Mr. Hood's Learning Journey

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Tag: First Nations

"Connections" by moonty is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Reflections on Technology, Inquiry-based Learning, and First Nations

July 23, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Introduction

Living overseas in South Korea and in Bali, it brings me back to the excitement and exhilaration of learning about new cultures, ways of doing things, and the people I met. Being in an intercultural relationship and being part of stories half way across the world fills my spirit and reminds me to be thoughtful of others. It is also a way in which I connect to my students in the classroom. Curriculum shouldn’t always be about numeracy in math class, or biology in science class, because the world is just bigger than the box we are sitting in. At times I will get off topic, and my students will get off topic as well. However, in those moments we learn more about each other and start to build a community in the classroom when we share experiences.

Personal Photo of Soraksan, South Korea

Family Vacation Photo of Soraksan, South Korea, 2005

Over the last couple of weeks listening to Trevor Mackenzie on inquiry based learning in the classroom, Dr. Shauneen Pete with indigenous education, and Jeff Hopkins, the founder of the Pacific School of Inquiry and Innovation, has shifted my thought process on the role of myself as an educator and the role of students. Presently I am teaching multiple courses in digital media, numeracy, and science. As always I am trying new ideas and strategies to reach learners. I have been making changes with formative assessment, interactive science journals, and giving students greater ownership of their learning, but I feel students could be more engaged and excited about learning.  Over the last couple of weeks three big ideas keep resonating in my mind:

  • Inquiry-based learning
  • The use of technology to connect students
  • Aboriginal perspectives and ways of doing

Article Summary

With my 3 big ideas interweaving with each other and reading the article Cross-Cultural Collaborative Inquiry: A Collective Case Study with Students from China and the US, it opens and reinforces strategies and ideas in which student collaboration could take place (Spires, Medlock Paul, Himes, & Yuan, 2018). In the article a framework and some guidance on how,” cross-cultural collaborative disciplinary inquiry fosters students’ demonstration and development of educational cosmopolitan capacities” (pg 31) is provided. The article also outlines that the, “theoretical framework for this study builds upon educational cosmopolitanism, project-based learning, and disciplinary literacy” (pg 29). Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all people are citizens of the world, that we are a community that can be connected without borders. Students in China and in the United states collaborated together on a project that looked at water samples in both countries and to “come up with sustainable solutions for mitigating and/or resolving different forms of water ecology threats” (p. 31). The project the students tackled has its challenges with communication, language barriers, and the 13 hour apart time zone. However, students were able to use technology such as WeChat and Quip, to bridge the gaps in communicating with each other.

The study also made note that prior learning in the U.S. high school on water ecology took place, which brings into question the idea of looking at water ecology as being student driven  and what could have changed if students were given a greater range of topics. I also find the project takes a long period of time, requires prior knowledge and has multiple layers of activities that are required to facilitate the project. The researchers also mentioned the U.S. students started to be more directly involved with decision making, and in addition there was support from the authors who acted ast the PBI (Project Based Inquiry) Global team coaches. However, the authors of the case study give the reader a knowledgeable framework create learning between two remote communities.

Applying Concepts from the Article into a Personal Framework

In Canada we have a multicultural community of people in a large area. I believe through student inquiry we could reflect student, interest, voice, and self identity for all people. Reading the article brought up the following 3 questions in relation to my 3 big ideas with inquiry based learning, aboriginal perspective and ways of doing, and the use of technology:

  • Could we apply an inquiry based model in which we use technology for collaboration between two different classrooms that are geographically remote from each other?
  • What forms of technology could we use and what are some privacy issues surrounding the use of technology?
  • How could we apply learning from others and First Nations perspectives when it comes to sharing/collaborating with each other while making it unique and personalized?

