I. General Information
School Name: EBUS Academy
School District: SD#91 Nechako Lakes
Inquiry Team Members:
Nicole Arnold narnold@sd91.bc.ca
Mia Moutray mmoutray@sd91.bc.ca
Inquiry Team Contact Email: narnold@sd91.bc.ca
II. Inquiry Project Information
Type of Inquiry: NOIIE Case Study
Grade Levels Addressed Through Inquiry: Intermediate (4-7), Secondary (8-12)
Curricular Areas Addressed: Arts Education, Career Education, Language Arts – Literacy, Language Arts – Oral Language, Language Arts – Reading, Physical & Health Education, Science, Social Studies
Focus Addressed: Indigenous understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Community-based learning, Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Experiential learning, First Peoples Principles of Learning, Growth mindset, Indigenous pedagogy, Land, Nature or Place-based learning, Self-regulation, Social and emotional learning
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? We are learning about cultivating a strong sense of belonging for, and more communication with, the Indigenous community of learners in our online learning school.
III. Spirals of Inquiry Details
Scanning: We wanted Indigenous learners to feel supported and be an active part of our learning community here at EBUS. We thought that by seeing themselves represented in the learning environment and included in the activities we plan, a greater sense of belonging could be cultivated and felt. Belonging is so important; as we know, learning outcomes increase when learners feel safe and included.
When we did the survey online in December, only 2/150 responded. The two that answered said they felt supported by their teachers and that they felt encouraged to learn. What about the others? How come they didn’t check their email or bother to respond? We were curious about learning about this and how we could better meet learners’ needs.
Focus: Due to the low response we had when asking learners the four questions in an online survey, we felt that we wanted to focus on improving the communication and connection with EBUS families of Indigenous learners.
Hunch: Online learning is traditionally quite anonymous and focused on “completing courses” rather than cultivating learning communities. We know our learners choose to study here for a reason, whether it is less proximity to brick and mortar school, mental health, physical health or struggle with support in a regular school building. Since the pandemic, we have noticed a change of the number of learners and their families who join our field trips and workshops. We have struggled with engaging learners online in various initiatives (Girls’ Group and other sessions with guest speakers and presenters).
We also noticed that some families did not spend their supplemental Indigenous Education funds to support their children in the learning.
We wanted to dig deeper into what we were doing to change this trajectory.
New Professional Learning: We have spent time on discussing how often Nikki, the EBUS Indigenous Education advocate, should check in with families to see how things were going. We also spent time talking about how to reach out, as many do not answer their phone. We have tried to initiate conversations around ideas on how they can spend their supplemental funding to support learning, and remind them about the different learning opportunities – both face-to-face gatherings and workshops or online ones. Mia and Nikki met every Tuesday morning to follow up on our plan for the year.
Attending the Indspire Conference in Montreal was eye opening, and the learning we did there led to connections with presenters from across Canada as well as planning on how to engage learners in being part of planning next steps. We learnt over and over how strong relationships in schools changed peoples’ lives.
Attending the NOIIE Symposium opened our eyes to how we can embed more land-based learning at our online school. Witnessing other schools from all around the world creating learning experiences in place and on the land, in online learning or brick and mortar, was truly inspiring and something we really want to focus on next year.
Taking Action: We tried to create engaging learning sessions either in-person or online. These differed in attendance, but some were really popular. There were some that were not well attended, but the feedback was fantastic. The learners expressed how welcome they felt and how much the opportunities mattered to them. Nikki tried a greater variety of contact methods to get in touch with families. One of them was texting using our new VOIP system. Texting seemed more efficient than emailing, as many families do not check their email. Nikki also called more regularly and offered ideas on how families could use the supplemental funding to support the child’s learning.
Based on the four questions we asked in the beginning of the school year, we held each other accountable and had deeper conversations especially about our hunches. We engaged in thinking around what is and what is not in our control!
Checking: We made some difference as we had more people responding to the same four questions at the end of the school year as opposed to in late November. We interpreted this as a greater comfort level with us, as well as having built a stronger relationship with our families. We were somewhat satisfied but feel that we still have a ways to go to meet our own expectations. We are still curious about those that did not respond: why didn’t they and what are they thinking and feeling as online learners?
We also want to start unpacking quantitative data: graduation rates, the difference in learning outcomes for on reserve and off reserve Indigenous learners. It is clear that our inquiry is a long term, but necessary, one.
Reflections/Advice: Our reflections are embedded in the responses above, as they are tied with the parts of the inquiry spiral(s). However, we do want to deepen our inquiry by pushing ourselves to unpack data and also delve into the land-based learning. Communication with families is so important, and finding what works best for each would be amazing. Seeing to families’ needs and wants while still maintaining a balanced work flow for Nikki is a priority. We are thankful to be part of the NOIIE network learning community. Being part of the inquiry process in a formal way supports both of us and feels invigorating!