Month: March 2023

Part 1: At the beginning of the reading, Leroy Little Bear (2000) states that colonialism “tries to maintain a singular social order using force and law, suppressing the diversity of human worldviews. … Typically, this proposition creates oppression and discrimination” (p. 77). Think back on your experiences of teaching and learning mathematics — were there aspects of it oppressive and/or discriminating for you or other students?

     Reflecting on my schooling experiences certain situations now do not sit right with me as a future educator. I can remember the first time we were introduced to our three classmates who came to Canada from the Philippines. They quickly became part of our big family, and my classmates still would say they were the “glue” of our class until this day. Though our class immediately loved our new members, even though they did not speak English at the time, our teachers made it obvious they must learn the language before learning math. This may seem like a subtle detail, but my new classmates had experiences that could have been avoided if they could understand math and language parallel. The most significant story I can recall was when we were learning about temperatures in elementary school. One of our new classmates failed to understand because he struggled with the terminology, in his shy nature he was scared to ask for help. One day it was extremely cold and we were going out for recess the teacher asked us about the temperature and told us to “dress for the weather,” being a new Canadian and failing to understand temperature caused our classmate to get severe frostbite on his ears. This memory is one that stuck with every single person in my class, as it was brought up at our graduation ceremony.  

    I have plenty of negative memories from my mathematical experience, though I wouldn’t classify them as oppressive or discriminatory, I would classify them as blatantly inappropriate. I can remember sitting at my desk on the first day of Pre-Calculus 30, and the teacher stated “if you are not prepared to cry this semester, then make sure to drop this class.” I can also remember the endless times of being told “figure it out” or “use what you know” when I tried to ask for help. I eventually gave up on asking, and some of my other classmates began cheating because they felt so helpless and felt “stupid” when they asked for help.

Part 2: After reading Poirier’s article: Teaching mathematics and the Inuit Community, identify at least three ways in which Inuit mathematics challenges Eurocentric ideas about the purposes of mathematics and the way we learn it. 

     The Inuit approach to learning mathematics contrasts the Eurocentric model in a variety of ways. To start, the number systems of each form of mathematics differ; the Inuit model focuses on a base-20 system, and the Eurocentric model focuses on a base-10 system. The major difference between the two mathematical interpretations relies on the learning methods associated with educating learners. The Eurocentric model relies on direct, textbook-style learning where results are often predetermined and absolute, however, the Inuit system relies on natural ways of learning through a verbal number system. The Inuit system contrasts the Eurocentric system because the basis of the Inuit system relies on using experiences to learn rather than using your math skills to live as societally expected. 

Resources 

Bear, L. L. (2000). Jagged worldviews colliding. In M. Batiste (Ed.), Reclaiming Indigenous voice and vision (pp. 77-85). UBC Press. Poirier, L. (2007). Teaching mathematics and the Inuit community, Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 7(1), p. 53-67.

Poirier, L. (2007). Teaching mathematics and the Inuit community, Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 7(1), p. 53-67.

How can teachers maximize engagement among multilingual students?

     While reading Cummins’s article (2019) titled, “How Can Teachers Maximize Engagement among Multilingual Students?” I recognized thematically throughout Cummins ambiguously highlighting the ideas of adaptability and curriculum as praxis. Creating a classroom prioritizing adaptability requires educators to identify inequities and alter learning opportunities towards equitable classrooms. 

     Adaptability will promote engagement by allowing students to feel the tasks proposed throughout learning are achievable. Adapting lessons by allowing students to utilize their lingual differences will enrich learning development.

      Curriculum as praxis is just as vital in promoting engagement and success. Last year, I had the opportunity to live with a multilingual exchange student while attending university. The lessons I learnt from her will impact my future teaching career. Her biggest complaint about our education system was timed tests. She stated that she struggled with comprehending questions when they were written in English. When she struggled with comprehension, she needed to translate them to Spanish before understanding, which the time limit did not allow for. If educators considered her individual learning needs and difficulties that extend beyond school, her success rate and comfortability would increase. 

What are some effective ways to integrate multilingual instructional strategies into classrooms?

     The article (Cummins, 2019) describes many strategies to incorporate multilingual instruction into lessons. Cummins (2019) includes allowing students to work in their home language and promoting the incorporation of homelife into school. One of my favourite strategies to implement students’ personalities and interests into the classroom is Genius Hour which I have mentioned many times before.

