CHRONICLE 16-17 ISSUE 10

6 The Chronicle February 7 - 13, 2017 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Campus
Alternate
teaching
methods
Photograph by Kevin Steinbach
at work
at Durham
Peggy Forbes incorporates pieces of native culture into her aboriginal study
classes to allow her students to get experience with their subject material.
Sharing circles, discussions,
videos, audio, hybrid assignments,
used to promote interaction
and engagement from students
Kevin Steinbach
The Chronicle
Another side, another story, when learning
takes a new method
You sit down, open your laptop and get
ready to take notes for class. Surprise, not
this time and not in this class. Put down the
laptop and look up because the tables are
removed and you’re in a circle facing your
teacher and classmates. You can’t hide behind
a laptop here.
Learning takes on a new method in Peggy
Forbes’ class.
There are different types of learning and
to better reach and teach students, instructors
need to think of student needs. Peggy
Forbes’ Introduction to Aboriginal Culture
and Bryan Jordan’s Making Monsters class
use different teaching methods. Forbes’ class
uses sharing circles, hybrid assignments and
self-researched presentations while Jordan’s
class offers video, audio and written lectures
on DC Connect. It’s a better way to engage
students to learn and participate in class.
Peggy Forbes, a member of the Aboriginal
Advisory Circle in the Aboriginal Student
Centre, teaches the general elective (GNED)
course Introduction to Aboriginal Culture.
Her class is out of the box.
“We do a sharing circle in the very beginning
so everybody has chance to speak, say
their name and I usually pose a question,”
Forbes says. The first question for the sharing
circle on the first day of class is about introducing
each student. Students say their name
and what program they are taking at Durham
College. Some of the questions Forbes asks
are easy. “Especially at the beginning of the
course,” says Forbes, “like what’s your favourite
movie, something real easy and then they
do get a little deeper.”
The sharing circle is an oral tradition in
many Aboriginal tribes, particularly the
Mi’cmaq. It is part of the talking circle tradition
meant to solve problems. Like the name,
the sharing circle is meant to allow everyone
to share what they have to say with complete
freedom and no judgement. The circle symbolizes
unity and equality, as there is no beginning
and no end in a circle. Everyone faces
each other openly. There are no barriers. For
Forbes’ class specifically, this helps students
open up and share information about themselves
in complete trust. This method gives
a personal approach to the class. Forbes says
she learns about her students and they learn
about her.
The circle symbolizes
unity and equality, as
there is no beginning
and no end in a
circle.
Another teaching method in Forbes’ class
is the student presentation. Students are assigned
a specific topic to research like Residential
Schools, or traditional justice.
As the basis for their presentations, Forbes
encourages students to read the textbook
Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. Because the
textbook was written by local aboriginal
people Forbes knows, like Chris Paci of the
Metis Nation of Ontario, she can vouch for
the authenticity of the information. Students
are also encouraged to search the Internet
for more information. After the presentation,
Forbes fills in any missing information with
a short lecture.
“I think it’s important that people find out
the information themselves rather than me
giving a lecture first,” says Forbes.
Students can learn all they need from a
teacher and the blackboard, but with the presentations
and the research they can not only
learn but also discover details normal lectures
or textbooks wouldn’t have. This method encourages
students to think and dig deeper
into their topic.
In order to make students learn more and
experience what they need to learn in her
class, Forbes offers opportunities for students
in the form of hybrid assignments. The hybrid
assignments involve information not included
in class or the course textbook.
The material is available through DC Connect.
Some assignments involve watching
videos, reading articles online or attending
cultural events in the Durham Region, like
the Full Moon Ceremony at Camp Samac
in Oshawa. Students pick assignments from
DC Connect and are required to either watch
videos on YouTube or attend and experience
certain events out in the region, then write a
reflective report on what they’ve learned and
experienced.
The course also includes guest speakers
such as Troy White of the Mi’cmaq First Nation
and the Metis sisters Cecile Wager and
Claire Kearns, who speak about their experiences
as native Canadians as well as some of
their traditions. Forbes considers the value of
information more effective and relevant when
it comes from the source.
“Brought in Troy White to talk about what
fasting is about, because he has experienced
that and he drummed and sang,” Forbes explains.
“That was just another perspective.
And he talked about being Mi’cmaq.”
“I’m honored to share my knowledge of
the Mi’cmaq cultures and my experiences in
ceremony,” says Troy, after speaking to the
students in Forbes’ GNED class.
Bringing in guest speakers provides authenticity:
a real voice to the subject, according
to Forbes. As a result, the learned material
becomes more effective with the inside views
of real people.
Being a teacher in the Aboriginal Student
Centre means creating opportunities for education
that meet all different types of learning,
including visual, auditory, reading and writing,
as well as hands-on experience, according
to Forbes, who recognizes people, especially
Aboriginal people learn differently. And she
wants to honor the oral tradition of Aboriginal
people and give others the experience as
well. There are no exams. Instead she wants
it to be a positive learning experience.
While her class is more upfront and personal,
she is not alone amongst teachers who
use different methods to teach. With DC
Connect, which many, if not all students rely
on for their content, assignments and links,
many GNED classes are online only. Such is
the case with Bryan Jordan’s class Making
Monsters.
In contrast to Forbes, every week Jordan
presents information in the weekly content
on DC Connect. Every week it’s a new topic,
such as the classic Frankenstein or more contemporary
zombies.
Jordan’s lectures for each topic are divided
into different parts, which the students can
watch on video, listen to as audio or simply
read as a text document.
One video lecture talks about the disfigurations
of culture in contrast to actual history
in the movie 300.
After each lecture, Jordan includes an activity
where the students share their reflections
on a Discussion Board in DC Connect.
On the discussion for the topic question,
What makes a Monster, Roderick Richards,
a general arts and science health prep student,
says he had to pause and think about
his answer. “A monster can be anything, or
anyone. It’s usually if not always something
to be feared in some way,” says Richards.
“Some people fear reality, some people fear
their dreams. A monster could be anything
at all.”
Jordan’s assignments are different each
time. Students can analyze books, compare
or contrast old versions of famous monsters
versus new ones in movies, both old and new.
Students respond well to his methods like
nursing student Angela Herley.
“I particularly like that there are multiple
formats for each lesson,” says Herley. “I learn
much better from reading something than
I do from talking. But I do benefit from in
class lectures. Also an important point, I hate
online course. I have trouble staying on top
of my work. But the way that this one is set
up really worked for me.”
Times change, people change and even
education changes.
Students learn differently and as such, different
teaching methods can engage students
and help them learn better.