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Work with a local group to offer trainees the chance for an overnight writing retreat, using pomodoro methods and thinking/writing in different spaces.

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Not only de-colonising the curriculum but also Promoting the course curriculum further in the Sefton and Liverpool community, inviting people of colour via community groups to apply for the course and making it accessible via mentor support and specific bursaries. Get trainee teachers actively involved in this, in a steering group etc. Ask these guys in for a guest talk perhaps?

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Snapshot: Shades of Noir (SoN) was established in 2009 by Aisha Richards after discovering some startling statistics relating to the attainment figures of students of colour within Higher Education. In response, the organisation was developed to 'provoke, challenge and encourage dialogue and cultural value on the subjects of race within Higher Education, the creative & cultural sectors', through digital content, events, advocacy and support networks.

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Discuss observations (Matt O'Leary etc.)Give trainees an opportunity to observe me and fill in the obs paper work, working together to give me feedback. This will enable us to be equals, allow them to see the complexity and see the subjectivity.

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Students from Thornton College come and spend the afternoon with us, we plan a lesson for them on sustainability maybe? Then we go to Thornton and join them for the day, buddying up with students.

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Create a visual cartography of influences in our ITE journey, on the wall or digitally? Every time we cite or feel inspired by an author, speaker we include them, we will have a political consciousness to ensure these are reflective of different cultures, backgrounds, a variety of human and non-human influence.

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Introducing alternative ways to view the world through indigenous ontology, linking to critical pedagogy. E.g. Blackfoot beliefs vs Maslow

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I have referred to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs for as long as I can remember. I learned about it as a way of looking at the complete physical, emotional, social, and intellectual qualities of an individual. It seemed obvious that this could be applied to education so I shared it during speeches, online, and in coaching. I never thought of where and how it came to be. I look back now and wish I had the curiosity and skepticism I have now and had done my research.

When I shared his hierarchy during a Twitter chat, my friend Ken Shelton @k_shelton sent me a direct message asking me if I had done any research on Maslow's Hierarchy. I have but apparently not on the points he mentioned so he sent me this link http://bit.ly/maslow-blackfoot-connection that I shortened for you. I added other research I found at the bottom of this post.

The article Maslow's Hierarchy Connected to Blackfoot's Beliefs by Karen Lincoln Michel in 2014 opened my eyes and reinforced some of my own thinking about what motivates people. So a little history of Abraham Maslow as one of the founders of humanistic psychology is that "he generously borrowed from the Blackfoot people to refine his motivational theory on the hierarchy of needs."

Maslow's Motivation Theory

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper " A Theory of Human Motivation " in Psychological Review. Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity. Let me review with you what Maslow's theory suggests. He illustrates that people are motivated by fulfilling basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing first which is at the bottom of the triangle. As you move up the triangle, the next need is safety and security, then love and intimacy, then self-esteem, and then at the top: self-actualization. This highest level is where people are self-aware and achieve their fullest potential.

"It is quite true that man lives by bread alone - when there is no bread. But what happens to man's desires when there is plenty of bread and when his belly is chronically filled?
At once other (and "higher") needs emerge and these, rather than physiological hungers, dominate the organism. And when these in turn are satisfied, again new (and still "higher") needs emerge and so on. This is what we mean by saying that the basic human needs are organized into a hierarchy of relative prepotency." (Maslow, 1943, p. 375).

What was and was not in Maslow's Theory

In reading several reviews of the theory, there were critical evaluations of his findings. Maslow used limited samplings of self-actualized people including biographies and writings of 18 people he identified as being self-actualized. He used personal opinion which is prone to bias and reduces the validity of the data obtained. But that didn't seem to matter to educators. If you do a search on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, you will see this 5 level version. There is a seven-stage and then an eight-stage model later developed during the 1960s and 1970s. [Source: Simply Psychology 2018]

Maslow's work centered around the humanistic approach but he never created the pyramid. Many people may not realize that during the last few years of his life Maslow believed self-transcendence, not self-actualization, was the pinnacle of human needs. According to this article in Scientific American, a business management consultant created Maslow's pyramid. [Source: Kaufman, 2019]

Blackfoot Nation translated from Siksika Nation

I received an email from Councillor Leon Crane Bear who is a member of the Siksika Nation (part of the Blackfoot Confederacy) located in Alberta, outside of Calgary in Canada where he gave me more information about the proper spelling ("Siksika" which translates to Blaackfoot). The Siksika Nation is a First Nation in southern Alberta, Canada. The name Siksiká comes from the Blackfoot words sik (black) and iká (foot), with a connector s between the two words. Siksika has a total population of approximately 7500+ members. Siksika are a part of the Blackfoot Confederacy which also consists of the Piikani and Kainaiwa of southern Alberta and the Blackfeet in the State of Montana. More information at Siksika Nation.

