Crossing the boundaries into Indigenous teaching and learning: Emerging
cross-cultural pedagogy in teacher education

Paper submitted for presentation at AERA Annual conference, April 10,
2007

Abstract

Cross-cultural dialogue is key in the movement towards post-secondary
curriculum reform in teacher education. At the University of Victoria, a
series of Indigenous pedagogy courses for educators creates a space for
primarily Western educated participants to examine their own cultural
assumptions and explore Indigenous ways of teaching and learning. The
courses serve as a model for cross-cultural dialogue through hands-on
Indigenous projects, such as carving and weaving. Early stage research
findings will be discussed including the Indigenous concepts of cwelelep
(being in a place of dissonance, uncertainty and anticipation); watchful
listening (paying deep attention beyond our personal understandings);
celhcelh (being responsible for our own learning); and kamucwkalha (the
energy indicating an emergence of group purpose).

Introduction

The 2007 AERA convention calls for a broadened perspective of research
that looks outside of the United States to extend educational inquiry
"beyond the traditional boundaries of our field" and that "applies novel
methods to educational problems" (Baker & Koretz, 2006, p.30). A new
effort in the Faculty of Education, at the University of Victoria, in
British Columbia, Canada does just that. The research revolves around a
series of courses that immerses educators in Indigenous pedagogy through
traditional hands-on experiences such as pole carving or weaving.

The unusual courses support post-secondary curriculum reform by opening
an avenue for cross-cultural dialogue between Indigenous and
non-Indigenous participants.

The courses work to positively change individual and societal cultural
perceptions and misconceptions. Furthermore, they highlight the
potential and value of Indigenous teaching and learning approaches for
educational organizations. As the conference call suggests, educational
quality should be defined as more than test scores and should include
strengthening student learning through varied and diverse approaches.
The pedagogy that underlies the Indigenous courses holds such a holistic
perspective. This paper highlights research that takes a closer look at
the educational experiences of pre-service teachers enrolled in these
courses.

Description of the Courses

Cross-cultural dialogue between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous educators
serves to strengthen our schools and communities by drawing a new vision
of the future through the interaction of divergent epistemologies.
Canadian educator Yatta Kanu (2003) suggests that we are at a historic
point that demands a culturally combined approach to curriculum reform,
"where relations are no longer unidirectional or univocal, flowing from
the colonialist to the colonized" (p. 79). She notes that, "there is no
longer a single set of discourse about progress and change" and puts
forward the ideas of postcolonial theorist Homi Bhabha's idea of a
'third space' "where local and global images meet in a weaving that has
its own configurations and implications" (p. 77). This is a space where
unequal cultural power can mix and shift.

To contribute to this balancing process, there is much need for
authentic Indigenous learning experiences that are built on the
integrity of authentic Indigenous ways. The courses described here
attempt to fully place Indigenous ways of learning and teaching within a
university setting. Despite the challenge of underlying cultural
differences such as university time schedules, marking and student
expectations, the courses have been remarkably successful.

The Indigenous pedagogy courses are interactive learning communities
offered to student teachers, educators, faculty members, students from
other disciplines, as well as members of the larger community. Within
the courses students experience the principles of traditional Indigenous
ways of teaching and learning including: mentorship and apprenticeship
learning; learning by doing; learning by deeply observing; learning
through listening; telling stories and singing songs; learning in a
community; and learning by sharing and providing service to the
community.

The courses integrate hands-on practical activities with theoretical and
academic objectives. The overall goal is to gain understanding of
Indigenous ways of teaching and learning by directly experiencing the
process. In one course this came about through the group carving of a
traditional Lekwungen and Liekwelthout Thunderbird house and welcoming
pole (referred to in this writing as "the pole course"). A second course
revolved around the creation of fabrics and textiles including the media
of weaving, buckskin, beadwork, cedar bark, button blankets, and wool
(referred to in this writing as "the earth fibres course"). A more
implicit, but equally important goal of both the courses is that of
modeling an Indigenous curriculum within the university context.

Description of Research

The research that is currently taking place will describe in depth the
experience of the pre-service teachers who were enrolled in the second
course entitled, Earth Fibres Weaving Stories: Indigenous Ways of
Teaching and Learning. It attempts to understand the experiences of the
course participants by recording their stories and analyzing them
through the lens of a combined narrative and phenomenological approach.
In this way, light will be shed on some of the essential characteristics
of the experiences within the course. Additionally, the students have
been followed into their teaching practicum experience to see how the
course experience may be actualized outside of the Indigenous course
context.

