ECS 203 Blogs

  Part 1 (Numeracy): Using Gale’s lecture, Poirier’s article, and Bear’s article, identify at least three ways in which Inuit mathematics challenges Eurocentric ideas about the purpose of mathematics and the way we learn it. In Gale's lecture (and Bear's article), we see this quote from Little Leroy Bear: "Colonialism tries to maintain a singular social order by means of force and law, suppressing the diversity of human worldviews..." (2000, p. 77). Eurocentric mathematic views are pretty structured, and there's very little room to make mathematics flexible to interpretations as opposed to philosophies. Gale mentioned the story about the sheep herder and the researchers. Both sides had different opinions on that trading situation, and while I agree the researchers make sense mathematically, the sheep herder's point challenged counting sheep and seeing values one-dimensionally.  Bear's article talks about how Indigenous languages are aimed at describing ...

What is the purpose of teaching Treaty Ed (specifically) or First Nations, Metis, and Inuit (FNMI) Content and Perspectives (generally) where there are few or no First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples? What does it mean for your understanding of the curriculum that "We are all treaty people"? Cynthia Chambers wrote in We Are All Treaty Peopl e that in treaty negotiations, Indigenous tribes shared their stories, and their desperation for livelihood. There were stories about beavers and buffalos, and stories of creation predating the treaties. As a crucial part of Truth and Reconciliation, Treaty Ed exists to share these stories in recompense for the forced silence and risk of extinction of Indigenous culture and language. In Treaty Ed, we can also debunk the lies that covered historical accounts of what's happened in this country like how the Crown stated Indigenous peoples voluntarily surrendered their lands and their identities. We can raise awareness and advocate for b...

  Provide a brief summary of your understanding of the three learning theories introduced in the readings (behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism). How can you connect these learning theories with the models of curriculum (product, process, and praxis in particular) that we have discussed? What learning theories did you see reflected in your own schooling experiences? As I've noticed throughout all the reading this week, the three learning theories are really linked to the models of curriculum. Firstly, behaviorism, as I've read about on the BC Campus site, is the  idea that certain behavioral responses become associated in a mechanistic and invariant way with specific stimuli. I thought it was important to note that behaviorism puts an  emphasis on reward and punishment as drivers of learning and on pre-defined and measurable outcomes, and  generally rejects reference to unmeasurable states, such as feelings, attitudes, and consciousness. Ralph Tyler was a beh...

  According to the Levin article, how are school curricula developed and implemented? What new information/perspectives does this reading provide about the development and implementation of the school curriculum? Is there anything that surprises you or maybe that concerns you?  Understanding how school curricula are developed and implemented starts with understanding how politics and educational policies work. Ben Levin said, "Policies govern just about every aspect of education- what schooling is provided, how, to whom, in what form, by whom, with what resources, and so on." (2008, p.8).  I think it's valuable to learn about how Levin immersed himself in the world of politics and policy-making to understand how the curriculum is formed. One of the dilemmas he learned in policy-making is that while educators want policies based on their knowledge and experience, politicians argue these policies are not necessarily what people want or would accept. Curriculum politics and ...

 What does it mean to be a "good" student according to the commonsense? I think commonsense paints the portrait of a "good" student under some strict discipline. People expect students to be well-behaved and showing satisfactory product of their learning, thereby becoming "good" students. The higher the grades meant the more they proved their learning. Kumashiro mentions two different students M and N. Student M is described as a handful while N questioned parts of education and parts of the teacher. Mainstream society pressures teachers to change students like M and N to fit expectations on behaviors, knowledge, and skills. Kumashiro says, "the insistence on 'meeting standards' is an insistence on complying with what some in society have defined as commonsense."  Which students are privileged by this definition of a good student?  I'm not certain that there are students who are privileged by the expectations of being a "good...

  How does Kumashiro define 'commonsense?' Why is it important to pay attention to it?  Kumashiro defines 'commensense' through many examples, but each one leads to "what everyone should know and do." We see commonsense in facets of our lives and in our education. I view commonsense through things that come naturally like eating three meals a day. However, Kumashiro analyzes the limitation that commonsense imposes on effective education. It's important to pay attention because commonsense allows the continuation of oppressive social markers in our schools. We may not notice how much marginalization has been embedded in our teaching under the guise of "norm."  What type(s) of curriculum model did Kumashiro encounter in Nepal? In Nepal, Kumashiro learned that lessons centered directly from textbooks issued by the government and for all the schools, or in other words, they had a formal curriculum. After completing textbook questions, the students wo...