It is not empirically based and may well have limited generalizability. However, it is hoped that this paper will promote further exploration of the implied student construct and will lead to further research into the misalignment of expectations and outcomes between implied students and actual students.
The paper contends that there is inevitably a gap — for both the instructor and the learner — between the expectations and outcomes that are anticipated for implied students and realized by actual students. It suggests that recognition of this gap is a critical element in designing significant learning experiences for actual learners.
The paper further suggests that success in creating these experiences is improved through reconsidering the implied student stereotype, engaging with actual students and instructor-led communication of the implicit goals and outcomes of the course. Students are best served if they engage in learning spaces thoughtfully centered on significant learning experiences. However, learning environments are often constructed around envisaged students who are defined by the learning expectations, pedagogic philosophies and ideological biases of the instructor.
This paper provides value by encouraging instructors to explore their preconceptions of the implied student and creating and facilitating learning environments that recognize, appreciate and respond to the actual students who will populate them. Starr-Glass, D. Report bugs here. Video games serve as a major form of entertainment instead. Then he worked for a few years delivering supplies to fish farms. He makes good money supplying fish farms with nets, feed and equipment. He would rather be a commercial fisherman, but said:.
Jimmy is strongly opposed to fish farms because our West Coast farms raise Atlantic salmon, a species that is not indigenous to BC. Atlantic salmon pollute the water around fish farm pens and are known to escape in such large numbers that they are breeding in our BC rivers and competing with our wild Pacific salmon for food and habitat. By sharp contrast, Dan views fish farms a Western scientific form of production and management as the solution to the problem.
I travelled to Burnaby, BC, located in the greater Vancouver metropolitan area, to interview Anna who was living in an apartment complex and taking courses in teacher education at Simon Fraser University. For example, several responses made reference to Christian beliefs, as well as being peaceful and reflective:.
I would be a sunflower sea star. A place for solace. The seashore is a legend. You have stories to tell. One important story to me is feeling peace at sea. The seashore is a painting. I would love one day to be able to snorkel so that I could enjoy those tropical fish that are so bright. I would be a sandy beach. There can be different types of sand … and that can signify different emotions.
If you go down to the Caribbean the sand could be white. I would be a sailboat. I would be a fish. A rainbow fish. There are different types of sand depending on northern hemisphere or southern hemisphere or tropics vs. The seashore is a jewel. You have to treat it properly.
We take food from it. The seashore is a garden. If you treat it properly it will bloom. When I told Anna that I interpreted her adult metaphor interviews as having a preferred spiritual orientation followed very closely by a recreational orientation, and that I had not observed a spiritual orientation in her grade 6 metaphor interviews, she did not hesitate to reply:. Anna was the only participant who showed a changed set of preferred orientations, from a clearly preferred recreational orientation in Grade 6 to a preferred spiritual orientation 19 years later.
It would appear that in the case of Anna, a significant life experience, such as the death of a best friend in high school and a compassionate pastor, had a profound effect on her life direction and triggered a major shift in her adult orientations.
When the adults were asked to reflect and comment on the path taken to reach their current place in life, their responses often involved the recounting of an important life experience that had special meaning.
It would appear that the death of a best friend in high school and a compassionate pastor held special meaning for Anna and prompted a change in preferred orientations, from a preferred recreational orientation to a preferred spiritual orientation.
Even then Dan tried unsuccessfully to pursue commercial fishing for several years before purchasing a large barge and tugboat to deliver food and equipment to fish farms and to assist boaters in need of help—a choice that is consistent with his preferred scientific orientation to the seashore.
What is interesting is that both Dan and Jimmy tried their hand at commercial fishing, indicating that the goal of becoming commercial fishermen was firmly ingrained into their career aspirations in Grade 6. There may be additional orientations that have yet to be identified. For illustration, in I gave a workshop on the metaphor interview at the University of Hawaii, attended by adult science and social studies teachers and university professors from the Pacific Rim countries.
Like a mosaic of many nations and cultures trading with one another. The seashore is a battleground. The above metaphor responses represent a political orientation to the seashore.
Since the Grade 6 students wove their own preferred orientation into the great majority of metaphor choices, a politically minded student would have woven the political aspects of experience into his or her metaphor responses, at least in part, had such a student been present. Just as there may be orientations to the seashore not yet identified, there may be aspects of metaphor responses in future research projects that at first appear to be orientations, but fall short of the definition of an orientation defined in chapter 4.
For example, during the five pilot studies, I identified several metaphor responses that led me to include a health and safety orientation to the seashore. The seashore is a pin cushion. I would be a lock to a necklace. A lock could pinch, just like a crab could pinch. Like that clam closing on my fingers or how that big red crab can cut you open with it pinchers.
