Way' SSHRC Project Educators, Community Partners, Research Partners, and Research Assistants,
August brings with it a powerful feeling, knowing that we will gather in a month's time to be in ceremony at the water once again. It is in this recursive return to the land, the water, the relationships, the teachings of the Elders of the Syilx Okanagan Nation that we gather ourselves, and deepen our learning. With the Knowledge we are gifted, we go through many processes to unlearn and relearn, and we acquire inner-preparedness to support our students' learning on, with, and alongside the land.
As we do this learning, if you wish to become more deeply involved in the partnership research, here is a message from doctoral candidate, Kyle Hamilton:
I would like to invite interested educators to participate in my dissertation research as an additional study within the SSHRC co-curricular-making partnership grant. My dissertation research proposes to study the needed conditions, habits and practices acquired by educators and their students who strive towards a co-curricular making (wayfinding) approach to teaching and learning that foregrounds democratization within their classroom(s), school(s), and communities. The concepts of democratization, co-curricular making, and wayfinding will be explored in further depth with educator-research participants across all disciplines and grade levels.
I intend to engage in a collaborative inquiry cycle (for one full school year) with educators enacting and embodying the concepts of democracy, curriculum, and wayfinding discussed above. A collaborative inquiry group of approximately 10 educators will be held in person and/or online—as schedules permit—with all participants 5-6 times throughout the ten-month 2023-2024 school year. Each collaborative conversation will be recorded and analyzed for features furthering co-curricular wayfinding and democratization. In addition, participants will be encouraged to bring personal reflective documents (journals, field notes, teaching artifacts, photographs) for further analysis. Connections to decolonization will be sought and, thus, further the SSHRC Partnership Grant research. If you’re interested in participating or would like further information about the study, please contact Kyle Hamilton at kyle.hamilton@ubc.ca.
As we look toward Fall, there is no question that the Syilx Knowledge we are privileged to learn and responsible to share brings hope to honour and give back to all this life around us. This is best done with our ongoing collective action.
Sincerely,
SSHRC Facilitation Team