Inquiry-based Model

Jeff Hopkins presentation gave me a sense of how inquiry based learning can look when it is student centered and not teacher centered. As well, the model at the Pacific School of Inquiry and Innovation is a unique learning environment where the school program and environment is driven on inquiry-based learning. Considering my school environment, Trevor Mackenzie’s ideas from conversation in class on inquiry-based learning and the scaffolding process seem more tangible for students for the goal of being independent on the inquiry process. Once students have practiced and completed an inquiry based project, those skills can then be applied into collaboration with other students in a remote community of Canada. The possibilities for a project between two remote classrooms could be cross-curricular where each individual works on different elements and brings them together, or it could be a topic both individuals have an interest in, or it could be something else that is student driven.

Technology

The technology pieces may change as we are always exploring, developing and using new software to make connections towards each other. Trello or Quip appear to be a solid framework in which students could collaborate on a project with each other, and video conferencing could take place with choices such as WhatsApp or WeChat. A framework of expectations for students to communicate respectfully and in a safe environment can be explored with guidelines from the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and Cloud Computing Guidelines for Public Bodies. Collaboration between remote communities also sits nicely into the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards for students, with components of digital citizenship and global collaboration (“ISTE Standards for Students,” n.d.).

First Nations

In my school we have First Nations learners who are a minority of the overall school population. It could be enriching to have a collaborative activity with another Canadian school that identifies itself as First Nations. Dr. Pete Shauneen points out that, “learners come to the classroom with rich identities which could drive curriculum choice” (Pete, 2017, p. 62). As well, a larger distance between two communities could provide more insight into the diversity of culture and perspectives between students. A map of traditional territories in Canada

Summary

Writing the blog and critically analyzing how I want to move forward as a teacher is therapeutic, exciting and empowering. I grew up in the same community where I teach, but left my hometown to explore and experience the world around me. My professional learning networks (PLN) needs more development, and understand the resources that I have collected so far are just scratching the surface to the depth of experiences and knowledge others have in technology, inquiry-based learning, and First Nations ways of knowing. I am looking forward to the journey ahead.

 

References

ISTE Standards for Students. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students

Pete, S. (2017). Idle No More: Radical Indigeneity in Teacher Education. Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, 53-72. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-46328-5_3

Spires, H. A., Medlock Paul, C., Himes, M., & Yuan, C. (2018). Cross-Cultural Collaborative Inquiry: A Collective Case Study with Students from China and the US. International Journal of Educational Research, 91, 28-40. doi:10.1016/j.ijer.2018.07.002

 

Resources and Blogs:

-The Academy of Inquiry Based Learning  http://www.inquirybasedlearning.org/blog

-Data Map of Traditional Territories, Languages, and Treaties of First Nation’s People    https://native-land.ca/

-Freedom of Information and Potection of Privacy Act http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/96165_00

-Indigenous Studies Portal Research Tool  http://iportal.usask.ca/index.php?sid=301227513&t=index

-Pacific School of Inquiry and Innovation https://learningstorm.org/

-Quip https://quip.com/

-School District 57 Resources to Support Truth and Reconciliation: http://prin.ent.sirsidynix.net/client/en_US/dlc/?rm=ORANGE+SHIRT+D0%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7Ctrue&dt=list

-Trevor Mackenzie: Inquiry Mindset https://www.trevormackenzie.com/

-WhatsApp https://www.whatsapp.com/

-WeChat https://pc.weixin.qq.com/

 

Hashtags and Twitter Lists :

#cdnedchat

#IndigenousEd

#InquiryMindset

@bcedchat

@ChristineYH

@courosa

@CUEBC

@datruss

@Desmos

@DLCsd57

@erlcpl

@holden

@hopkinsjeff

@InqSchls

@inquirymaths

@M_Berra57

@mikekaechele

@noelle_pepin

@RHVickers

@shareski

@sivers

@Sylvia_l

@trev_mackenzie

The White Settler Teacher: Perspectives of Decolonizing Education

July 19, 2019 / / 0 Comments

I am a white male teacher, mid 40’s, have a partner in marriage, 2 children, a home owner, and on occasion go on a holiday. Hard work, support from friends, family, teachers, and peers allowed me to reach my goals through the structure of the Canadian educational school system.  However, the school system itself is not inclusive to all. I had the opportunity to read Meschachakanis, A Coyote Narrative: Decolonising Higher Education and to hear Dr. Pete’s words through a video conference. The goal of my blog is to follow through the narrative of Dr. Pete from her dialogue and through her writing, reflect on my life experiences both personal and professional, and find my own pathway under the umbrella of decolonizing education. The final goal is to follow through of being the reader and consider pathways to being a researcher.

