Weaving Knowledge Systems Resource Materials

In the last of a three-part series, this study examined the information processing patterns of postsecondary American Indian/Alaska Native students attending community and tribal colleges in the southwest. Using a survey design, students completed the Kolb Learning Style Inventory, the Briggs and Myers "Myers-Briggs Type Indicator," and the Oltman, Raskin, and Witkin "Group Embedded Figures Test." Three major results were revealed from the study. First, the students described their learning as a combination of learning by thinking and learning by watching. This is the same cognitive processing pattern found in elementary and secondary students. Second, the ‘ISTJ’ from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator best described the personality influences on learning for these students. These individuals are practical, orderly, logical, and earn success by concentration and thoroughness. Finally, the results suggest that these students can draw equally from both analytical (field-independent) and global (field-dependent) forms of information processing. {From Author]

The three main components of the Holistic Lifelong Learning Measurement Framework are: Sources and Domains of Knowledge, The Lifelong Learning Journey and Community Well-being. This new expanded approach will, for the first time, provide Aboriginal communities across Canada with a comprehensive picture of both their learning strengths and challenges. Furthermore, the measurement framework identifies what we do not know, highlighting the critical areas where current indicators do not exist. [From Author]

First Nations, Inuit and Métis have long advocated learning that affirms their own ways of knowing, cultural traditions and values. However, they also desire Western education that can equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to participate in Canadian society. First Nations, Inuit and Métis recognize that “two ways of knowing” will foster the necessary conditions for nurturing healthy, sustainable communities. [From Author]

There exists a natural tension between standards-based assessment and a multicultural perspective of assessment. The purpose of this paper was to examine issues of culturally-sensitive assessment, specifically within the context of preparing a female American Indian doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership. How does an instructor with a Western worldview fairly evaluate a research topic proposal written from an Indigenous paradigm? A case study design bounded by a single assignment and the instructor’s reflections of that assignment provided the context for examination. When the instructor and the student operate from different worldviews, there is a mismatch in expectations. Criteria for evaluating a student’s understanding from an alternative perspective need to be explored. [From Author]

Although there is momentum among Canadian educators to incorporate Aboriginal content and
epistemology into pre-kindergarten to postsecondary education, the learning and assessment of Aboriginal students remains subjugated by a Western perspective. The purpose of this article is to explore ideal learning contexts for Aboriginal students and juxtapose these ideas with the predominant learning and assessment tactics used in a school. Data for this qualitative study were collected via five focus groups involving grandparents/caregivers, representatives from Aboriginal organizations, and educators of one Saskatchewan school. Analyzed through Aboriginal and Western epistemologies, results indicated that, for Aboriginal students, learning and assessment are holistic experiences, and educators need to balance students’ academic assessment with other physical, emotional, and spiritual forms of assessment. These findings suggest that educators need to depart from the zone of cognitive competence and move toward
promoting an educational zone of trustful intuition. [From Author]

In this paper, we review some evidence from background reports addressing Native American students’ academic performance and approaches to enhancing that performance. These reports contributed to the organization and content of the Colloquium on which this and the preceding special issue of the Journal of American Indian Education was based. We then present the Blueprint developed through information from these reports, the current research information presented at the Santa Fe Colloquium and in this issue, and the discussions and interactions with the community of researchers and educators who attended the Colloquium and follow-up meeting or provided their written input on these issues. [From Author]

The success of students is determined, in part, by their performance on standardized tests. Despite good intentions, however, these tests can be problematic when used to evaluate indigenous students. Norm-referenced test results can be used to make unfair comparisons between indigenous and non-indigenous students when cultural and linguistic barriers that inhibit indigenous success are not considered. This article presents assessment practices that can be used as an alternative to, or in association with, standardized tests to assist with an evaluation of the Canadian Council on Learning's redefined learning objectives. [From Author]

This study examines two aspects of teaching with a project-based learning (PBL) model in higher education settings: faculty definitions of PBL and faculty PBL practices, as evidenced by their self-described successes and challenges in implementation. Faculty participants took “a leap of faith” in their teaching practices to redefine what it means to teach and learn using PBL as an instructional methodology. The findings provide insight into how faculty conceptualization of PBL drives implementation; how the PBL approach challenges college-level teachers; and how instructors’ perceptions of their own role in the PBL process impacts how they implement PBL. [From Author]

What does it mean to be “successful” in higher education? For some in mainstream society, the value is placed on the financial status gained from a university education. Governments and university administration measure success through graduation rates. While the economic and social benefits of a university education are also important to Aboriginal people, successful negotiation of mainstream higher education also entails maintaining their cultural integrity. Broadening notions of success and corresponding retention theories is important to move forward the agenda of Aboriginal higher education. The purpose of this article is to further the theoretical and practical discussions of educational success of Aboriginal students. Using social reproduction theory and a post-colonial framework, this article presents an argument that shows how/why conventional discourses on retention and student success often exclude Indigenous understandings and worldviews. To this end, it provides a counter-hegemonic on current discourses relating to retention and Aboriginal persistence in mainstream institutions. The article concludes with some thoughts on how to enrich the educational experiences of Aboriginal students from an Indigenous understanding of success and retention. [From Author]

In line with an Aboriginal worldview of interconnectivity, I outline successful educational programs, policies, and services for Aboriginal peoples in Canada. These programs and initiatives are presented within four thematic areas related to (a) early childhood education, (b) Aboriginal pedagogy, language, and culture (throughout kindergarten to Grade 12), (c) postsecondary education, and (d) governance and partnerships. These issues are then positioned within the concept of ethical space. The insight from this information is intended to assist teachers, educational leaders, and policy makers in promoting ongoing educational achievement for Aboriginal learners. [From Author]

The purpose of this paper is to identify motivators that support educational success, as perceived by Aboriginal high school students enrolled in two urban Saskatchewan schools. Twelve semi-structured individual interviews revealed that students were motivated by a hospitable school culture, relevant learning opportunities, and positive personal influences outside the realm of the school (e.g., family role models and Elder influence). Utilizing an Aboriginal worldview lens, student motivation stemmed from experiencing four quadrants of learning—awareness (physical), knowledge (mental), continuous improvement (emotional), and perseverance (spiritual). An implication is that educators need to incorporate features of Aboriginal pedagogy when teaching. [From Author]

Place‐based education has the capacity to extend the learning community beyond the parameters of the university and to bring Indigenous and non‐Indigenous, domestic, and international students into the public space and onto the local landscape. By intentionally using place‐based and intercultural pedagogy, this paper draws on student reflections to investigate how intercultural learning occurred through a place‐based assignment. [From Author]

There are still no major assessment and diagnostic tools that educators can use to properly assess our Inuit students’ learning. Cultural safety as it is currently defined in New Zealand educational research is necessary in creating a classroom community that encourages the appreciation of culture and worldview, and ultimately enables success as defined by the culture and community of the students. Modern day assessment tools used with Inuit students must also conform to this standard of cultural safety in order to ensure the equity and authenticity of the assessment results. There is a need for ongoing research and development of culturally safe assessment tools. To date, recommendations that include collaboration with local populations, evaluation of the tools presently being used, and the due diligence of ensuring these tools are culturally unbiased are a few guidelines that have the potential of creating culturally safe assessments that portray students’ true learning abilities and assist both teacher and community in the support of their students’ learning and success. [From Author]