In 1938, Abraham Maslow visited the Blackfoot (Siksika) Nation. There is evidence of Maslow's work there with a link to an archival photo that places Maslow on the Blackfoot reserve at that time, and a link to more information on the Blackfoot people's influence on Maslow.

Karen Michel interviewed Dr. Cindy Blackstock who is the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada about Maslow's connection to the Blackfoot Nation.
The Blackfoot belief is not a triangle. It is a tipi where they believe tipis reach to the sky.
Self-actualization is at the base of the tipi, not at the top, and is the foundation on which community actualization is built. The highest form that a Blackfoot can attain is called "cultural perpetuity."

Blackstock shared in her research, the breath of life theory that was interpreted by Native American child welfare expert Terry Cross in the relational worldview model (Cross, 1997; Cross, 2007). The principles are categorized into four domains (cognitive, physical, spiritual, and emotional) of personal and collective well-being:

Cross presented in 2007 at a keynote that Western views are linear and native and tribal views are relational:

Fluid, cyclical view of time

Each aspect of life is related

Services aim to restore balance

Interventions may not be directed at "symptoms"

Underlying question is "how?"

Blackstock explained cultural perpetuity as something her Gitksan people call "the breath of life." It's an understanding that you will be forgotten, but you have a part in ensuring that your people's important teachings live on.

Blackstock referred to research by Ryan Heavy Head and Red Crow Community College on the Blackfoot approach to science was funded in 2005 through an SSHRC Aboriginal Research Grant that he shared in a post in 2007, How First Nations Helped Develop a Keystone of Modern Psychology.

" Blackfoot people have their own systems for developing new knowledge in traditional ways," says Ryan Heavy Head, one of the researchers at Red Crow. "It's less focused on categories and more interested in how things come together."

As illustrated in Blackstock's diagram below, self-actualization was on the bottom, as the starting point. The self was only the beginning for the Blackfoot, who placed community actualization and cultural continuity above the individual. Maslow's western lens flipped it around to prioritize the individual. [Source: Lincoln Michel, K. 2014]

The image used in the graphic above shows basic differences between Western and First Nations perspectives, as presented by the University of Alberta professor Dr. Cindy Blackstock at the 2014 conference of the National Indian Child Welfare Association.

References

Blackstock, C. (2011) The Emergence of the Breath of Life Theory. Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, Volume 8, Number 1 (2011) Copyright 2011, White Hat Communications.

Cross, T. Through Indigenous Eyes: Rethinking Theory and Practice. (2007) Keynote Address.

First Nations Education Steering Committee https://www.fnesc.ca/

Heavy Head, R. (2007) How First Nations Helped Develop a Keystone of Modern Psychology. Social Science and Humanities Research Council. Online 3-10-18.

Kaufman, S. (2019) Who Created Maslow's Iconic Pyramid? Scientific American. 4-23-19.

Maslow, A. H. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370-96.

McLeod, S. (2018). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Online. 3-10-19. Simply Psychology.

Michel, K.L. (2014) Maslow's Hierarchy Connected to Blackfoot Beliefs. Online 3-10-19

Siksika Nation on Wikipedia

Siksika Nation website

****

Interested in checking out more of the Rethinking Learning podcasts and reflections, click on the podcast tab at the top, the logo below, or go to https://barbarabray.net/podcasts/

For more information about Barbara's new book, Define Your WHY, go to this page or click on the image of the book for resources, questions, and links.

About the author

Barbara Bray is a Creative Learning Strategist and owner/founder of Computer Strategies, LLC with its divisions My eCoach (my-ecoach.com) and Rethinking Learning where she shares her resources, stories, and more about learning and life. Barbara is the host of the Rethinking Learning Podcast where she has conversations on learning and reflections with inspirational educators, thought leaders, and influencers! She is the co-author of Make Learning Personal and How to Personalize Learning. Barbara recently launched her book, Define Your WHY, that is all about owning your story so you live and learn on purpose.

