My Professional Masters of Education Learning Journey

Over the past few weeks, I have explored and reflected on ways to incorporate Indigenous education and perspectives into the mainstream classroom.  I would like to go back to my initial inquiry and reflection question and consolidate what I have learned throughout these past few weeks of research and I would also like to add an extension component to my reflection process as noted in the question of Part II below.   Part I Consolidation of Reflections and New Learning How can education be re-conceptualized to include  Indigenous knowledge and education and how does this new conception promote innovation in teaching and learning? I believe that a reconceptualization of Canadian curriculum, across all  provinces, would need to be explored further in order to move beyond assimilation and towards a  decolonized education at the system level. Through this reflective exploration I have learned about ways to Indigenize the curriculum and classroom. Many of the practices highlighted in the lit

CRS...What is it and what do we need to understand about it? The article entitled, Culturally Responsive Schooling for Indigenous Youth: A Review of the Literature by Castagno & Brayboy, is extremely relevant and practical to my professional context of practice and I chose to use some of the details from the article as a way to deepen my understanding of Indigenous education. It highlighted for me the complexities of creating culturally responsive schooling systems. The authors state that “ truly culturally responsive learning for Indigenous youth is a highly complex endeavor that requires systemic change within and across a number of levels in our schooling system” (Castagno, A., et. al., 2008, p.943).  The authors go on to explain in detail scholars’ arguments on the learning styles of Indigenous youth and they caution the reader to think critically about stereotypical, racist and sexist constructs that exist with the mainstream classroom. Castagno & Brayboy note that the mo

In this blog post I will share some ideas of teacher resources that I have come to learn about that can help to support the infusion of Indigenous education, knowledge and perspectives in the mainstream classroom.  I have created a list of beautiful resources, websites and texts that could be helpful to classroom teachers when planning for the infusion of Indigenous knowledge and curriculum in classrooms.  It will also help to support me in my work with the Indigenous student success teachers and all School based Leaders. I am so thrilled to find such a rich variety of resources that can be used to support the integration of Indigenous education in the mainstream classroom.  1. The Power of Story in the Classroom In Indigenous cultures one of the most important teaching strategies is story telling. David Robertson,  a Cree author based in Winnipeg, writes books for readers of all ages. He has curated a list of 48 books by Indigenous authors that can be used to support classroom program

How can education be re-conceptualized to include Indigenous knowledge and education and how does this new conception promote innovation in teaching and learning? "A conception of curriculum implies a particular purpose of education with appropriate content and organization" (Sowell, E.J., 2005, p.38). Current Education Culture: Academic/Rationalist Conception This conception continues to endure as the dominant and recurring curriculum conception across most Grades 1 to 12 curricula. Subject matter is the focus  and acquiring an understanding of the core disciplines involves learning its content, conceptual frameworks and ways of thinking. Scholar Academic Ideology ~ The primary goal is to help students learn the accumulated knowledge of an academic discipline . What every one of our students need and would benefit from.... ... A re-conceptualized mashup towards an Innovative Curriculum Conception that has been re-imagined and changed to include Indigenous Education and know