Inuit Best Practices within Education

Often when we wish to integrate non-Settler knowledge, there is a worry that it is incompatible with what is already present within the Settler system. However, the Settler knowledge should either:

a) be unsettled anyway due to unequal treatment and discrimination of Indigenous people and their ways of knowing

b) be already compatible with Indigenous knowledge.

Looking at Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, here are some ways we can incorporate their ways of knowing within the Ontario Settler education system.

Spiralling

Within the document, it mentions how the Iglu is the base of education as “the child passes through stages of development in an ever-spiralling progression, accumulating one block at a time.” Spiralling is a concept that we are seeing more in math classrooms, but can apply to others as well. In French, learning about present tense can lead us to double verbs. We can spiral to it later with future tense and introduce the concept of “futur proche.” We can build upon a foundation and continuously revisit skills as we come back to them and build up.

Practice

Students should be provided with multiple practice opportunities. There is an aspect of continuous growth within IQ, so it is important to provide opportunities to the students to have the practice needed to grow, and become successful.

Classroom Environment

Within a classroom environment, we can foster a classroom that has open communication. One of the practices we can incorporate is consensus decision making within small and large group settings. Of course, within the classroom, it is important to place an emphasis on being respectful to all living things. The care for all living things should extend outside as we all demonstrate environmental stewardship.

Metacognition

With students, learning is not going to be the same. Students can work on self-reflection and goal setting to see where they are in their own progress towards their learning goals. I did like the five levels that were mentioned:

1. Qaujilisaaqtuq: The Emergent Learner

2. Tukisiliqtuq: The Transitional Learner

3. Tukisinaqsiliqtuq: The Communicative Learner

4. Pinasugunnaqsijuq: The Confident Learner

5. Pijunnaqsijuq: The Proficient Learner

The descriptors for these levels allow for a student to understand the different levels in the Ontario system, while also seeing what other levels are like. For level 1, they are emerging in their knowledge. For level 3, they need to be able to communicate their understanding, with the in-between level being transitional. I think it would also aid us as teachers to have these terms to aid in our understanding of Ontario levels as they aid viewing the student’s learning as a whole, rather than vague descriptors of rarely/sometimes/usually/always.

Dynamic Assessment

Some classes and teachers are moving towards dynamic assessments, but having more options for students to create a portfolio and set goals of what they would like to achieve would allow them to better showcase their understanding. Accepting different types of work would allow students to demonstrate understanding of the curriculum, but in a way that suits their stronger skills. A vice-principal at a school I worked at had taught in Nunavut while he was younger. He mentioned that hunting was counted towards the physical education curriculum because it is applicable, relevant, and actionable learning. This flexibility allowed students to incorporate traditional Inuit culture and activities in a way that allowed learning to be authentic to the students.

In general, we can connect with Elders and Knowledge Keepers to ensure Inuit culture, values, and world-view is being represented within the curriculum and classroom. We can incorporate the above-mentioned strategies to incorporate Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit. We can work with Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and other sources to offer language classes, in Inuktitut, for example. We can also work on environmental stewardship and care for the world, and not just when the weather is warm and sunny.

By incorporating Inuit knowledge and ways of thinking into our ways of teaching and knowing, we can make any curriculum more accessible and inclusionary.