Category — Module 4

An article by Paul Hughes discusses Aboriginal ways of learning and learning styles. After presenting some background information on Aboriginal education in Australia, he describes some of the links between culture and learning styles, and provides a new model of learning.  I found his discussion on the primary and secondary differences between Aboriginal and western learners very helpful.

http://www.aare.edu.au/97pap/hughp518.htm

Phillips Indian Educators: Outside the Box/Within the Circle

Best Practices of Indigenous Education

As an American non-profit organization Phillips Indian Educators seek to “dramatically improve education for Indian students by ensuring that all educators or Indian students are knowledgeable enough to competently incorporate indigenous best practices into their teaching”. The ad-hoc group is currently composed of Native educators and administrators, working together to face the challenges faced by Native children and young adults in charter and public schools. The website provides a set of best practices of Indigenous Pedagogy and provides resources based on four holistic values in Indigenous learning: knowledge, respect, sharing and wisdom.

Experiential Learning in an Indigenous Context: Integration of place, experience and criticality in educational practice

By Kevin O’Connor

This is a 123 page report on using experiential learning to enhance indigenous learning. The Executive Summary states that many of the programs outlined in the report “successfully utilize experiential and placed-based initiatives to address the lack of success and disengagement amongst Indigenous students by promoting a holistic form of education that values the importance of place and its cultural knowledge” (O’Connor, 2010, p.4). The author states that “ The primary objective of this research is to discover which elements of experiential and place-based education lead to greater engagement of Indigenous students and improved educational outcomes” (p. 4).

First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning  

This is an amazing resource that introduces the First Nations Holistic Lifelong Learning Model in the form of a ‘pedagogical tree’ where each part of the tree portrays a different dimension of personal development: spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental, “through which learning is experienced holistically.” According to the website “lifelong learning for First Nations peoples is grounded in experiences that embrace both indigenous and Western knowledge traditions, as depicted in the tree’s root system, Sources and Domains of Knowledge. Just as the tree draws nourishment through its roots, the First Nations person learns from and through the natural world, language, traditions and ceremonies, and the world of people (self, family, ancestors, clan, community, nation and other nations). Any uneven root growth can destabilize the learning system. The root system also depicts the intertwining presence of indigenous and Western knowledge, which forms the tree trunk’s core, where learning develops” (“Describing the Model”, para. 2).

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.

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

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]

1. Can an individual truly engage with another culture and learn about it without a deep self-examination of their own cultural values? Explain.
2. What is the difference between cross cultural education and multicultural education?
   Two of the questions for reflection from Module 4 have provided me with direction for my paper.
   I am living, sharing, and contributing to a district in which there is no recognized territory.
   Who are our FN students? How do we provide of their cultural needs when the cultural identities are so diverse? Cross cultural education? What might that look like and would it support well being and success? How can/should technology play a part?

   Canadian Council on Learning, Redefining how Success is Measured in First Nations, Inuit and Métis Learning (Ottawa: 2007).

   Statistics and Maps Aboriginal Portal

   The State of Aboriginal Learning in Canada: A Holistic Approach to Measuring Success 2006