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Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Blackfoot (Siksika) Nation Beliefs

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I have referred to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs for as long as I can remember. I learned about it as a way of looking at the complete physical, emotional, social, and intellectual qualities of an individual. It seemed obvious that this could be applied to education so I shared it during speeches, online, and in coaching.

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Giving letters to trainees at the start and a packet of wild seeds/seed bomb (Jasmine Ulmer) to plant and share in the journey to become a teacher.

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Discussing mental health regularly, particularly focusing on male mental health and promoting strategies to help. Bringing in charities/support groups to discuss how teachers can support students and use listening skills well.

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Working with trainees to share across college the importance of Education for Sustainable Development. Creating a lesson with shareable resources to tour locally (great for breadth of teaching too).

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Encouraging trainees to enjoy reading for pleasure with one another but also to read books which will enable them to gain different perspectives on life.

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This approach taken from philosophy for children (P4C) involves critical discussion , questioning and thinking about concepts from different perspectives.

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What are we doing to future proof our courses (all subject areas for trainees) to ensure the students of now and the future can engage with it and be ready for the industries that are to come e.g. VR.

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Exploring different educational landscapes. For example the visits planned for Altcourse prison, to see what adult education looks like there, linking with employment opportunities. Residential visits to new cities, looking at different delivery models. Forest school activities for well being/adults/SEND. Reflective retreats.

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Discussing what that means in teaching. Sustainability in FE, in their subject specialism, linked the UN goals, working through these to link to our curriculum.

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Supporting trainees to find ways to make their teaching creative. This can be through resources, curriculum planning, innovative ideas, research, assessment etc.

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Get the student educator to research a educational theory and have them discuss it in classroom time with their peers to promote collabration and deepen knowledge through peer learning too.

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By supporting our trainees to engage with research through stage two modules they develop professionalisation whereby they add their voices to the discourse around the teaching profession and shape the narrative that defines the sector.

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Student educators and teacher educators co-construct the curriculum and work together to be flexible and adapt to needs

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Creating relationships that show compassion and supporting trainees to build their own skills to support and care for their learners.

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Creating a real community of practice and enabling opportunities to work with wider communities inside and out of the college.

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Recognising positive aspects of neurodiversity and finding ways for trainees to support their learners in doing the same. Bring in guest speakers to share positive experiences of neurodiversity.

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Ensuring trainees understand their ability to inspire their students and planning ways for them to do this regularly.

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Modelling creative practice and enabling trainees to find ways to be creative in their own subject.

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Creating opportunities for trainees to be truly reflective. Reflection with purpose.

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Using the UN values as a basis for discussion and application to curriculum planning.

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Giving learners a range of strategies to enable better ‘thinking’ and application of this to questioning strategies.

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Equipping them with better than expected digital skills for teaching through undertaking the Microsoft Innovative Educator training

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Have high expectation for student educators and ITE trainers to have a good understanding of digital educational technologies and virtual learning environments such as Microsoft teams. That should be embed into the curriculum and promoted in their own subject specialism's.

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Giving trainees time to ‘think’ and develop their ideas through a Thinking Environment and supporting them to do the same with their learners

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Encouraging trainees to be autonomous, through taking ownership of their portfolios, encouraging and creating opportunity for regular peer and self assessment. Giving trainees options of assessment method. Use of alternative assessment e.g. unobserved observation.

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Building a research culture; using reflection in action and action research to enable trainees to build an evidence base of what works in their classroom. Creating Teach Meets and enabling voice through publication across different spheres.

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Bringing in colleagues from other colleges to do mock interviews

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Openly and frequently discussing difficult conversations about race, gender, sex, class to ensure trainees can do the same comfortably with their learners. Bringing in guest lecturers who have better first hand experience of these issues. Also linking with ESOL department for cultural exchanges.

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Supporting trainees to question what is good in FE and to work on what they can change. Being interested and ‘active’ in working groups, research groups, national meetings on FE, engaging with critical pedagogy and social justice.

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Building in analysis of their own curriculum and reflecting on what pedagogy is unique to their subject specialism, use of ‘BIG IDEAS’ to propose changes to their own curriculum.

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(PDF) Using 'big ideas' to enhance teaching and student learning

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PDF | Organising teaching of a topic around a small number of 'big ideas' has been argued by many to be important in teaching for deep understanding,... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate