De-Linking the Elementary Curriculum from the Colonizing Forces of Ableism

What does it mean to teach and learn about becoming human amidst disability and race in the elementary school classroom? This broad question guides my conceptual paper here in a manner that focuses on the fruitful possibilities at the intersections between the fields of disability studies and decolonial studies. The first part of this paper intends to explore how the concepts of “dysconscious racism” (King, 1991, p. 133) and “dysconscious ableism” (Broderick and Lalvani, 2017, p. 894) are useful tools through which to conduct an analysis of how our education system remains rooted in the practices of exclusion and/or conditional inclusion that continue to valorize a subjective self steeped in western colonial logics. Through decolonial studies and Global South disability studies, the second portion of this paper seeks to question the limits of strategies of resistance that reinforce western-centric conceptions of the self while also making a case for interdependence.

First Person: Juggling through a teacher education program

When Trudy Knowles needed a change in her elementary curriculum class, she decided to teach her students to juggle. Her excuse was that juggling would impress their future students, but she soon realized that learning a skill like juggling can give teachers a better understanding of how students feel when they learn something new. Here, she shares some of the insight the future teachers in her class gained from learning to juggle.

Teachers as Instructional Designers: Unearthing the Essence of the Primary School Curriculum for Delivery within the Remote Learning Classroom

Moving our elementary curriculum to emergency remote instruction presented numerous challenges to our elementary school, as teachers recognized that elementary-age children could not be expected to spend the amount of time on computer screens that they had spent in face-to-face classrooms. Working with our colleagues, we adopted a “less is more” approach, using inquiry processes to make systematic and informed choices as to which state standards would be covered. We acted as instructional designers to develop coherent learning units for remote instruction, using inquiry processes to study the effectiveness of our lessons and adjust instruction accordingly. This work could only transpire because we viewed ourselves (and were viewed by our administration) as professionals, rather than technicians. At, P. K. Yonge, we were empowered to critically examine our curriculum, to modify and adjust our lessons in response to the crisis, and to design innovative ways to deliver our curriculum. Conceptualizing teachers’ work as professional was foundational to our ability to be effective during the pandemic.

Enhancing Learning With Outdoor Experiential Support Spaces

There is substantial evidence that primary school students whose education incorporates outdoor settings benefit from this addition to traditional classroom learning. Educational theories introduced by John Dewey, Maria Montessori, and Rudolph Steiner have provided a significant foundation for experiential learning in natural outdoor settings. This thesis explores educational environments that combine indoor and outdoor spaces. The result of this research is the design of three learning spaces sited in a natural environment that support education in a natural science curriculum. These three environments are proposed to supplement the provincial elementary curriculum, and involve three different natural conditions. These outdoor classrooms will provide children with exposure to the natural environment even as they learn within the boundaries of a controlled setting.