First peoples Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors
For many technology education teachers, the goal of their field is to direct students to potential careers in the trades and introduce them to hands-on design-focused project-based learning. While this goal is important it is not necessarily a focus of the First Peoples’ Principles of Learning (FPPL). What the first principle of the FPPL does explore is the relationships between students and the people they interact with and land they live on. It encourages educators to support student’s well-being and relationships with family, community, the land, spirits, and ancestors. The connections formed through this type of learning may personalize the experience for the student and give their learning real world outcomes and consequences. Further, it encourages the growth of students in their relationship with the land they live on, the people they live and interact with, and the history they come from.
The following are some possible approaches and ideas that can be adapted to any technology education shop or classroom.
Connect projects and lessons to self, family, and community
Community-based learning projects can strengthen a community by focusing on connections and encouraging parent, Elder, and community member involvement (Battiste, 2013; Child, 2015). By connecting the project to the community and the community to the project, the potential for learning, growth, and connection all add to the betterment of student learning and the community at large.
Technology education’s curriculum focus’ heavily on the design process. By including peers, family, Elders, and the broader community in the design process, students may discover many ideas they had not considered while strengthening connections between students and others both inside and outside the classroom.
Use storytelling as a tool for learning and making connections
Allowing students to share experiences and listen to one another’s stories creates opportunity for the building of new meaning into students’ own experiences. As students share their stories and are honoured by others they may come to understand and appreciate the storytelling processes within Indigenous and Metis peoples’ storytelling traditions. This pedagogical approach works to build respectful relationships between teachers, students, and possibly even entities outside the classroom. This in turn creates a safe, caring space of trust, kindness, and empathy (Battiste, 2013). By creating trust within the classroom, students may be more willing to take chances and make mistakes leading to potentially greater learning opportunities for the classroom and school community.
Creating space for story telling in the classroom can take many forms. This could take the form of a learning/talking circle and discussing a subject or problem and opening the floor to students’ points of view and experiences. It could also be inviting an Elder to participate in the classroom and share their knowledge and stories with students (If they wish to). To gain family involvement, you could ask students to pose a question or ask for stories from their parents, guardians, or other family members about a subject and record their answer via video/audio/written format to be shared with the class.
Encourage self, peer, family, and community reflection/assessment of student learning
Self assessment offers students the opportunity to reflect on their learning, failures, and triumphs. By being honest and mindful of their learning, students may take more from the lesson/project then they may have otherwise had they not taken the time to reflect on their work. This process can be done relatively simply by having a student mark themselves using the same marking criteria the teacher is using for assessment. Students should state where they succeeded and where they need more work developing their skills and knowledge.
By having peers, family, and trusted community members also involved in the assessment process, students can get a perspective outside the students own and the teachers. This can open the lesson/project to ideas and points of view beyond the initial scope. It allows for the project to potentially take on a whole new focus with a greater connection to people outside the classroom and to concepts beyond the discipline being studied. The teacher’s assessment can also be used for this process or other less formal methods of assessment can be utilized. For example, a showcasing of the completed project to the entire class or even the greater community offers the opportunity for peers, family, and community members to see the completed project and discuss it with the student. Students could then interact with others, learning differing points of view and explaining/discussing the knowledge/skills gained from the project.
Explore the materials and resources used for the project/lesson and their connection to the land and environment
As most land-based resources are finite, it is important for technology educators to discuss the relationship between humankind and the land we use and live on with their students. Many technology education curricula already focus on the environment, the use of resources taken from the land, and exploring how they can be used sustainably. Because of this, discussion of resources and sustainability is often already covered by many technology educators in some manner.
It is important in many Indigenous cultures to respect the land and use its resources wisely. This occasionally, puts some Indigenous nations at odds with governments and corporations who have a more euro-centric/capitalist mindset. These differing approaches should be discussed and explored in the classroom. This point may be connected in a local context depending on the local nations. For example, in Sooke, BC, the T’Souke First Nation has built greenhouses and installed solar panels to create a more sustainable future for the people of the nation. They did this using the Seventh-Generation principle as a guide; to work towards a sustainable future for the coming seven generations. They now grow their own food and can power multiple buildings with solar energy. This concept opens many opportunities to discuss sustainability, local food production, and solar energy concepts.
Understand the connection between the land with self, family, community, spirit, and ancestors
This concept builds upon the last one but lends more focus to the social and political aspects of sustainability both historically and in a modern context. By connecting lessons on sustainability, resource management, and environmental concerns with local Indigenous and Non-Indigenous points of view (both historically, in the present, and in a future context), students will be afforded the opportunity to build a sense of greater empathy and understanding between themselves and the other entities. This discussion could be kept within the classroom but could also include local Elders and other appropriate members of the community to present a broader variety of points of view, further enriching the discussion. The addition of an Elder, in this scenario, could alleviate the teacher of personally taking on the discussion of connections of students to the spirits and ancestors, a subject they may have no authority discussing in depth.
The connection of the self to the land also takes on another form as the relationship to the land is at the heart of Indigenous education. The role of the teacher is taken on by the animals, plants, and landscapes (Marker, 2004). Everyday interactions with family, community, and environment are all teachers in the broad understanding of what Indigenous education is (Simpson, 2014). This can be difficult to address in the current education system, especially at the high school level where classes are short, field trips can be costly, and journeys into nature can be difficult or restricted due to location. Despite these hurdles, it is important to try and get outside the classroom sometimes to get the lived experience.
Why would a woodwork class want to learn about trees and wood as a concept when you can go outside and interact with the local living trees and plants? This could lead to greater discoveries of the importance of trees, not only to humans, but to the ecosystem (plants, bugs, animals, etc.). Further, it could lead to discussions of the various uses of different types of trees historically, in a current context, and Indigenous uses, such as for canoes, shelter, bark weaving, etc.