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Inuit Legends, Oral Histories, Art, and Science in the Collaborative Development of Lessons that Foster Two-Way Learning: The Return of the Sun in Nunavut

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Abstract

This paper reports on the development of a science unit for Nunavut students and my collaboration with Louise Uyarak, an early years teacher and a graduate of Arctic College’s teacher education program. The unit addresses light outcomes in the Canadian Common Framework of Science Learning Outcomes, K–12. More importantly, it incorporates aspirations of the local community, the District Education Authority, and the Nunavut government for bi-cultural education in science: an education that develops knowledge in and about science and knowledge passed on to the Inuit by their ancestors. Components of lessons are presented and discussed in the context of how Louise and I worked together to develop a resource that would embody the fundamental nature of culturally responsive teaching and “two-way” science learning.

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Notes

  1. The project, “Honouring Local Aspirations: Beaufort Education Council (NWT) and Nunavut Pilot Studies” was a 5 year research project implemented under the umbrella of the University of Manitoba’s Centre for Research, Youth, Science Teaching and Learning (CRYSTAL), which was funded by Canada’s Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

  2. The Science Curriculum Implementation Questionnaire (Lewthwaite 2001) was used in the evaluation of factors influencing science program delivery at each school. This is a comprehensive, validated 7-scale, forty-nine item questionnaire that was developed with the intent of gauging a teacher’s perceptions of environmental and personal attributes identified as impediments to science program delivery: resource adequacy, time, school ethos, professional support, science knowledge, professional adequacy, and professional interest and motivation (Lewthwaite 2000).

  3. Inuuqatigiit: The Curriculum from the Inuit Perspective (Northwest Territories Department of Education, Culture, and Employment 1996) summarizes “what Inuit say is important for children now and for the future” (i.e., “maintain strengthen, recall and enhance Inuit language and culture in the community and the school; enhance unity within Inuit groups; create a link between the past and the present; encourage the practice of Inuit values and beliefs; and encourage pride in Inuit identity to enhance personal identity,” p. 5). Inuuqatigiit also includes examples of how best to promote these goals.

  4. At the moment, a science curriculum for Nunavut has not been written. Teachers in the three schools either follow a 3-year plan of school wide themes as endorsed by the former Baffin Divisional Board of Education (e.g., September, water; October, polar bears; November, ice/snow; December, traditional games and recreation) or align their teaching with the guidelines set by Alberta, the Northwest Territories, or the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada.

  5. Similar to a career Planning for Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATHING) model in which individuals identify where they are headed and how the organization in which they work can help them to gain the skills, knowledge, and abilities to get there. The individual employee, however, is responsible for his or her own professional development.

  6. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit is literally translated as “that which has long been known by Inuit” (Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (2007, June 5). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 21, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inuit_Qaujimajatuqangit&oldid=136012636

  7. The Igloolik Oral History Project began in 1986. It was organized by the Igloolik elders in cooperation with the Igloolik Research Centre and captured on audio tape the knowledge and experiences of elders. These audio tapes have been translated and transcribed into English and are held in the archives of the Inullariit Society, Igloolik Research Centre, Igloolik, Nunavut.

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  1. Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba, 230C, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

    Barbara A. McMillan

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  1. Barbara A. McMillan
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Correspondence to Barbara A. McMillan.

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McMillan, B.A. Inuit Legends, Oral Histories, Art, and Science in the Collaborative Development of Lessons that Foster Two-Way Learning: The Return of the Sun in Nunavut. Interchange 43, 129–145 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-013-9189-8

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