Session two will focus on the importance of reciprocity in relationships and Language in math instruction - Anishinaabemowin in the case of the session two facilitators. The co-plan and co-teach aspects of the framework for engagement will be discussed in detail and project partners from The Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nations will share their views and key learnings within the work. Through tasks, videos and discussion we will focus on using looming as a way of exploring number sense and computational fluency, number systems (e.g., even/odd), patterning, spatial representation of quantity, transformations, multiplicative thinking and proportional reasoning.
ADDITIONAL INFO
• When: Wednesday, January 29, 2020 at 6:30 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada)
• Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Price: $25.00
• Language: English
• Who can attend? Anyone with the event link can attend
Presenters
Dr. Ruth Beatty
Associate Professor, Faculty of Education at Lakehead University
Dr. Ruth Beatty is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University in Orillia. As a mathematics education researcher, Ruth’s focus has been how children learn complex math concepts, and the alignment of instruction with developmental trajectories of understanding. Since 2013 she has collaborated with members of Anishinaabe and Métis communities and educators from Ontario school boards to research the connections between Anishinaabe and Métis ways of knowing mathematics and the Western mathematics found in provincial curricula. The goal of this research (funded by a SSHRC Insight Development Grant, a SSHRC Indigenous Research Capacity and Reconciliation Connection Grant, an Indigenous Research Capacity and Development Grant, and by the Council of Ontario Directors of Education) is to collaboratively design culturally responsive mathematics instruction and to learn from and incorporate Indigenous pedagogical perspectives in inclusive classroom settings.
Danielle Blair
Math Lead Consultant | Retired Educator
For the past eight years, Danielle Blair has worked alongside Dr. Ruth Beatty on a multi-year multi-community research project with several First Nations community partners and Ontario Boards of Education. During this time she also served as Provincial Mathematics Lead on contract with the Council of Ontario Directors of Education (CODE) through which she supported Boards of Education in Mathematics, Leadership and community-based participatory research. In addition to being passionate about co-learning from and with First Nations community leaders, Danielle has been involved in research projects related to the teaching and learning of Mathematics K to 12 and the facilitation of professional learning for educators for the past 18 years. She has served as a classroom and Special Education teacher, Mathematics Itinerate Resource Teacher, Elementary School Vice-Principal, and as Adjunct Professor, York University Teacher Candidate Program.
Christina Ruddy
Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation
As a proud Algonquin woman of the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, Christina has spent the majority of her career working to empower Indigenous youth through education, language and capacity-building. She has worked in grass roots movements such as Friendship Centres, in post-secondary institutions such as Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario and with Lakehead University in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Education. Christina is a successful alumnus of the first graduating class of the Native Community and Social Development program from Georgian College and in 2012 received the Board of Governor’s award of Excellence – Distinguished Alumni for her work with Indigenous people. Christina’s invaluable work in the promotion of Anishnaabemowin has added to efforts to preserve this endangered language both within her own community and provincially. She has worked to bring about change in Indigenous education and to make schooling more inclusive and Indigenous-focused through the Indigenous mathematics research study with Ontario teachers to incorporate Indigenous ways of teaching into the Ontario mathematics curriculum. She has collaborated with educators and administrators from the Renfrew County District School Board, and has worked as a mentor with Indigenous artists in other communities who have been part of this work. Christina has shared her experiences as an Algonquin artist researcher at a number of conferences, included four presentations at the Ontario Association of Mathematics Education annual conference. In 2018 Christina, along with Dr. Ruth Beatty, was awarded the Indigenous Partnership Research Award during Lakehead University’s Research and Innovation awards ceremony as a testament to her leadership in this project. Christina’s dedication to the celebration of Indigenous culture has resulted in many successful events and projects. Through empowering Indigenous youth to celebrate their identity, language and culture made visible in their daily lives, she embodies the tradition of passing on culture and the skills needed to preserve it to the younger generations.
Heather Lett
Renfrew County DSB
Heather Lett has been a classroom teacher of grades 2-5 for 28 years with the Renfrew County District School Board. She is passionate about making connections between the lives, culture and traditions of her students from the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation and the subjects and events taught in her classroom and at the school. She has been a collaborator in the Indigenous mathematics research project for over five years and has presented with the team at three Ontario Association for Mathematics Education conferences. She is excited to share and learn with others who are interested in more inclusive, holistic approaches to teaching because she has seen first hand the gains all students make when they extend their “ways of knowing” mathematics as they experience a meaningful connection between their learning and their culture.
Jody Alexander
System Vice Principal Indigenous Education, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
Jody Alexander, a First Nation Algonquin, is from the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan. She is currently the system Vice Principal of Indigenous Education with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. Prior to this she had 13 years of teaching experience in the Renfrew County District School Board where she was a classroom teacher, Indigenous Education Resource teacher and lead for Indigenous Education. Jody is committed to ensuring Indigenous Education, through history, perspectives and knowledge, is infused in all classrooms and in all subjects across the province. Some of her most impactful teaching came from working with Dr. Ruth Beatty, Danielle Blair, the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation, and the staff of Eganville District Public School where they investigated, and implemented Indigenous Ways of Knowing in Mathematics. Jody believes all students benefit from learning Indigenous knowledge and that it is through this new knowledge we will create a better Canada for generations to come.