Phenomenological analysis of the data will highlight emergent themes
including concepts such as: cwelelep (being in a place of dissonance,
uncertainty and anticipation); watchful listening; celhcelh
(responsibility for our own learning); watchful listening (paying deep
attention beyond our personal understandings); and kamucwkalha (the
energy that indicates an emergence of a group sense of purpose). The
stories gathered in this research can be shared with educators and
teacher educators to inform their practice of both Indigenous and
cross-cultural teaching and learning. The research will provide a
descriptive overview of the student teacher experience in the courses
and also document the shifting perspectives and teacher capacity (Kanu,
2006) of the participants in the course. Research questions include:
What self-reported changes in attitudes, values, and beliefs about
learning and teaching occur, if any? When significant learning incidents
do occur, how are they experienced and are they actualized beyond the
context of this course? Specifically, are these experiences incorporated
into the classroom experience as these pre-service teachers continue on
into their teaching practicum within the public schools?

Data collection is in the final stage and involves 12 elementary level
pre-service teachers who were enrolled in the earth fibres course. The
participants have just completed a practicum field-placement within the
public schools. The participants have engaged in two interviews (at the
beginning and conclusion of the course) and have participated in a
post-practicum focus group. Additional data include: interviews with the
participating Indigenous Elders; photo and film images taken during the
course; students' written reflective assignments; and my own journal
writing and observations as a participant observer (Spradley, 1980).

Interpretation of the data will be to some extent unusual and emergent,
in that the qualitative approaches used must be continuously verified
for consistency with decolonizing methods (Smith, 1999; Struthers &
Peden-McAlpine, 2005). Overall, analysis will be informed by a
phenomenological narrative approach (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Thomas
& Polio, 2002) that makes meaning of the stories of the pre-service
teachers within the context of the course and the broader context of the
university and public school environments. Emergent themes will be
compared across all data sources for validity, thus creating an
extensive, multi-dimensional picture of the pre-service teacher
experience. The next phase of in-depth analysis will involve the use of
a qualitative software program such as NVivo7.

This research stems from the authors' experience in the pole course --
the first course offered in Indigenous ways of learning and teaching.
While no formal research took place in that course, extensive reflection
and writing occurred in conjunction with four pre-service teachers who
were enrolled. The current work is informed by the insightful and honest
writing of these young scholars (Tanaka, Williams, Benoit, Duggan, Moir
& Scarrow, 2006). The framework for this paper was based in the pole
course experiences, but is now being shaped by the initial stage
analysis of the data gathered in the earth fibres course. In-depth data
analysis, the next phase of the project, promises to develop a rich
picture of how the participants are shifting their perspectives on
learning and teaching as a result of the course.

# Significance

The significance of this research is three-fold. *First*, it will
illuminate the relationship between immersion into Indigenous pedagogy
and increased teacher capacity among pre-service teachers, due to
shifting understandings of the learning and teaching process. This will
potentially provide insight into how teacher education programs can
encourage effective ways of teaching in multi-cultural classrooms.
*Second*, it will shed light on the benefits of Indigenous ways of
teaching and learning in their own right. This can inform curriculum
implementation within the field of curriculum development. *Third,* the
work will expand understanding of research methodologies that link two
distinct cultural approaches to inquiry. Applied across disciplines,
decolonizing methods could have significant impact in academic research
with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations.

Multi-leveled Dialogue

The remnants of North America's colonial past continue on today, and
cultural favouritism occurs too often in how schools and universities
are organized and how learning and teaching occurs within them (Marker,
2004; Menzies, Archibald & Smith, 2004). Indigenous ways of knowing are
beginning to emerge in mainstream pedagogical dialogues but their
significance is yet to be fully appreciated by the dominant culture
(Battiste & Henderson, 2000). To gain a more balanced cross-cultural
awareness and create educational programs that reflect that balance,
dialogue becomes essential (Hooks, 1994; Isaacs, 1999). Westerners
rarely have an opportunity to reflect on and appreciate that their way
of learning and the content of what they learn is privileged. When
embedded as a member of a dominant culture everything is designed to fit
one's own cultural world. From this position of relative comfort, it is
difficult to even notice that there are people who might have a
different approach, or a different way of thinking. By reflecting and
dialoguing on "taken for granted" perspectives of teaching and learning,
individuals can begin to shed light on cultural influences and biases,
and the tight grip on dominant beliefs begins to unravel.

