Reconciliation in the Classroom: Using BC’s re-designed curriculum to support Indigenous and non-Indigenous students
Presentation by: Nikki L. Yee, John MacCormack
Session C | 10:25 – 10:45 | Room 204
Abstract:
Recently the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada released its Calls to Action, which included several recommendations on how to achieve reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples through education. Non-Indigenous teachers who want to shape their classroom practice according to these recommendations may not feel right about implementing culturally sensitive instruction, or they may feel they are too busy struggling to implement the re-designed curriculum soon to be rolled out in British Columbia. We suggest that teachers can use the re-designed curriculum to address these concerns by adopting a decolonizing approach.
Many points of connection between decolonizing and personal learning approaches can help non-Indigenous teachers efficiently and effectively meet the aims of the new curriculum while supporting the objectives of reconciliation for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. A decolonizing teaching approach involves (1) critiquing existing social structures and (2) re-imagining relationships with an emphasis on prioritizing Indigenous perspectives, interconnectedness, and fostering relationships. Personalized learning approaches put forward in the new curriculum place an emphasis on the core competencies of communication, creative and critical thinking, positive personal and cultural identity, personal awareness and responsibility, and social responsibility. By creating activities that dynamically address the areas of overlap between the two approaches, teachers can effectively meet multiple objectives.
In this presentation we expand our discussion of decolonizing and personalized learning approaches, examining where the two areas overlap. We then move to concrete examples to illustrate how we might begin to think about translating these ideas to classroom activities.
