Literacy and Numeracy Project

The NOIIE Numeracy and Literacy Project was launched in the fall of 2022 with generous support from the BC Ministry of Education and Child Care. This initiative brought together 10 schools from across British Columbia, Canada, that are involved in this project focusing on numeracy and literacy skills for Indigenous learners. The project seeks to incorporate Indigenous pedagogies into the Language Arts and Math curriculum, and foster a strong learner agency in these areas. 

The project was a great success. Several schools shared their learning at NOIIE Symposiums over the past 3 years, and all participating schools submitted detailed case studies at the end of each year. Encouraged by the strong outcomes from the first year, the BC Ministry of Education and Child Care extended funding for two subsequent years, allowing school teams to deepen their inquiries and continue refining their practices. Now completed, the NOIIE Numeracy and Literacy Project has made a meaningful contribution to advancing equity and excellence in education. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Ministry for their continued support of this important work.

Roberta Toth & Michelle Miller-Gauthier

Roberta Toth and Michelle Miller-Gauthier are district level support teachers in SD91 Nechako Lakes and co-facilitate the Network of Inquiry and Indigenous Education (NOIIE) project on improving numeracy and literacy for all students, with a focus on Indigenous learners.  In their roles with NOIIE, as well as in Nechako Lakes, Michelle and Roberta work closely as a team in supporting education. Both Michelle and Roberta were honoured to be accepted into, and completed, TELP through UBC (Transforming Educational Leadership Program) in 2021-2022.  This time together in deep learning has helped to support long-term, sustainable inquiry goals and is reflected in their work with this project.

Nechako Lakes School District serves learners from fourteen different Indigenous communities, creating a culturally rich environment for educators to learn in.  It has also fed their desire to learn more and help other educators deepen their practice with the lens of learning from Indigenous knowledge. Decolonizing assessment and learning experiences is one of Michelle and Roberta’s current explorations.

As settlers in Saik’uz territory, Roberta and Michelle continue to work toward reconciliation through education.  They have a passion for improving equity in the education system by learning from and with Indigenous educational leaders, connecting with Indigenous community, as well as by accessing and supporting resources in classrooms that center Indigenous experiences and knowledge. Learning through and facilitating inquiry using the Spiral has been a focus area of both Michelle and Roberta, and they are looking forward to another wonderful year of learning alongside BC educators.

William Konkin Elementary (Karie Evans, 2023)