Theme 9: Broadening our Cultural Understanding

Goal #3: Barriers preventing First Nations, Métis and Inuit learner success are identified, and removed by the school community.

Sit in a sharing circle and share stories about times you have learned about other cultures, for example by attending cultural events, dances, dinners, through movies and literature.

Connect with one another by splitting into pairs and taking turns asking and answering questions such as:

• “What brought you to this workshop?”• “How do you think culture can affect our learning?”• “What is your favorite pastime?”• “What does culture mean to you?”

Activity: Sharing Circle

Activity: Four Questions

Divide into two groups—one large and one small. The small group must leave the room and wait in the hall until called. The small group is asked back into the room and the game is played.

Discuss how the game made you feel:

• As someone who is asked to do things that seem odd so that they fit in with the group (large group)

• As someone who feels that everyone else is speaking another language (small group)

Activity: The Secret Language Game

FNMI Values and Behaviours

Note: The following points are a generalization and may vary from community to community.

Personal differences:

Quietness or silence:

FNMI values and behaviours Positive teacher response

• Respect the unique individual differences among people

• Stay out of others’ affairs• Verbalize personal thoughts of

opinions only when asked

• Return these courtesies as an expression of mutual respect. Discuss these values with the class when encouraging respectful interaction.

FNMI values and behaviours Positive teacher response

• When angry or uncomfortable, often remain silent (especially in social situations)

• Do not perceive quietness or silence as indifference. Use other cues, what you know about the student and ask the student how they feel.

FNMI Values and Behaviours (continued)

Patience:

Open Work Ethic:

FNMI values and behaviours Positive teacher response

• Virtue of patience is based on the belief that things unfold over time

• Is needed to demonstrate respect, reach group consensus and allow time for “second thought”

• Avoid pressuring Aboriginal students to make quick decisions or responses. Allow them adequate time to process the information and give a thoughtful answer.

FNMI values and behaviours Positive teacher response

• Believe work should be directed towards a distinct purpose and is done when it needs to be done

• Only that which is actually needed is accumulated through work (this supports a non-materialistic view)

• Busy work should be avoided, as it goes against this concept and school work should be shown to have an immediate and authentic purpose. For example, have students complete projects that will benefit/involve their own community (e.g., recycling campaign).

Mutualism:

Nonverbal Orientation:

FNMI Values and Behaviours (continued)

FNMI values and behaviours Positive teacher response

• Promotes a sense of belonging and solidarity with group members working towards security and consensus

• Goes against the competitive, grade-oriented North American school environment (e.g., promoting individual success and achievement)

• Incorporate cooperative activities on an equal footing as competitive activities. For example, the school could emphasize that all those that try out for a team are able to participate

FNMI values and behaviours Positive teacher response

• Tend to prefer listening to speaking – rarely “talk for talking’s sake”

• Talk, just as work, must have a purpose

• Emphasis on affective rather than verbal communication

• Avoid pressing a class discussion or rapid questions – use the inquiry approach, role playing or simulation to assess whether they understand a concept. For example, have students reenact historic events or key scenes from literature studied.

Seeing and Listening:

Time Orientation:

FNMI Values and Behaviours (continued)

FNMI values and behaviours Positive teacher response

• Storytelling, oratory and experiential and observational learning are highly developed in Aboriginal culture

• Balance teaching methods that emphasize speaking with those that emphasize listening and observation. For example, have students watch a video or guest speaker and recount what they learned.

FNMI values and behaviours Positive teacher response

• Believe things happen when they are ready to happen

• Time is relatively flexible and generally not structured

• Allow for flexible scheduling within practical limits. For example, allow for flexibility in deadlines or allow students to create their own deadlines, when feasible.

Orientation to present:

Practicality:

FNMI Values and Behaviours (continued)

FNMI values and behaviours Positive teacher response

• Generally orient themselves in the present and the immediate tasks at hand

• Emphasis on “being” rather than “becoming”

• Present needs and advantages tend to take precedence over possible future rewards—although this has changed over the past 40 years

• Learning material should have a sense of immediate relevancy. For example, relate material covered to current events in the local news.

