Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Learning in Education
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the pedagogy of CIRCLE

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PLACE
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STORY
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MENTORSHIP
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PERSPECTIVES

The beauty of CIRCLE

The circle...is a human cultural expression of nature, of the natural and supernatural experience: the universe.

We have been so far removed from our Indigenous foundations that we have forgotten that this foundational platform exists...

We need to go back there to examine it.


Lewis Cardinal, What is an Indigenous Perspective?

What happens in Circle?

DADIRRI: the art of deep listenning
DADIRRI
It is an
inner, deep listening and quiet, still awareness.

Dadirri recognizes the deep spring that is inside us... It is something like what you call contemplation"


Australian Aboriginal writer and Elder Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann
(see video below)
STORY:  From impatience to attention
For dadirri to occur, it doesn’t need special arrangements, as this story from the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy shows:

An Elder from north of Cairns, relayed [a message] to a small crowd of us through a mobile phone held to the microphone of the public address system. A rambling, sometimes emotionally incoherent story of his family’s and his mob’s suffering.

I was getting more and more frustrated, urging him inwardly to ‘get to the point mate, get to the point’.

I looked around me. Rapt attention. Some tears. I felt ashamed at my whitefella impatience. "


Deep listening (dadirri). Creative Spirits

Talking circles

Talking circles were traditionally used - and continue to be - in Indigenous sacred ceremony. They provide a structure where the voice of each person present is given equal weight.

Each voice is acknowledged and heard in turn. Each voice is “Culturally located,” and participants learn “To Listen Respectfully to/ Others” through repeated practice, explicit modelling, and clear intent.


 Quotes from F. J. Graveline, Circle as methodology: Enacting an Aboriginal paradigm
Unlike other systems of communication, talking circles are not intended to create competition as in the western tradition.

An integrative conversation is a genuine exchange of ideas, feelings, perspectives, opinions, and so forth, where for each person involved there emerges a sense of self as part of the whole...

Individuals turn from concerns on the personal level, to collective concerns: away from competition to individuals contributing as a part of a larger community.

This shift from competitive to inclusive is the cross cultural move"


Shauneen Pete. The circle as Pedagogy; Creating Authentic Elder/Youth Engagement

Dancing circles

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Grade 1 teacher Jan Carnahan brings circle dancing to school children ages 7 - 10. Some of them have been dancing with her for 4 years. You'll see and hear the children's experiences of being together with intention in a circle of community. Dances are either traditional from European villages or more modern choreographs based on traditional steps.

Stay tuned for some amazing video footage!


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Anne explores how Circle is, in some ways, already built into online environments. In other ways, extra effort must be made to help community connect. Circe, leadership and shared knowledge can be enhanced in Circle.

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Anne experimented with moving the tables in her class into a circle - or a U-shape. It had an immediate impact on the class dynamics.
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The strength of CIRCLE

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Circular Leadership

"In the reciprocal model, this role can rotate between members, depending on the needs of the group.

Unlike the way we normally think of leadership... reciprocal leadership is about engaging everyone to find the way forward. It is spherical in nature, rather than hierarchical.

In this way of seeing things, a great leader is an expression of their collective, not its star. If done well a leader should oversee, guide, and represent the collective vision.

At times, we may need a confident and outspoken leader to power us through a tangled passage, but other times we need the leader who quietly sees the network of connections within the whole.

Sometimes we need a leader who hangs back so another may practice at stepping forward, challenging us to been better than we think possible.

Reciprocal leadership ultimately recognizes the circle itself as the teacher."


Toko-pa Turner,  Circular Leadership
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The Energy of Circles

"Circles...invoke and celebrate the greater circles - the cycle of the seasons, the cycle of life and the wheel of death and rebirth.

In a circle all are equal, no one is more important or in front of anyone; there is an intimacy in a circle; circles are about connecting and relating...

Whenever you are in the circle, you can see everyone else and you are always in direct communication with the centre, with the Source.

A line moves directly forward, focused on a goal, so a leader is implicit...There is no face-to-face connection, and the view ahead is someone else's back.

We need line energy - it can get us somewhere, but it also needs to be exposed to circle energy to keep the journey oriented to the centre.

When a circle is danced [or activated by the participation of each person in the circle] ...the energy begins to spiral.


Though the circle is physically limited to the spot where it dances, its effect is far-reaching: the energy of the circle radiates out - like a stone dropped into water sending ripples out as far as the eye can see."


June Watts, Circle Dancing: Celebrating the Sacred in Dance

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Circle - Drum - Heartbeat

"Today, that’s why we use the drum in the morning. We hear it an’ get reminded of how we felt hearin’ it in the darkness when we were little.

Reminds us too that we gotta stay joined up with Mother Earth an’ that we can feel all safe an’ protected that way too.

Reminds us to stop an’ listen for the heartbeat goin’ on all around us even now. That’s why we use it. Not for our ears, for our insides. Us we gotta learn to live from the inside out."


Richard Wagamese, Keeper 'n Me


The Circle of Life - Bringing community together

"How can one video be so deeply moving?

It's monumental.

These students, community members and dancers show how to witness devastation with eyes and hearts open. We all come out stronger in the process. It's worth the 20 minutes. And go to full screen!"
- Anne Hilker, educator

London university students and community members, representing many nationalities, joined hands in solidarity, harmony and dignity to commemorate all victims of atrocities around the world, on the occasion of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide. Artist and choreographer Shakeh Tchilingirian led "The Circle of Life" circle dance at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK.

"We wanted to emphasize the essential human and moral dimensions of the societal rupture that a genocide causes and the process of reconciliation through living culture."
- Hratch Tchilingirian, producer

In the classroom

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Learning in Circle makes learning feel real. Why learn if it doesn't mean something?

Click images to see brilliant examples


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CIRCLE INSPIRATION for instructors & learners

FOLLOW THE IMAGES!
NEWEST ADDITIONS:
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Round Teaching: How Shapes Shape Learning:  Coast Mountain College faculty have undertaken action research revolving around instructing in the college’s yurt Teaching Lab and exploring this space influenced teaching and learning.
Three themes emerged regarding the student learning experience: equality, accountability and permeability.

This is an inspiring article that got me thinking about space - literally!

the circle as pedagogy
This literature review discusses Talking Circles as an approach to facilitating cross-cultural communication. They have learned that when local Elders teach traditional values to young people, a rich synergy emerges for participants that is mutually beneficial.
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The Circle Way gathers learners into a circular shape with participants at the rim and the purpose in the centre. Each person has a voice and everyone can see and hear one another. Social agreements and practices help facilitate respectful conversation. Circle supports a leader in every chair.
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Indigenous Learning Circle - How one university engaged faculty members, Elders and Indigenous students to explore the issues shaping the experience of Indigenous students. They try different strategies in the classroom and share their experiences.

Worth exploring the website for readings and reflections.


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Using Circle Practice in the Classroom - Circle discussions foster community and intimacy in a classroom, and can serve academic and social and emotional purposes.





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Connection Circles: How to Establish a Restorative Circle - The underlying premise of restorative practices rests with the belief that people will make positive changes when those in positions of authority do things with them rather than to them or for them.

GO TO TOP
image credits
circular leadership: Molly Costello
dancing the rhythms of the earth - Sequoia National Forest USA
drum: A Hilker
elders: Vancouver Island University

red-winged blackbird:  Jon D. Anderson
place: J Carnahan
ancient stone circle: pixabay
story: A Hilker
mentorship: A Hilker


all other images from pixabay or WEebly, no attribution required
Creative Commons License
Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
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