Like the eel [blenny] that can give you an electric shock. Looking back, I would not include a health and safety orientation in future research related to seashore orientations.
Blennies can be picked up by the hands and when viewed in a classroom aquarium, is often a favourite entertainer. After instruction there were far fewer health and safety responses, and these responses were almost absent in the long-term adult interviews. When describing the orientations of Indigenous populations, it is important to acknowledge the holistic nature of Indigenous worldviews. All things are related and interconnected.
Thus, concepts of wholeness, spirituality, reciprocity, self-knowledge, and how people relate to others and to nature are a necessary aspect of attempting to infer an Indigenous scientific, spiritual, utilitarian, aesthetic or recreational orientation. It is crucial to consider that because Indigenous peoples come from diverse backgrounds and home-places, there is no single Indigenous worldview. Nevertheless, there is a shared worldview in which humans are inextricably connected to the natural world Cajete, Table 4.
Table 6. There are no clear boundaries between orientations, for example, the spiritual aspects of an experience are an integral and inter-related aspect of each orientation:. As the researcher, I needed to have a general knowledge of the potlatches, ceremonial dances, and customs, as well as a close collaboration with Elders and knowledge holders. When working with Indigenous orientations, the holistic and inter-related quality of Indigenous knowledge systems gradually emerge; most Indigenous peoples know this, most non-Indigenous researchers do not.
Researchers should always recognize that just as there are many interpretations of natural phenomena, there are as many different ways that humans can see patterns in seashore life. It is intended that researchers attempting to explore the construct of orientations with Indigenous communities will need to modify the above descriptions according to the experiences of respondents, the interpretations of Elders, knowledge holders, and the community.
The metaphor interview is one possible assessment tool that takes into account the linguistic and socio-cultural background of the child—a method that may be used in large urban centres, rural settings and isolated coastal fishing, as well as Indigenous communities. Metaphor interviews can be modified to explore orientations towards the forest, lake, mountain, prairie or city.
They can be linked to a sampling strategy to provide important qualitative data that is holistic and episodic, and be used in cross-cultural studies.
Acknowledging the holistic nature of orientations suggests that the analysis of data is not a simple statistical coding schedule that can be picked up in a minute training session. The typology of orientations consisting of scientific, aesthetic, spiritual, utilitarian, and recreational contributed insights over and above those to be obtained by studying only beliefs about seashore relationships.
The discourse of students struggling to increase their understanding of seashore relationships and the discourse of adults revealing their current relationships to the seashore, has the potential to add rich descriptions and humanistic understanding to both qualitative and quantitative research. The use of metaphor interviews to describe orientations rests on data collected through a small interview sample, the need for more extensive research is obvious. As such it suggests that researchers, curriculum developers and teachers in all subject areas need to explore this emerging research frontier.
When I conducted the initial study in , salmon, halibut, herring, cod, oolichans, as well as clams, scallops, crab, shrimp, were still relatively abundant. The decline of traditional harvests affected the ability of the community to offer the usual wide assortment of abundant traditional foods, and to give away precious oolichan grease during the winter feasts.
Although important Chiefs, Elders, and knowledge holders struggled, often successfully, for many decades to keep the traditional culture alive, it was nevertheless a community in which many members largely felt shame for having lost their language and sometimes even for identifying as First Nations. With the introduction of the English language and Western ways of thinking, a breakdown in language and cultural traditions has occurred. In some families, many traditional teachings are not taught to the young.
This resurgence was led by Chiefs and Elders, and often spearheaded by a new generation of young knowledge holders who worked hard to continue the potlatch and the giving of gifts. Significant efforts were made to teach the Kwakwala language and traditional customs and values in the school and by holding community feasts and ceremonies. Clearly, all teachers need to be aware of the community, the culture and to some extent the biographies and histories of the students and families where they teach and live.
This understanding is critical to our efforts to reformulate our teaching objectives in ways that will benefit First Nations students and their communities. I am hopeful that research involving metaphor interviews and the construct of orientations has the potential to help us all both Indigenous and non-Indigenous teachers develop curricula and programs that are culturally appropriate, challenging, and beneficial to students of diverse cultural backgrounds.
It is time for each of us to engage in a personal and professional journey of truth and reconciliation.
If we travel this journey together, the possibilities are greater than we can imagine. Burger, J. Activity patterns and perception of goods, services, and eco-cultural attributes by ethnicity and gender for Native Americans and Caucasians.
International Journal of Sport Management and Tourism , 9 Cajete, G. Native science: Natural laws of interdependence. Chawla, L. Skip to content Home Essay What is a significant life experience? Ben Davis May 1, What is a significant life experience? How do you write a life experience essay? How can I write my past experience? What is a valuable experience? Why is it important to have work experience? What is the benefit of experience? What are the disadvantages of work experience?
What comes first knowledge or experience?
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