Module 1 – Weblog 2 – Incorporating Aboriginal Culture

Incorporating Aboriginal Culture into Curriculum

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/abed/shared.pdf

This is the Ministry of Education’s site, specifically the Aboriginal Education portion.   I thought about showing this: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/abed/agreements/quesnelframework.htm.  However, I quickly discovered Quesnel Aboriginal Enhancement Agreement is expired.  This was strange to me as we are working on it today at our District Non-Instructional day.  The Ministry document will be invaluable to my final project as it lays out how to incorporate culture into curriculum.  Moreover, it was produced in 2006, so many of its PLOs (prescribed learning outcomes) will be outdated.  But, that will not limit its effectiveness.

The document begins by discussing how to set up instruction to effectively teach Aboriginal content.  The teacher needs to develop strong local community links to access the expertise that exists locally.  In addition, the teacher must always be cognizant that some of the history and issues discussed may be sensitive and cause emotional distress.  The article then briefly discusses the history of Aboriginal people in BC, but fails to mention many of atrocities faced.  Also, oddly enough, page 14 contained a hand drawn Circle of Courage or medicine wheel, yet no mention of it is made…

The reminder of the document gets to the meat and potatoes of the topic, integration.  The article is divided by grade groupings.  Instructional strategies are divided into primary, intermediate, and high school, and then further divided by subject matter.  Ironically enough, the document is very comprehensive and offer not only integration ideas, but teaching tips, resources, vocabulary, etc.  The document is well done, but for some strange reason, does not extend past grade 10.  Perhaps this is due to the singularity of subject in grade 11 and 12.

The appendix of the document provides sample lesson plans for teachers to use to bring in some outer sources.  Each lesson plan is tied to an IRP (integrated resource package) goal or PLO, so they seem very focused.  As well, each lesson plan offers assessment advice.  The lesson plans, albeit a little dry, would be a great starting point for a teacher looking to integrate some Aboriginal content.

The ministry site will be a great site for my project as it contains the most current data on Aboriginal graduation rates, as well as satisfaction survey results.

TM