This is particularly relevant in adult educational settings (Vella,
2002). But how do educators interpret what it means to be in dialogue
with someone? What are the implications of dialoguing with another? In
the book, *A Pedagogy for Liberation: Dialogues on Transforming
Education* (Shor & Freire, 1987), Paulo Freire describes dialogue as
being rooted in our historical past:

> ...dialogue must be understood as something taking part in the very
> historical nature of human beings. It is part of our historical
> progress in becoming human beings. That is, dialogue is a kind of
> necessary posture to the extent that humans have become more and more
> critically communicative beings. Dialogue is a moment where humans
> meet to reflect in their reality as they make and remake it (p. 98).

In this sense, dialogue is an important bridge from our past that leads
to future possibilities. The Indigenous pedagogy courses are an occasion
for multi-layered dialogues to occur. Within such dialogue lies the
opportunity for change based in cross-cultural awareness.

It should be noted that the dialogue described in this research is a
non-linear process. Not only does it exist in a temporal context that is
different than typical Western notions, it is dialogue that draws from
more than spoken conversation. The experiential nature of the course --
for example, working with cedar bark that has been stripped from the
surface of ancient trees -- provides participants with ways to listen to
culture through embodied knowledge (Lakoff & Johnson, 1999). The stories
of the Indigenous instructors enable participants to attend to the
voices of the ancestors. Additionally, individual reflection
(conversation with ourselves) also comes into play. The following
principles that underlie participant dialogue should be seen in this
same non-linear light.

Cwelelep: dissonance, uncertainty and anticipation

Being in dialogue with someone from another culture requires the
listener to encounter the existence of the unknown. For the L'ilwat,
this place of dissonance and uncertainty is called *cwelelep*. While it
is uncomfortable, it is also a place of anticipation of new learning. We
return to the words of Freire:

> To the extent that we are communicative beings who communicate to each
> other as we become more able to transform our reality, we are able to
> *know that we know,* which is something *more* than just knowing...and
> we human beings know also that *we don't know*. Through dialogue,
> reflecting together on what we know and don't know, we can then act
> critically to transform reality (p. 99).

This *knowing that we don't know* is a significant part of the
experience within the Indigenous pedagogy courses. Embedded in the
context of a Western focused university, participants come to the
courses with a pre-conceived set of expectations of how the class will
proceed. Soon, it becomes apparent that assumptions about teaching and
learning have to be suspended and each student will have to be open to
unfamiliar pedagogical possibilities. Laura, one of the student teachers
enrolled in the pole course, explains:

> *The very first day of this class I felt an energy present that was
> different from any I'd felt in a class before. We started off in a
> circle, facing each other. We discussed what we would be doing in the
> class, but not the ultimate goal -- aside from the completion of the
> protection pole... There was no outline, no list of things to get
> done, no break-down of mini assignments and projects. It was scary,
> and it would be a while until I would see that it was actually
> liberation. To me, this was a completely new approach to learning and
> teaching. As a teacher, I can't help but to be challenged to develop
> an understanding of this approach, especially as it has transformed my
> own opinions and perspectives. The lack of rules calls me to draw from
> the knowledge within myself and to build on it* (in Tanaka, Williams,
> Benoit, Duggan, Moir & Scarrow, 2006).

As a Non-indigenous, Western-educated emerging teacher, Laura was
struggling with new and unfamiliar ways of learning and teaching. The
perspectives she was familiar with, based in our collective colonial
past, were being challenged. As the course proceeded, there were many
discussions about this uncomfortable experience. Many of the
participants were experiencing the same disconcerted feelings. As Laura
said, it would take time for their understandings of new ways of
learning to begin to shift.

Watchful Listening: beyond personal knowing

Along with the uncertain experience of cwelelep, the pre-service
teachers engaged in a *watchful listening* process to hear what was
different about Indigenous cultural perspectives on learning and
teaching. Becoming watchful listeners was a difficult process as
described by Robyn in the pole course:

> *When a question arose for me I would, as usual, take that question to
> one of our class leaders. Instead of receiving my usual quick and
> perfunctory answer I often received a story. These stories were
> enthralling, but often circular, ending near the beginning and missing
> an obvious answer to my question. Often when a leader was finished, I
> would think to myself, 'well that's great, but where is my answer?' I
> grew frustrated and discouraged when I was not handed the answer on a
> platter. The concept of waiting it out, watching and observing was
> completely foreign to me. I understood I was learning in a way of a
> different culture, but I still could not handle how different it was
> from my own. This led to mounting frustration towards myself. I was
> unable to comprehend my inability to adapt. I chastised myself for not
> being able to wait, slow down and just listen. All I was after was a
> quick fix, and that fact upset me.* (in Tanaka, Williams, Benoit,
> Duggan, Moir & Scarrow, 2006).

