A Call to Personal Research: Indigenizing Your Curriculum
This activity relates to the blog post “A Call to Personal Research: Indigenizing Your Curriculum” by Adrienne Castellon (2017), assistant professor and stream director for Masters of Educational Leadership at Trinity Western University. The article is about how to integrate Indigenous ontologies, epistemologies, and pedagogies into your curriculum.
The author suggests the following means of changing the culture of our teaching practices:
- Reaching out to local Indigenous communities and starting a dialogue that privileges place-based education – the stories and history of the area;
- Noticing the problems, disparities, and injustices in my own community and facilitating inquiry- based learning to respond to them;
- Acknowledging the role of intergenerational trauma and engaging appropriate processes such as Circles that encourage deep and respectful listening and give voice to each student;
- Not over-generalizing so that the diversity of First Nations and Metis in Canada is respected; and,
- Having the courage to step into the messiness of the challenge knowing we do not have the answers and may be unsure of the way forward.
Large group discussion (10 min)
- Where we are doing some of these practices in the BSN program and where we could make room for some of them.
For personal reflection
What does the author mean by a) experiential learning, b) shifting paradigms, c) intentional resource selection, d) cultural responsiveness, and e) restorative principles, and how do these compare to how we use these terms in nursing education?
Key Takeaways
When developing your course, ask yourself Halbert and Kaser’s (2013) spirals of inquiry questions:
- Does every learner have genuine opportunities to develop a deeper understanding of and respect for Indigenous ways of knowing that are such an integral part of our Canadian cultural landscape?
- Do all learners have the chance to teach someone else and through doing so contribute to the community as a whole?
- Do Indigenous students see themselves reflected in the curriculum on an ongoing basis and not just as a ‘one off ‘ or as a special unit?
- Is deep listening a part of learners’ every day experience?
- To what extent are learners expected to do the best they can on all tasks while keeping an eye on how they can help others?
- Does every learner feel his or her voice is valued?
- What are the opportunities for learners to express themselves in a variety of ways?
- Is oral storytelling valued?
- Are young learners connected to senior members of their communities?
- Do learners respect the knowledge and experiences of elders?
