Education

WINNIPEG FREE PRESS - THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2017 3 Assiniboine Discover the experience At Assiniboine, find flexible, relevant and affordable education to fit you. Make connections that last a lifetime, spend more time away from the textbooks and learn by doing every step of the way. assiniboine.net One northern-based post-secondary institution is taking an innovative approach to try and address the issue. University College of the North's Kenanow Faculty of Education offers land- or place-based learning in addition to conventional classroom experiences as part of its bachelor of education program. The aim, says Dean of Education David Williamson, is to incorporate traditional Indigenous values and teachings as part of the teacher education process and help those teachers become culturally proficient in Indigenous perspectives and values. Ultimately, the hope is this approach will boost the number of local teachers working in northern communities and reduce the reliance on southern transplants who often leave after just a few years. The Kenanow learning model is based on Elder teachings which blend traditional and academic knowledge in practice. Kenanow is the Ininiw or Cree word for "all of us." While there remains much work to do, UCN officials have been encouraged by the results of the program to date. Since 2010, more than 150 students enrolled in the Bachelor of Education program have graduated from the school's on-campus and community-based programs. Of those students, more than 90 per cent are teaching to this day in northern or Indigenous communities. This year, more than 130 new education students started programs on the school's main campuses in The Pas and Thompson as well as at community-based sites in Cross Lake, Norway House, Split Lake and Grand Rapids. "We knew there was a need and we just had to figure out the best way to meet that need. This tells me that we're on the right track," Williamson says, adding it's not uncommon for UCN students to be offered teaching positions during their final practicum. Williamson says the program's land-based approach to education is in keeping with the country's commitment to implement culturally relevant and academically recognized practices following the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. As part of this approach, education students spent part of the school year learning at traditional territorial sites in all the core subjects including language arts, science and math. For example, Mile 20, the traditional cultural camp of the Ininiw people of the Nisachawaysik Cree Nation, will often serve as a classroom for the students. These community-based locations are chosen in consultation with partner groups including local tribal councils, healing centres and UCN's Elders Council, which includes representatives from 11 northern communities. "One of our challenges has been working with students who, for a variety of reasons, haven't had that cultural connection in the past. It's getting them to consider the importance of that connection to the land… and culture," Williamson says. "Once they do, they often go through a transformation and rediscovery of identity." It's not only UCN students who have benefitted from this culturally-infused approach, he adds, it's also the students they go on to teach. "Before, you had a revolving door of teachers from the south and… turnover rates of up to half the staff (at a school) in a given year," Williamson says. "What we are seeing now is our students becoming teachers, going back and having a connection with their community but also having an academic toolbox to use with that cultural connection." Interestingly, it's not only Indigenous people and communities who have benefitted. Nearly 30 per cent of UCN's student population is non-Indigenous, with some international students coming from as far away as Africa and India. "They're quite interested in the place-based model. They may not be Indigenous in the Canadian sense, but they often have the same perspective… and a connection to the land and community," Williamson says. "The institution is not the only place to learn. We're finding it's a model that's almost universally accessible." UCN was established as a degree-granting institution in 2004. Prior to that, it was known as Keewatin Community College for more than two decades, during which time it served as an academic and trades training institution for northern communities. Its two main campuses remain in The Pas and Thompson, but it now also offers 12 satellite learning centres, including the programs in Cross Lake, Norway house, Oxford House, Easterville, St. Theresa Point and Peguis. The school has begun receiving considerable attention of late because of its efforts to provide relevant educational opportunities to remote communities. It has collaborated with both the University of Manitoba and Brandon University on research projects that address issues facing Indigenous students. It's also made several presentations to the Canadian Society for the Study of Education, the largest organization of professors, students and researchers in education in the country. ❚ UNIQUE APPROACH PAYING OFF FOR UCN By Jim Timlick for the Free Press It's no secret many northern Manitoba communities have been struggling to bring in sufficient numbers of qualified teachers. In fact, a recent report stated northern Manitoba First Nations had a shortage of at least 36 teachers to start the current school year. UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF THE NORTH The Kenanow learning model is based on Elder teachings which blend traditional and academic knowledge in practice. Submitted photos

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