Canadian Council on Learning | Conseil Canadien sur l'Apprentissage

This project engaged Blackfoot and Cree representatives from tribes of Treaty Six and Seven in collaborative dialog around issues pertinent to learning, place, and language. Participants came together at two sacred sites that they hold in common, to discuss their relationships to these places as a collective, and how these relationships have been effected by colonial, scientific, and ecclesiastic histories of claiming these places as part of church, Canada, or world heritage. The first site visited was the Manito Stone, a sacred meteorite that now rests as an exhibit in the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton. The second visit was to Lac Ste. Anne, which is remembered to have had a sacred meteorite land in the middle of the lake. The key outcome of this project was the renewal of shared knowledge and relationships that took place during these visits. In addition, findings from the Aboriginal Learning Knowledge Centre’s on Learning from Place and Language Learning were disseminated.

This program was designed to create a forum for knowledge exchange on Aboriginal Ways of Knowing within the context of Aboriginal and Inuit teacher education programs in Canada (TEPs). Key achievements of the project included: the promotion of research and self-reflection among TEPs, the convening of representatives from more than 10 TEPs for the first time in 15 years, the development of online and print resources to support ongoing knowledge exchange, and the development of a structure to implement a similar forum in the future thereby fostering sustainability of this knowledge exchange community. Information about the project is available at: www.atepnet.ning.com.

This project was designed to engage Aboriginal Youth in helping to solve the HIV/AIDS and HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) challenges in Northern BC. It involved implementation of three regional Youth Train-the-Trainer sessions on basic sexuality, HIV/AIDS and HCV. Aboriginal youth, aged 18-25 and involved in working with youth, participated in the intensive three day training sessions held in the Northern BC Communities of Terrace, Fort St. John and Prince George. They acquired the skills to deliver culturally appropriate presentations on safe sexuality and healthy lifestyles in their home communities. By engaging Aboriginal youth, the Task Force has created the community-based capacity to exchange knowledge on topics that are important and relevant to communities. Information about the project is available at www.healingourspirit.org/education.htm .

This project included a variety of activities (web-based discussion forums about published research, roundtables, web publication of lessons learned that can have pan-Canadian applicability in remote and rural communities) to stimulate knowledge exchange between northern and southern region health and literacy practitioners, and with health and literacy policy decision-makers and researchers. It provided an opportunity for participants to build relationships and to engage in conversations that link research, practice, and policy development. Information on the project is available at: www.upperskeena.ca/storytellers/CCL%20research/ccl/index.html.

 

This project engaged communities across Canada to raise awareness about the impact of current major population changes on education and to develop policy options for governments and communities. A series of roundtables were held; a survey of participants revealed that they were effective in providing current research data, facilitating networking, instilling a broad understanding of issues affecting immigrant, rural and Aboriginal students. The round tables also provided The Learning Partnership with useful information for the final report that reviews current and future trends as well as policy and planning challenges for federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions and school boards. Information about the project is available at: www.thelearningpartnership.ca/ (go to the Policy and Research section).