kti manitoulin

Reflections on the KTI institute                                                  Stan Kozak  November 2017
Big take aways
-Aboriginal learning based on the traditions was holistic and there is great opportunity to continue to explore how traditional insights can inspire and shape learning practices in First Nation's schools-these are rich traditions that offer so many possibilities for educators to become aware of and utilized to enhance learning -this is a great challenge since the learning curve involves evolving from conventional learning into transformative practice but in the context of what is relevant to Aboriginal cultures
-from the discussions that took place -there is great need to support advancing learning in First Nations schools -it seems that many if not most are in the conventional teaching worldview and that parents in these communities apply pressure for more of the same -when they are not working
-we heard of teachers grappling with students in communities under great stresses -an entire additional layer of complexity to those tasked with facilitating learning in these communities

What worked at this institute
-despite being somewhat overly lead -there were 4 facilitators, a program administrator and an elder, the institute was overall successful due to experiential elements outside and inside, some elements of inquiry and some drawing on the input of participants attending through which we got glimpses of Anishenabeg experiences and family experiences in previous times -relevant to learning today
-there were some significant side conversations where individual teachers grappled with their current practice and the wish to apply inquiry/outdoor practices advocated or demonstrated
-leadership of the Elder Josh was essential in bringing authentic Anishenabeg presence to the gathering -a few of the older participants had depth of experience to draw on in this regard
-KTI staff were very well organized as per the site and the meals and overall organization

Enhancements
-the institute did not follow the continually evolving LSF professional inquiry methodology so it would not be fair to apply the criteria we normally use to determine impact and effectiveness (identification of learners questions, participants taking leadership in the learning, documentation of that learning, planning for application, participation in the online sharing  of proceedings, etc)
-as per land based learning we really did not get into this in any deep way -what we focused on was learning outside -important for all early years programs  -this is important and maybe as far as the participants would be open to going
-we could have more formally identified how Anishenabeg traditions can be used to shape and inform learning outside

Walking the talk
-attention to living lightly on the land -let's plan to do recycling and compostable collection and request bringing of cups
-getting outside on day 2 would have been helpful
-fitness -we could have done some walk and talks and explained this as a way of getting our exercise and discussing important issues

Future Possibilities
Goals
Address student Motivation for learning
-an overriding goal for Indigenous learning that seems to be the place to start is  -how do we as educators create school learnings experiences  so that kids feel compelled to attend -where individuals want to attend even when they are ill, when learning is so vital to them that is central to their being -I have experienced this numerous times in my teaching achieved through one of  two ways
1.  create interesting and compelling learning scenarios -often involving audience beyond the classroom where learners see themselves as helpers to others  -or learning experiences where children are in close contact with nature -this is enticement -
2. the second approach is through  authentic inquiry where we  follow their interests -this is intrinsic

Conventional teaching often resorts to an external compelling of students to learn with rewards or punishments -not very effective
When the desire to attend school to learn has been sparked the curriculum can then be also addressed
Unfortunately learning practice in schools seems to be dominated by conventional approaches resulting in part in poor attendance.
What might the land based cultural curriculum be over the grade range?
-we could have brought attention to this great possibility for linking learning to cultural traditions and I think it could be the focus of future land based PD learning experiences
examples
-in early years the focus might be plants that are important and their sensory experiencing, learning their names in Anishinabek
-early grades -traditional shelter construction -honour ingenuity of the people in being able to live with what nature provided
-stories in context whenever possible


-cooking over an open fire experiences
-these are just some guesses on my part -so many would come from the Indigenous educators attending
-from there we would weave in the pedagogy -how to find all the curriculum based on these experiences

Guelph Youth Forum

This forum was secondary teachers and students. We conducted the day entirely from a circle. I have found that this format brings greater accountability for 'presence' and participation from all.Tables were located around the edges of the circle to access when necessary. We went outside for the opening (in a circle) and again later in the morning and as well in the afternoon to connect curriculum to nature and the built/cultural community.
This was indeed an enlightened group of secondary teachers who were very open to hearing about and thinking about evolution of practice as being one of the keys to the change they recognized as necessary. The KBC Question -"How can we engage the young people in our classes with the challenges of our time? What does it take to make that happen?" This brought a thoughtful and deep conversation. I drew their attention again back to the people in the room as being an important support team. Recognizing this they seemed willing to get to know one another on a deeper level than usual. They also were very concerned about the 'wellness' of their students (and themselves!). Empowering students becomes even more critical in this light. Perhaps these are the 'sustainability issues' we need to approach next using all of the 'pieces of the puzzle' we have offered to date under the umbrella of 'student empowerment'.
 -Pamela