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March 22 - FNESC First Peoples Learning Institute Pro-D - Math & Science

 First Peoples Math & Science

  • Why is it so important?
    • Is an honouring of knowledge that has been in this area for time immemorial
    • We tend to think, especially about Math and Science, in Western ways; something is only scientific if it fits in "THE scientific model"; does it have to? 
    • Have to remember that math and science come from a place of wonder and a place of application
    • Gives validation to Indigenous ways of knowing and being
    • What is the interconnectedness of systems? 
      • When you disrupt a system, it creates ripple effects. 
  • How can you bring your math and science to the community so they can reciprocate their knowledge as well?
  • Science (Physics) 12 is about flow -- currents, ocean tides, paddling canoes -- all about understanding how these vectors work.
    • How do we recognize those ways/inroads into the colonial model? 
    • Not just interjecting, but overlaying Indigenous viewpoints and perspectives 

  • These guides are different than others -- very holistic, not fitting into grades, subjects, learning targets, etc. 



  • 9th Professional Standard for BC Educators
    • About how we enact education and represent teaching, looking at our relationships with students
    • "Educators respect and value the history of First Nations, Inuit and Métis in Canada and the impact of the past on the present and the future. Educators contribute towards truth, reconciliation and healing. Educators foster a deeper understanding of ways of knowing and being, histories, and cultures of First Nations, Inuit and Métis."
    • What do you think and how do you treat this in your classroom? Are you perpetuating stereotypes? Are you unknowingly using the hidden curriculum regarding what you don't teach?
    • How do we foster relationships and identities relating to Indigenous connectedness? 
    • Video re: Standard 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4sBNxiA7YI
    • BC's New Indigenous Graduation Requirement - Video


    • How am I creating learning experiences that honour the First Peoples Principles of Learning?
    • How is this unit working for me and my students? 
    • How has my own personality and place within society affected my approach to what I am teaching?
    • Am I treating all students inclusively?
    • If I encounter any challenges, how am I responding to them?
    • Do I need any support, and if so, where can I find that support? 


Science Guide: Thematic Units

  1. Exploring Indigenous Science Perspectives
  2. Transformation, Genetics, and Evolution
  3. Relationships to Fresh Water
  4. Shaping the Land
  5. Place-Based Ethnobotany Inquiry
  6. Salmon and Interconnectedness
  7. Connecting Food Security and Climate Change
  8. Forests and First Peoples
  9. Hunting and Trapping
  10. Living Technologies


"Parking Lot" Questions & Answers

  • In overlaying traditional math with things like weaving, is that truly Indigenizing? Is that superficial?
    • Depends. How are you presenting? "Here's the math, now let's weave." No. "We are going to weave and then draw the math out." Yes. 
    • When you look at the math of [weaving, etc] you can find the math in patterns, etc. 
    • Think about mathematics as both doing and applying. 
    • You, as the expert, have to help them see the mathematics within. 
    • Telling stories to help guide the way that we move through the math
  • Pedagogy - Indigenous Pedagogy
    • Was about observation, not measurement
    • Finding applications and possibilities - Applied mathematics and science
    • About predicting - what can you predict about ________?
    • When we think about our curriculum as observations, patterns, trends, etc, that allows us to get at curriculum concepts using what is observed. 
    • Everything is brought back to a real, actual use
    • What do I need? How do I get there? What is the use of the math that I need?
  • Are we validating cultural practice through Eurocentric math and science? Is trying to incorporate the two inherently racist? When we teach something and then "justify" it with Western math there is such a gap. Doesn't there almost need to be a parallel, separate course?
    • The guides are never perfect, always growing, just a starting point to spark ideas. 
    •  Taking two vastly different ways of seeing the world and trying to mash them together. Awkward fit, at best. 
    • Every time we offer the Math and Science workshop, we come back to this; some of the activities aren't the most authentic. The question is: How are you going to respond? 
    • Recognizing this struggle is the start of the answer. Identifying this to your learners is going to help them understand the struggle and the difference and the fact that these two structures can't necessarily be combined. 
  • How do you see education at its best?
    • The collective struggle is the delineation of learning - separating subjects and units and chapters; arbitrary grade levels with different learning needs and abilities. 
  • How do we get parents on board? So many attitudes come from parents and are perpetuated through students.
    • Have to remember that this is all really new - what's happening in Indigenous Education.
    • Most people haven't experienced authentic Indig. Ed. It was likely absent or Eurocentric.
    • So many differences: Curriculum, assessment, etc
    • We likely take a lot for granted, working within the education system. 
    • Parents may not realize that we have legal responsibilities and moral responsibility. 
    • Bring them in for sessions. Hold talking circles. 
    • If your school is holding an event, hold a parent meet and greet; provide food, hold a circle, welcome questions, observations, criticisms
  • Authentic Integration:
    • Instead of "webs", consider "Because the blueberries are flowering, I know the seagull eggs are out" and whatnot -- interconnectedness
    • 13 moons calendar - what does this mean? How/Is this more authentic and representative? 
    • Make your plant gardens ones that you can then make tea out of - full circle
  • Storytelling:
    • Begin with local First Nations Peoples, then move into incorporating the spaces and places represented in your classroom - where are the overlaps? how can these stories coincide?

Resources:

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