We recognized a need for professional development that helps outdoor educators explore how they see themselves and their teaching in relation to Indigenous students and Indigenous studies concepts. During a listening session at the 2018 Oregon Indian Education Association, we heard Indigenous educators’ and parents’ concerns that they had not been invited into school-level planning for outdoor school programming, and we took those concerns seriously. As well, outdoor educators had specifically requested training related to Indigenous studies and outdoor education. Some outdoor educators had followed the “Tribal History/Shared History” legislative campaign with interest, and wondered how the curriculum being developed could be used in the outdoor school setting. Others were concerned about cultural appropriation in their camp settings and were looking for ways to learn more about responsible inclusion of Indigenous Knowledges. Some educators understood their curriculum to be less than culturally responsive, and were seeking the skills to revise existing curriculum. This talk describes our efforts to address these concerns and requests by offering professional development workshops for outdoor educators across the state. Our workshops sought to deepen outdoor educators’ knowledge of Indigenous studies concepts, and prepare outdoor educators to more effectively support Indigenous students in their classrooms and schools. We specifically aimed to make colonial logics and practices of erasure visible so that outdoor educators could learn to contest these, and create more just and humanizing spaces for Indigenous students and knowledge systems. Though our workshop was designed for outdoor educators, many of whom were white, we worked to center Indigenous students by creating curriculum that responded to Indigenous community members’ concerns, and more broadly, by preparing outdoor educators to implement curricula and pedagogies that would affirm the dignity and humanity of Indigenous student participants. To move our workshops beyond one day, we created an online open-access course and professional learning community to sustain educators’ dialogue and commitment. Though not described in detail here, we also engaged in action research with several workshop participants who were committed to using the knowledge from this workshop to transform their respective programs. The research questions we asked were: What are outdoor educators’ responses to Indigenous studies concepts and in what ways do outdoor educators lean in and embrace the responsibilities and commitments that Indigenous studies scholars forward? In what ways do they avoid or evade these responsibilities and commitments?
Dr. Spirit Brooks, Research, Evaluation, and Assessment Coordinator, Outdoor School Program
15 сен 2024