FNMI values and behaviours Positive teacher response

• Tend to be very practical-minded• Respond well to material that are

concrete or experiential rather than abstract and theoretical

• Learning and teaching should begin with various concrete examples, followed by discussion of the abstract. For example, lead the students on a field trip to observe plant life before discussing photosynthesis, etc.

Holistic orientation:

FNMI Values and Behaviours (continued)

FNMI values and behaviours Positive teacher response

Look at the world as a whole • Relate details back to the bigger picture, how it fits into the system of the world and present material from a holistic perspective. For example, look at how historic events affected the individuals involved, as well as the community, province and country.

Divide into groups of four and review the material on FNMI values and behaviours (summary sheet 1). Then discuss examples of these behaviours that they have witnessed and how they reacted to them. Also discuss the question:

How does understanding someone’s cultural background help you understand what they say and do and how they interpret what is said to them?

Activity: FNMI Values and Behaviours

Broadening our Cultural Understanding

“It is so important to actually have some knowledge of First Nations students. And I don’t mean just kind of a glib knowledge… Every opportunity I get, Indian students are teaching me things and this is wonderful. I just feel richer and richer for it.”Teacher of Aboriginal students from University of Regina, from “Strategies for Facilitating Success of First Nations Students” Mary Hampton and Joan Roy, 2002

Culture is …

… the beliefs, characteristics, activities, fundamental values and outlooks, preferred ways of living, and aspects of personal identity that are shared by a group. (Bull, Freuling and Chattergy, 1992)

Comparing FNMI and Anglo-Canadian Speakers

Comparing FNMI and Anglo-Canadian Speakers

Adapted from “Cultural Conflicts: An Important Factor in the Academic Failures of American Indian Students” by Danielle Sanders, Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development

FNMI Speakers Anglo-Canadian Speakers

• Speak softly at a slower rate

• Interject less

• Use fewer “encouraging signs” (nodding, uh-huh)

• Nonverbal communication valued

• Wait before responding

• Speak louder and faster

• Interrupt frequently

• Use verbal and physical encouragement frequently

• Verbal skills highly prized

• Respond immediately

A Holistic Model of Education

From “Influencing Aboriginal Education: Effective Practices for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Learners”, Alberta Learning, 2003.

Dimension Literacy Intelligence

Cognitive:

Thought processes, the capacity to reason logically.

Linguistic, quantitative

Verbal/linguistic

Logical/ mathematical

Emotional:

All learning is accompanied by an emotional state, which can greatly affect the learning outcome.

Social Interpersonal

A Holistic Model of Education (continued)

Dimension Literacy Intelligence

Physical:

All learning occurs in a physical body. Mind-body harmony is an important element in the quality of learning.

Body/kinesthetic

Naturalistic

Aesthetic:

Beauty is a key aspect of human existence. Artistic expression of inner life is key to a happy life.

Arts Visual/spatial

Musical/rhythmic

Spiritual:

The total and direct experience of universal love that establishes a sense of compassion, fraternity and peace towards all being.

Spiritual Spiritual

1. Fill out (in small groups) what you know about the “Effects of Colonization on Aboriginal Students”.

2. Ask yourselves what you want to find out about the topic (i.e., questions they have).

3. Scan the article “Enabling the Autumn Seed: Toward a Decolonized Approach to Aboriginal Knowledge, Language and Education” and note what you learned.

4. Discuss how what you have learned has changed the way you feel about Aboriginal People.

Activity: KWL Chart

Look at the Aboriginal artwork displayed around the room. Share your impressions of what these works of art have to say about the culture of Aboriginal people.

Record your learning during the workshop (new ideas, specific insights), your interpretation of your learning, and develop an action plan. Use the graphic organizer provided.

Activity: Culture Through Art

Activity: Here’s What, So What, Now What?

• Write one thing you LEARNED today

• Write one thing that HELPED you learn today

• Write one thing the you CONTRIBUTED to the learning today

• Write one thing you feel they can TRY

• Write how you FEEL

Activity: 5-minute Reflection Poem