To read about Genius Hour, click here

     Genius Hour could be utilized for multilingual students to teach other classmates about their language or something that interests them, incorporating their lingual differences. 

References 

Cummins, J. (2019, February 21). How Can Teachers Maximize Engagement Among Multilingual Students? EdCan Network. https://www.edcan.ca/articles/multilingual-students/

Genius hour. Resources & Guidance from The Learning Accelerator. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://practices.learningaccelerator.org/strategies/genius-hour

What is the purpose of teaching Treaty Ed (specifically) or First Nations, Metis, and Inuit (FNMI) Content and Perspectives (generally) where there are few or no First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples?

Generally, questions regarding why we should teach treaties confuse me. In my head, treaties are one of the most important parts of Canadian History therefore, I don’t understand why they haven’t always been taught in schools. I don’t understand why it is such an ignored topic, and why it continues to be overlooked in schools. 

Treaty Education is vital in growing empathy, compassion, and respect. Throughout my schooling, Treaty Education was relatively ignored. I experienced the direct impacts of this lack of education through hearing stereotypical viewpoints throughout my school but lacking the education to explore why these statements were inappropriate. 

As quoted,

“ Within my classrooms, I had heard stereotypical opinions such as, “First Nations are privileged,” and “it’s not fair that we [whites] don’t get what they do.” Though I disagreed with these statements, they were heard in an environment that was supposed to educate. Peer pressure was common, and I didn’t have the confidence or knowledge to present my opinion. Many times, I was influenced by friends with different perspectives. Although I was living “white privilege”, I didn’t recognize the impact lack of that privilege had on those that weren’t born with it. The feeling that “I wasn’t part of the problem” was prevalent in my environment. Until I realized that although I wasn’t part of the historical decisions, I benefitted my entire life from them, and it is vital that I became part of the solution” (Henrikson, 2021).

The purpose of teaching Treaty Education is so students gain a vital understanding of Canadian History that should be common knowledge. As explained in a video by Cappello (2018), Indigenous students want other students to know what they already do, therefore, increasing the feeling of belonging in the classroom. 

What does it mean for your understanding of the curriculum that “We are all treaty people”?

We all live and play a role in treaties, yet many in society are often ignored because they lack education. I believe “We are all treaty people,” and progressive education has a role in teaching every child how this applies to their life. I would argue if the curriculum incorporated treaty education into every classroom, our commonsense regarding treaties would alter significantly. 

References

Cappello, Michael. (2017, September 6). ECS 210 8.2 – Claire Intro [YouTube Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWY_X-ikmaw

Henrikson, Jacey. (2021). My Journey to Reconciliation [Unpublished manuscript]. The University of Regina.

What will culturally relevant pedagogy look like, sound like, and feel like, in your future classroom? 

Within my future classroom, culturally relevant pedagogy will become an obvious priority. After learning about curriculum as praxis, my understanding of how to formulate lessons and experiences for my students has drastically changed. Within my future classroom, I will attempt to make my classroom a space where students feel mutual respect, reciprocity, and advocacy. 

Look Like

Within my future classroom, culturally relevant pedagogy will be motivated by the theory of curriculum as praxis. My lessons will relate directly to lived experiences of students and have opportunities for student questions and reflection. Prioritizing student-teacher relationships and student-student relationships will allow connection beyond the student as a learner and a person instead. 

Sound Like

Classroom management and discipline in my classroom are still concepts I continually educate myself on. Though I understand disciplining and controlling socialized prejudice and stereotypical behaviours must be obtained throughout the whole school year so students understand expectations. I also understand that classrooms must shift into spaces where students feel heard and like they have a voice. This way educators can progress toward a much more equitable education model. 

Feel Like 

I believe a classroom that progresses towards culturally relevant pedagogy relies on the feeling of discomfort. If students and educators don’t feel uncomfortable, they will struggle to understand problematic topics that progress them toward positive self-growth and mutual understanding. T face this learning process, educators must create a respectful and safe foundation for students to thrive. Understanding that no one is an expert in this form of pedagogy and that both the educator and the students have continual learning opportunities can allow authoritative power to be reduced and the classroom to resolve around a concept of respectful relationships. Everyone involved must devote time to becoming a lifelong learner. 

Process

Deconstruction → Critique → Collaboration → Action → Reflection (Lopez, 2011) 

Reference

Lopez, A. E. (2011). Culturally relevant pedagogy and critical literacy in diverse English classrooms: A case study of a secondary English teacher’s activism and agency. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 10(4), 75-93