, rather than approaching the curriculum with a view of pushing students towards certain careers, such as researcher or scientist, a practice most evident in Western educational/intellectual traditions, the curriculum seeks to enable all students to become good researchers and good scientists, and just generally sensitive thinkers.   Graduates, regardless of the line of work or career path they ultimately choose, should be cognizant of the impact that their work has on their bioregion.  They need to be aware of the impact that various human activities has on their lives.

The Academy’s title “The Axe Handle” derives from an ancient Chinese proverb that they way to make an axe handle is to have an axe handy so that you can copy it.  The proverb informs the educational philosophy of the Academy where teachers are constantly learning new stuff, and they learn alongside their students.  The teachers model the cognitive skills that they expect their students to acquire, while encouraging students to share information and help each other learn materials.  This is a bit like the concept of constructivism where the educator does not dictate static knowledge to students, but engages them in the learning process by assigning them projects and problems to solve.

Resources:

http://ankn.uaf.edu/curriculum/AxeHandle/index.html

Living, learning, and loving on this land claimed by the Ktunaxa, the Sinixt, and the Okanagan, who are we? Of what decent are the families and the students of aboriginal ancestry?

According to Statistics Canada Metis comprise the majority of our FN people. Who are the others? Does the School District have this information?

Statistics Canada provides information for Trail only. The other cities and villages that comprise the school district can not be found. There is no mention of West Kootenay yet East Kootenay and the Boundary Region have statistics. Does this somehow relate to the territorial struggles in this region?

Next step is to see what the school district does or does not know.

Statistics Canada. 2007. Trail, British Columbia (Code5905014) (table). Aboriginal Population Profile. 2006 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 92-594-XWE. Ottawa. Released January 15, 2008.
http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/prof/92-594/index.cfm?Lang=E
(accessed November 12, 2011).

One area of interest that I had thought to investigate was “Patterns of Online Participation” between aboriginal and non aboriginal students. I decided to post the resources gathered just in case someone else had been leaning in this direction. The idea that online participation in courses such as ETEC 521 would differ between FN and others caused me to reflect upon assessment criteria both in MET and in Classrooms.

“Most apparent is the finding that the average number of postings made by aboriginal Canadians in this group was disproportionately lower than that of either the Canadian-born Canadian group, or the adult immigrants to Canada.”

•  Reeder, K., Macfadyen, L. P., Chase, M. and Roche, J. (2004). Negotiating Culture in Cyberspace:                  Participation Patterns and Problematics. Language Learning and Technology, 8(2), 88-105. [9]

• Backroad Connections Pty Ltd (2002). Cross-cultural Issues in Content Development and Teaching Online. (Version 2.00), Australian Flexible Learning Framework Quick Guides series, Australian National Training Authority. [1]

• Bates, T. (2001). International Distance Education: Cultural and Ethical Issues [online]. Distance Education: An International Journal, 22(1), 122-136.[2]

• Chase, M., Macfadyen, L.P., Reeder, K. and Roche, J. (2002). Intercultural Challenges in Networked Learning: Hard Technologies Meet Soft Skills[3]. First Monday, 7(8) (August 2002).

• Lanham, E. & Zhou, W. (2003). Cultural Issues in Online Learning –Is Blended Learning a Possible Solution? International Journal of Computer Processing of Oriental Languages. 16 (4), 275-292. [5]

• Marinetti, A & Dunn, P (2004). Cultural Adaptation – A Necessity for Global e-Learning. [6]

• McLoughlin, C. (1999). Culturally responsive technology use: developing an on-line community of learners. British Journal of Educational Technology. 30(3), 231-244. [7]

• McLoughlin, C. & Oliver, R. (1999). Instructional Design for Cultural Difference: A Case Study of the Indigenous Online Learning in a Tertiary Context. [8]

• Macfadyen, L. P. (2006). Internet-Mediated Communication at the Cultural Interface. In C. Ghaoui (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction (pp. 373-380). Hershey, PA: The Idea Group, Inc. [link to Macfadyen2006]|}

• Reeder, K., Macfadyen, L. P., Chase, M. and Roche, J. (2004). Negotiating Culture in Cyberspace: Participation Patterns and Problematics. Language Learning and Technology, 8(2), 88-105. [9]