How this Faculty Training Module (FTM) Can be Used
to Enhance Pedagogy and Curriculum

Photo Credit: Martin Bennie from Unsplash

What to Expect

As stated in Pulling Together: A Guide for Curriculum Developers”

“We all live on Indigenous lands, many of which were never ceded but were stolen by settler governments. Those of us who are settlers are considered to be visitors in the lands of Indigenous Peoples. Out of respect, we must come to know, understand, and value Indigenous culture. This means learning about local cultures, languages, and protocols”.

Before we dive in, it’s important to first note that there are as many perceptions as there are people in this world. Knowing this, it’s important to recognize that there is no one way of knowing, seeing, or learning, and this is true for the uniquely diverse Indigenous Peoples across many First Nations throughout a place that some people call Canada and some people call Turtle Island and the many other names for land.

In this faculty training module, you are invited to engage with the story of regenerative landscaping.  The story of regenerative landscaping uses the approach of Etuaptmumk or Two-Eyed seeing, to figuratively build a landscape.

The regenerative landscape approach intends to enhance the existing curriculum, bridge horticulture education and industry toward a reflective and greener mindset, and employ greener practices. The module is divided into five chapters, which cover the planning, construction (soft and hardscape), and maintenance of a landscape using green thinking, practices, and skills.

Teaching and Learning Examples for Instructors

Yep, the authors are horticulture educators too! The enormous amount of time and energy it takes to (re)design and deliver meaningful learning activities and diverse assessments that align with the required curriculum, student interests, industry expectations, and trending issues was at the forefront when creating this professional development module.

In response, this module was developed to provide relevant examples and materials for horticulture educators (that’s you!) to reflect on their teaching philosophy and ease the transition of this content or similar content to enhance curriculum and ultimately student learning.

With that in mind, it is important to note that this module was created as a resource for you to pull from, learn from, or build upon.  We hope that you can refer to the content in this module, meaningfully question and consider the content as it relates to yourself and your local context and industry, and practice integrating change into your pedagogy and the curriculum.

Within each chapter and topic, you will find examples and attempts to bridge the topics of climate change and Indigenous Knowledge and perspectives into the existing horticulture curriculum through reflection and various resources.

Here are a few ways that we anticipate this faculty training module can be used:

1. You might explore new information that supports the development of your teaching philosophy through the investigation of your pedagogical and curriculum choices and their impact on student learning.
2. There may be new information on relevant topics such as climate change, Indigenous Knowledge and perspectives, Indigenous principles of learning, and green skills and practices.
3. You may discover new ways to design and present content to learners, including new or authentic voices and perceptions.
4. You may discover new assessment methods or learning intentions integrated into the content as examples.

Let’s dig in!

Photo by Osama Khan on Unsplash

Please join us.