connection to research – ETEC 521: Indigeneity, Technology and Education (Sept 2011)

My research interests currently lie in two areas (I believe I will require a narrower focus).

1) resources for teachers/students at the intermediate (gr.7-8) level to support indigenous education. Online resources, websites, multimedia, video will be explored along with the use of mentor texts. A focus may be on the residential school system in Ontario.

2) interactive resources/online resources which could be used for aboriginal students in Ontario to earn or recover credits.

An Aboriginal Education Strategy was launched in Ontario in 2007 with specific initiatives to support the learning and achievement of Aboriginal elementary and secondary students. Part of the strategy includes initiatives to increase knowledge and awareness about First Nation, Métis and Inuit histories, cultures and perspectives among all students.

Within the strategy, initiatives include:

Supporting eight Alternative Secondary School Programs to address the learning and cultural needs of urban Aboriginal youth. The programs are run through Native Friendship Centres and help students complete their secondary school diploma.

Developing and implementing curriculum resources for teachers to reach Aboriginal students and to teach all students about First Nation, Métis and Inuit cultures, traditions and histories.

Developing effective strategies to engage First Nation, Métis and Inuit students living in large urban centres and meet their learning needs through the Urban Aboriginal Education Project. Three pilot projects are currently underway in Toronto, Barrie and Thunder Bay.

Providing support to school boards to develop policies for voluntary, confidential Aboriginal student self-identification. This will help school boards gather reliable data to support Aboriginal student achievement. More than 80 school boards and school authorities have adopted or are developing policies.

Helping colleges, universities and Aboriginal institutions develop programs and new curriculum and provide services to ensure that more Aboriginal students participate and graduate.

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/aboriginal/supporting.html

My Research Interests

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.