Transforming pedagogies: pre‐service reflections on learning and teaching in an Indigenous world

Abstract

Through personal narratives, pre‐service teachers recount their experiences from a course based in Indigenous pedagogy within the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria. These narratives were drawn from the assigned daily reflection journals of pre‐service teachers. They highlight how their personal understandings of teaching and learning were transformed. In the context of a Lekwungen and Liekwelthout pole carving course, they developed a deep understanding of the Indigenous concepts of Celhcelh—the development of a sense of responsibility for personal learning within the context of a learning community; Kat’il’a—the act of becoming still—slowing down, despite an ingrained and urgent need to know and desire for busy‐ness; Cwelelep—the discomfort and value of being in a place of dissonance, uncertainty and anticipation; and Kamucwkalha—the energy current that indicates the emergence of a communal sense of purpose. The writers share their personal reflections of these concepts and how they affected their views of teaching and learning.