Robyn's frustration at learning to be a watchful listener reflects her
temporary inability to look beyond the familiar model of teaching and
learning that she grew up with. Many participants in both classes
reiterated experiencing this same occurrence. It reflects a reliance on
a transmissive model of education where students such as Robyn, expect
information to be passed "on a silver platter," that is, without
assuming full responsibility for the learning process. Robyn's distress
in not being able to understand a new way appears to have, at least
temporarily, obscured the "anticipation of new learning" phase of
cwelelep. The process required time in an uncomfortable place before a
changing perspective could enable deeper learning to occur.

Celhcelh: personal responsibility for learning

Alongside of watchful listening, the pre-service teachers began to
gradually become responsible for their own learning, a process that is
termed *celhcelh*, by the L'ilwat people. Yvonne tells us about her
perspective that has, again, been heavily influenced by a North American
transmissive perspective of learning and teaching:

> *My education has been spoon fed to me. From childhood, I have been
> told what to know, what to believe, and how to act. When this class
> began, I opened my mouth to receive my spoonful of knowledge, yet I
> found no spoon. I found myself confused, not knowing what to do. I
> asked questions, because that is how I have always been told to find
> answers. Again, I found nothing*. *Over time I came to see that while
> questions would not be automatically answered, answers did exist. This
> Aboriginal approach to education suggested that finding them was my
> responsibility. I was suddenly, for the first time, responsible for my
> own learning in an educational setting. Upon this recognition, I
> closed my mouth and opened my eyes and ears. I took advantage of every
> opportunity to learn. I didn't just watch, I observed. I didn't just
> listen, I heard. I wanted to learn. I wanted to understand the purpose
> of all this -- I wanted to understand what I was being told. The
> potential of discovery of the answers I sought, intrigued me.
> Motivated me* (in Tanaka, Williams, Benoit, Duggan, Moir & Scarrow,
> 2006).

Coming into an awareness of their own ability to learn was a powerful
and common experience for students in both courses over time. Through
their personal experiences as learners they began to translate this into
how they would change their role as teacher. In her Earth Fibres
reflection assignment, Jamie explains how a deeper understanding of
celhecelh, will affect her teaching:

> *As a teacher, I want my students to take pride in their work and to
> be motivated by a want to learn rather than by grades. I don't want my
> students to compromise the quality of their work for time, but to
> instead enjoy the process of creating something. Building a community
> and sense of family in my classroom is going to be very important to
> me as a beginning teacher. I want all of my students to feel welcomed,
> accepted, understood, and respected. (Our instructor) spoke of an
> energy one gets when one is poised to learn something, but
> unfortunately we (Westerners) have no word for it.*

It is interesting that Jamie recognizes the lack of expression within
the English language for a concept that is critical in the learning
process. The word that Jamie is searching for is embedded in the meaning
of the L'ilwat term, cwelelep. Being poised towards anticipation of
learning hints at the "potential of discovery" that Yvonne refers to in
her previous quote. This motivates the learner, as Jamie states, to
"enjoy the process" leading to a deeper sense of celhcelh -- a
responsibility towards learning that transcends external motivators.

Kamucwkalha: noticing community energy

One strong theme that is emerging in this research is that of community.
*Kamucwkalha* is the act of noticing the energy of a group that
indicates an attunement and emerging group purpose. In the pole course,
this became apparent on the day that the pole was moved from the outside
workspace to a more weather protected space inside. Because of the
considerable weight of the pole, this was no small feat and required the
involvement of all the course participants. Swinging sledgehammers,
opening doors, moving small logs under the pole to act as wheels,
watching the overall direction of the moving mass, each took different
but equally important skills to accomplish our goal. By that point in
the semester, individuals had begun to find the jobs that they were
drawn to and had increased their skill levels at these jobs. It could be
said that they found their inner directed learning capacity, and as this
happened, the group as a whole unit appeared to be solidifying with a
stronger sense of community.

