Ktaamgwedaagwad Gindaaswin-Adult Learning Centre – Literacy and Basic Skills Program

What is the overall impact of the initiative and how is this measured?

As a Ministry-funded program, we measure educational outcomes by whether a milestone is accomplished or not – but we also challenge those outcomes, and want to recognize the work that goes into that milestone.

We also measure outcomes through community feedback – We do feedback forms and test different workshops or programming. We look at how the programming relates to clients’ pathways (e.g., becoming independent, life skills such as learning to read nutritional facts or budgeting, or connecting gardening to the natural world) and the opportunities it gives to apply knowledge (e.g. connecting learning about the natural world to roles as a field technician with Parks Canada). We monitor clientele and our ability to build rapport with them.

Our clients’ ability to grow independence is an important measure– are we igniting self-learning, motivation, and exploration of opportunities in them?

What challenges have you faced and how were these overcome?

Biggest challenge from the program side is recruitment & retention of employees. Factors into this challenge include:
– Employee’s suitability for job
– Time needed to properly train staff staying with program
– Wage parity for a rural isolated area
– Demands of working with high needs clientele
– Operating at less capacity

We haven’t had a full team in over a year – this is a challenge for us to be able to meet the expectations for the program set by the Ministry.

We work through this challenge by managing our obligatory agreements and trying to work 1-on-1 with staff to meet their targets. We focus on quality over quantity with our learners – it’s about making meaningful impacts.

What are 3 key lessons you learned from developing or delivering your initiative? What advice from those lessons would you share with others?

Biggest take-aways:
• Stay vocal about the things that are happening. Know what you can do/can’t do
• Literacy is a complex industry
• It’s difficult to reconcile the past and promote self-determination while running a provincial program. We need to understand our history and cultural differences – to further these meaningful conversations, we need more supports
• Literacy isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ approach
• Allow for different evaluations of client’s skills – A revised Milestone approach and changing the forms we recorded revised how we show concrete examples of skills, and the work the program has done for the community. Recognize smaller steps that lead to the milestone.
• Keep in mind a Surviving mode vs Thriving mode – how can we expect people to have goals for education with limited economic opportunity? Area is an employment desert – the main opportunities are labour jobs, and the closest urban centre (Owen Sound) is a 1 hr drive away

Which Essential Skills are covered by the initiative? Reading Text Document Use Numeracy Writing Oral Communications Working with Others Thinking Skills Computer Use Continuous Learning

How are the Essential Skills integrated into your initiative?

We’ve integrated essential skills through a few different activities, for example:
• Oral communication – we invited storytellers. After the stories, we did roundtable talking with the learners to see what they took away from or learned from the story. We want to see their perspective and progress – that they can listen, identify with, and take something away from a story
• Reading text – we hosted a book club where we read Indigenous authors and literature (e.g., 21 Things You Didn’t Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph, Moon of the Crusted by Waubgeshig Rice). Then we’d ask the learners questions about their interest in or understanding of the books.
• Computer use – we use computers during the winter curriculum, and will take the learning out on the land

We have mentors & mentees for cultural components of the program

How we integrate essential skills comes first from building rapport and trust with clients – it can take some coaching to get people out of their shells. We approach literacy knowing the trauma that people have previously experienced from education.

We keep a positive note of lifelong learning and what is learning throughout all activities – you don’t have to be in classroom to be learning.

Our activities focus on knowledge sharing that can be promoted or shared in the community

What are the components of the initiative? Occupation-specific skills training Academic upgrading Occupational certifications and/or licensing Work-integrated learning (i.e., internships, co-ops, work placements, etc.) Life skills Career and/or educational planning Cultural, language, and tradition awareness and/or training

How do you support participant success in the program? Transportation allowance Child care support Other

How was Indigenous culture integrated into the program content or delivery?

We take note of institutional undertones and think about how we can make a more accommodating space.

We organize the space for creativity to flow (e.g. focus on workspace comfort, have easy access to snacks) – learners need to be comfortable in a place where they want to learn. We need to remove the strained relationship they’ve had with an educational institution.

We take a trauma informed approach to all our programming.

We offer offsite and on the land programming – we use laptops to be more mobile with learning.

We make opportunities for language and culture to be the host of the program, and focus on language revitalization. We invite and include Elders to share their knowledge.

We encourage our learners to be critical of Western way of learning, and to recognize that course material or ideas may not agree with your worldview – and that’s fine. There is a reciprocity of acknowledging/learning, but still holding true to your core values.

Indigenize our own individual ways of learning.

What do you think are the most important competencies and attributes for staff involved in this initiative to have?

Understandings around:
– Safe space starts with yourself – you need to be open, be able to receive clients without preconceived opinions, and provide support
– Lifelong learning is with everyone no matter where you are (this is a core part of traditional learning) – learning is not a linear, but a circular process. Your perceptions change over time.

Who are your partners, and what is their involvement in the initiative?

Community partners – elders, role models with experience from the community (e.g. line cooks will share their experience with programs about cooking).

Encourage collaboration with different local programs – see how we can fit with other programs around maternal child health, internet safety, etc.