Workshop presented at 2008 ICT Summit – First Nation Technology Council Conference, February 21 - 23rd, 2008 Vancouver Coast Plaza, 1763 Comox St, Vancouver. Presented on February 22nd.
Workshop presented at Seeing Ourselves in the Mirror: Giving Life to Learning, Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre, February 28, 29, March 1, 2008, Westin Bayshore, Vancouver. Presented on March 1st.
This workshop presented the dynamics of our BCcampus-funded project.
Providing appropriate online content and learning strategies for First Nations students is challenging. We want to provide an accessible, comprehensive resource that provides direction and technique to all teachers across the province and beyond. There is a need to explore and incorporate Pre-Colonial and First Nations-situated Pedagogy into online course design and delivery. We also need to propose teaching and learning strategies that meet First Nation student needs and that fit the online environment.
This workshop addressed the first phase of the project: best practices. Working with workshop participants we explored effective instructional strategies and essential elements of an online course that ensure success for Indigenous learners.
What do we mean when we say First Nations Pedagogy? Although the notion of Pedagogy is essentially Colonial or Eurocentric in origin, it can be used to draw well-deserved attention to the distinct and noteworthy ways that Pre-Colonial education was offered and engaged in. Distinct practices used for millennia to teach both “theory” and hands-on practical knowledge were repressed and banned during Colonization, yet the methods have endured and are both unique and extremely valuable in the 21st century.
Online content that is designed using First Nations Pedagogy methods is not only valuable for Indigenous students – it would be very powerful to teach ALL students in this way BUT all Indigenous students have the legal right to be taught using traditional methods, no matter what educational context they are studying in. In fact, the efforts to afford a liberal education for all university students is a mere whisper of the potential that First Nations pedagogy promises: well rounded, holistic, intelligent professionals.
Pre-Colonial educational approaches are profoundly different from those of the current mainstream educational system. Holistic (physical, mental, spiritual, emotional) growth and development of the person, Experiential learning, Oral traditions, and learner-centeredness are key elements of the First Nations pedagogical approach. Further, and of vital importance, is the fact that it is grounded in Spirituality.