Developing community was frequently expressed by the participants as a
critical factor in the learning experiences they had within the courses.
Jenni writes in her final reflection assignment:

> *One thing that struck me most in this class was the sense of
> community among the students and teachers. By bringing the group
> together in the beginning (of each class) to say prayers,
> thanksgivings, thoughts, and ideas, it really opened people up to one
> another in a way that is not possible in other education classes. I
> felt I got to know people at a deeper level than otherwise possible.
> Classmates were supportive and encouraging of other people's work.
> There was no sense of competition, which is such a relief after three
> years of competing for grades.*

Getting to know people at a deeper level appears to be a significant
factor in how the student teachers' notions of learning evolve, and
requires deeper analysis in the next phase of the research process.

Jenni's reference to the building of community between students and
teachers is also particularly noteworthy. This happened in part, because
the course was offered on a pass/fail basis -- many participants speak
to the critical importance of this. But there was also an underlying
philosophy amongst the course instructors that knowledge was not an
object to be transferred, rather, each student would seek out and find
the learning that was appropriate to them. This acknowledgement set up a
dynamic of power that gave equal respect to the learner and the teacher.
It is not to say that the instructors felt that they don't hold
important knowledge, but that possession of knowledge, or lack thereof,
doesn't change the simple notion that everyone deserves respect equally.

Shifting Perspectives of Learning and Teaching

Based on initial analysis, it appears that many of the student teachers
enrolled in the earth fibres course have experienced shifts in their
perspectives of the nature of learning and that this will in turn affect
how they believe they should behave as teachers. Until the in-depth data
analysis is complete it is impossible to address this in the manner that
it deserves. However, a few glimpses at comments made in the student's
final reflection assignment for the earth fibres course, shed light on
what is potentially to be found in the next phase of the research. Jamie
writes:

> *From this course I have gained a better understanding of what it
> means to learn by mentorship, apprenticeship, by doing, by deeply
> observing, by listening, by telling stories, by singing songs, by
> being a member of a team, by sharing, and by providing a service.
> Working in my button blanket group with Gina engaged me in all of
> these ways of learning and I have gained an appreciation for each one.
> As a student I can see the benefits of having multiple ways of
> learning for people with different learning styles, and as a teacher I
> plan to implement as many into my daily classroom teaching as I can. I
> have learned so much about myself, about learning, and about teaching
> along this journey and can't wait to pass it on. Our final button
> blanket was beautiful and I can finally say that I am proud to show
> off something I worked so hard on to create with a group of people I
> can call my family.*

Jamie speaks to the experience of participants growing awareness of how
they learn as individuals within a different educational environment.
Kim articulates more clearly how this can extend into her role as a
teacher:

> *Another important principle that I will take away from this course is
> the appreciation for other ways of learning. Of course, as a future
> teacher, I have always been aware that every student learns
> differently. Upon reflection after this course however, I realize that
> it goes beyond the needs of individual learners. As a teacher, I need
> to be open to ways of learning and teaching that are different from
> what I have experienced.*

There is clearly a desire in these young teachers to carry what they
have learned in the Indigenous courses with them to "pass it on" through
changes in their own teaching style. It is refreshing to hear a teacher
who is willing to change her teaching methods, when so often it is
assumed that it is the students who must adapt. Initial review of the
focus group discussion indicates that to varying degrees, it was
possible for the participants to enact change in their respective
teaching roles.

Future Directions of the Research

Deeper analysis of the data will reveal more about how the attitudes and
beliefs of the pre-service teachers have shifted, and how they were able
to actualize their learning from the Indigenous course within the
limited context of their established classroom practicum environment. It
is expected that the above themes will be illuminated in more depth, and
that multiple new themes of the pre-service experience will be
identified and analyzed. These appear to fall into the three main
categories of teacher development (capacity), environmental factors, and
curriculum design and implementation. They include, but are not limited
to the role of sharing circles; the concept of using "good hands"
(intent); infusion of Indigenous ways throughout the curriculum; giving
learners more choices; creating space for learner's personal stories;
spiritual knowing; creating community and welcoming environments;
developing patience as a teacher; conscious reflection; and building
teacher authenticity with students.

Plans for future studies include follow-up interviews with the
participants of both the pole and earth fibres courses in two to three
years, after they have been teaching in their own classrooms. It is
expected that these new teachers will have been able to actualize their
learning from the Indigenous experience to varying degrees, and likely
in a variety of ways. Through such a study, the long-term effects of the
Indigenous courses can be portrayed. Combined with the findings of the
current study, this can have significant impact with teacher educators
in our attempt to develop programs that assist student teachers in
becoming effective educators in the continuously growing cross-cultural
classrooms of North America.

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