School Name: Nisga’a Elementary Secondary School
School District: SD#92 Nisga’a
Inquiry Team Members: Peter McKay: pmckay@nisgaa.bc.ca, Jackie Borosa: jborosa@nisgaa.bc.ca, Mark Koeble: mkoebel@nisgaa.bc.ca, Jill Jensen: jjensen@nisgaa.bc.ca
Inquiry Team Contact Email: ymcmillan@nisgaa.bc.ca
Type of Inquiry: NOIIE
Grade Levels: Primary (K-3), Intermediate (4-7)
Curricular Area(s): Other: Nisga’a Language
Focus Addressed: Indigenous understandings (for example, Traditional Knowledge, oral history, reconciliation), Core competencies (for example, critical thinking, communication, problem solving), Experiential learning, First Peoples Principles of Learning, Flexible learning, Formative assessment, Growth mindset, Land, Nature or Place-based learning, Self-regulation, Social and emotional learning
In one sentence, what was your focus for the year? To become a fully fluent Nisga’a speaking elementary.
Scanning:
While scanning:
1. Learners ask why they don’t get written work in Nisga’a class.
2. The learners love TPR (total physical response).
3. Learners love action songs.
4. Learners seem to have retained more knowledge through less writing and more speaking.
5. I’ve been taking our learners outside for 10-15 minutes, two times per week (weather, animals, clothing, food, transportation, etc.).
Focus: I am hopeful of obtaining effective ways of catching our learners hook, line & sinker, with the concepts of speaking Nisga’a as naturally as possible, while making it fun, memorable and a yearning to learn more.
Hunch:
1. Engaging older students with participation.
2. Getting away from too many worksheets.
3. Get each learner to step out of their comfort zone and practice what they know.
4. Encourage learners not to be shy.
New Professional Learning:
1. Creating posters for each classroom would be beneficial.
2. Creating a set of flashcards with calendar (days of the week, months and months of the year).
3. Sit with my colleagues and brainstorm ways to fully engage our students.
Taking Action:
1. Lots of auditory and verbal learning.
2. Stories, followed by probing questions and encouragement to answer in Nisga’a.
3. Smartboard activities to engage each learner.
Checking: Stepping away from English instruction in class a little more & look forward to speaking full Nisga’a. I am not satisfied with the level of English being spoken in our school. I used past years of teaching as a baseline; change is welcomed and practiced in a couple of classrooms, but not all. Answers from each learner are becoming more rich, due to how language is being taught.
Reflections/Advice: From this inquiry, I am realizing that we need more resources to go home with our learners; therefore, we will need more time and funds to create such resources for each home.