How to Use This Site
Topics for use in creating learning objectives are listed below. Some educators object to strict “learning goals” in a lesson plan. Devotees to the ideas of Paolo Freire (and most of the contributors to this website do admire him) will object that classrooms should be a place where collaboration underlies knowledge production, that learning is something that happens when teachers and students work together. Anne Pyburn likes to say that if she’s not learning, she’s not teaching. Pyburn and Sievert begin our classes by discussing what will be covered in consultation with the whole class. When we ask “why are you taking this class” we use the information to aid the students to gain the skills they have requested.
If we are committed to collaborative learning and the personal and emotional engagement of Red Pedagogy (Grande 2015), how can we begin a class having already set the learning goals? Stated learning outcomes are now required as part of a syllabus that will be reviewed, a process that has been critiqued (Bennett and Brady 2014). The answer to this is that although we teach through engagement and responsiveness to student interests and needs, instructors do have goals at the start of each class and although they must be subject to modification, it is important for the person who convenes the class to be honest about their intentions. For materials on this website, the creators cannot engage with the classes that may use their offerings so it is necessary for us to divulge our intentions so that users can evaluate what we offer for both its quality and relevance to their interests and needs. Learning goals, in general, for the project include addressing some of the following:
- critical thinking through:
- recognizing and explaining assumptions
- identifying criteria for evaluating information
- analyzing the roles of science, government, and community in knowledge production
- considering stakeholders’ (especially descendants’) needs, experience, claims, concerns, and costs
- evaluating possible courses of action and outcomes
- choosing and using appropriate analytical tools
- empathy through:
- listening actively
- building respect
- engaging and disagreeing constructively
- cultural respect through:
- elevating Indigenous peoples’ priorities
- prioritizing learning about Indigenous sovereignty
- understanding and valuing cultural and individual differences
- identifying and prioritizing community-defined ethics
- understanding that Indigenous science is science
- understanding the value of different histories
- communication through:
- exchanging information for the purpose of understanding
- working respectfully, cooperatively, and (where appropriate) collaboratively
- learning about communication in different contexts
- resilience through:
- moving forward in the absence of complete understanding
- tolerating uncertainty and coping with ambiguity
- making decisions in complex situations
- creating community
- agency through:
- identifying possible actions
- gaining confidence through analytical reasoning
- understanding that in the 21st century, relevant fields, such as archaeology, museum studies, folklore, history, and anthropology, need to be supportive, collaborative and consultative
- centering the work of NAGPRA specialists and professionals on people
- understanding the dynamics of decision making within organizations
For more information about the project see the About section.