Although I wasn’t in the room with Dr. Pete, as my course work is through video conference, it felt like I was. Dr. Pete was very candid about her personal life, the history of her ancestors, and the stories of her adolescence. She explained her motivation to get into education as a way to be an agent of change. From her telling, Dr. Pete chronicles the roadblocks of completing post secondary education, teaching in high school, defending her Masters Thesis, teaching the future teachers of Saskatchewan at the university, and to finally quitting her job. As Dr. Pete put it, she had enough of the system. I think her frustrations are best framed from a quote in Meschachakanis, A Coyote Narrative: Decolonising Higher Education as, “I’m over teaching (white) students that they have an identity and it is white and privileged.” Dr. Pete is passionate about decolonizing  the system, and has made decisions in her life that are true to her thoughts.

 

The white teacher (me)

Members of my immediate family all identify themselves as white. My mom is a retired school teacher, and my father as a child went to a private school in Southern Ontario. My great-grandparents were settlers in Northern Saskatchewan around Meadow Lake. The point is this, I am the product of white settlers, and the school system has been made for my success. I have been brought up in a culture that is best described by Dr. Pete as white privileged.

I’ve had the opportunity to live in South Korea for 8 years, marry a woman from Bali who doesn’t identify as white, and have children of mixed ancestry. My personal life may reflect an openness to cultures and people, but I am still a part of the dominant culture of a post-colonial society. I feel that being transparent in my ownership of who I am and where I came from provides openness to the truth and reconciliation process with First Nations people.

 

Messages of change to the Reader

What is Dr. Pete’s goal, her message to educators, to me? Dr. Pete outlined in her conversation with us that she wants reciprocity in decolonizing the educational system. As mentioned in class, she explained that it cannot be only one sided responsibility of an aboriginal educator to teach the white people. Dr. Pete targets the readers of the settler society, and challenges the educators to come to terms with their, “whiteness.” Dr. Pete formulates a path in reconciliation where “…only through both Indigenising the curriculum and decolonizing the academy can we possibly achieve reconciliation” Meschachakanis, A Coyote Narrative: Decolonising Higher Education pg 180.

The delivery of her message to the reader of settler identity, which is me, layers itself with the voice she calls Coyote. Coyote and Dr. Pete are one and the same, but Coyote, as Dr. Pete explains, gives voice to what could not be said. Coyote tells the story of being marginalized, while Dr. Pete explains the structures she has worked in. The narrative Dr. Pete provides through text with Coyote gives a sense of change, of doing things differently, and by providing an alternative thought process for the reader to understand her viewpoint.

What Next Researcher?

For two years I had the opportunity to at first be an observer, and then take a greater leadership role in using Resititution and Restorative Practice in the classroom of an elementary school. I  am very grateful to the educators in our school district who are mentoring teachers and making change happen. However, I do recognize that there are deficits in my own teaching practice in decolonizing education and in the school culture. I am encouraged by Dr. Pete’s words with getting into the messiness of it, normalize it, use self study to do the research, and get better at decolonizing education. Being here, and being part of the Master’s of Education Program is itself a conduit for change. Exploring choices, focusing on a specialty (for me it’s presently high school math and science), and using self study to indigenize our education is my plan in moving forward.

A podcast of Dr. Shauneen Pete on Indigenous Research Gaps can be found here.

 

Dr. Shauneen Pete in presently the Indigenous Resurgence Coordinator at the University of Victoria, and continues to work on being an agent for change with educators. Thank-you for the time you provided us to our Master’s of Education class and your candor.

 

 

 

 

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