This weeks readings challenged my approach to education, reminding me that it is not about simply delivering material, but how it is delivered. The demonstration of how stories connect with Indigenous learners, and how specific stories can be selected or altered for certain lessons made me question the way I have traditionally done lessons and think about how I can change what I do for the future.
A specific quote from this chapter stuck out to me:
“In the Nehinuw view, knowledge acquisition is not enough. Knowledge needs to be complemented with understanding.”.
This really resonated with me because it honestly just makes sense! I think back to my education experience as a child, and so much of it was being taught something without a clear sense of purpose. It’s hard enough to inspire people to learn, providing understanding of why they are learning something feels like an obvious but often overlooked motivator. As I design lessons for the future, I am going to be very intentional in connecting the “Why” behind learning in an attempt to have my learners better connect with the content in my lessons.
These readings also reminded me of a conversation I had with Christine during our breakout rooms. In our discussion, she shared with me how in her class she was able to take an approach to the content where students would share stories of their lived experiences together. She mentioned how as part of this practice, she was able to work with students to form assessments, and would issue the assessments only when she was sure everyone was comfortable and ready. As I was reading the chapters this week I kept reflecting on this conversation, and how Christine’s process was applicable. Our book emphasizes the importance of lived experience for forming meaning and understanding of the curriculum for students. This type of practice helps students connect new knowledge to how they already live and know, helping them understand the relevance and importance of the lessons. It was inspiring to hear how Christine was putting this into action, and got me thinking about how I could do this for my lessons as well.
Overall, the content within these chapters opened my eyes to teaching in a more holistic way. They helped me recognize that what I want to further develop in my own practice is a stronger connection to process, which I will work on in my projects for this class. As Linda pointed out, teaching with these principles in mind are not only beneficial for Indigenous learners, but rather all learners. As such, I will be taking what I have learned in these chapters, and my discussion with Christine, and adding practiced into my UDL toolbox to benefit all learners that I work with!
