Social Justice or Status Quo? Blended Learning in a Western Canadian Teacher Education Program | Justice sociale ou statu quo ? L’apprentissage mixte dans un programme de formation d’enseignants dans l’Ouest canadien

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology / La revue canadienne de l’apprentissage et de la technologie
• Main Author: Kathy Snow
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; French
• Published: The Canadian Network for Innovation in Education (CNIE) 2016
• Subjects: blended learning; hybrid learning; transitions; indigenous education; edu; hisphilso; Canada; Carr; Conseil; Premières Nations
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.21432/T23K8T; https://doaj.org/article/3c7849e48acd43ec98c61f943ca4186d

Sustainable pre-service teacher education is needed to encourage academic success for under-represented populations, through both culturally responsive and alternative programming options (Carr-Stewart, Balzer, & Cottrell, 2013). In 2013, the Western Canadian University that served as the basis for this case study, implemented a blended learning pilot course in multicultural education for its existing cohort of pre-service teachers, within their Indigenous Focus Teacher Education Program (IFTEP). The aim of the blended pilot was to increase flexibility in participation for the IFTEP students, who were all employed full time as teacher assistants within a local school board. The author examined the design model through qualitative analysis of student interview data, contrasted against observations of activities on the learning management system (LMS). Five themes emerged as important in effective and culturally responsive practice for blended learning design, in this case related to: institutional challenges, student autonomy and the complexity of commitments. This research presents a critical review of the feasibility of adopting blended learning for Indigenous students. Afin de favoriser la réussite scolaire des populations sous-représentées, il est nécessaire que la formation initiale des enseignants soit durable, et ce, par l’entremise d’options de programmes à la fois culturellement sensibles et alternatives (Carr-Stewart, Balzer et Cottrell, 2013). En 2013, l’université de l’Ouest canadien qui a servi de base pour la présente étude de cas a mis en œuvre un cours pilote en apprentissage mixte portant sur l’éducation multiculturelle pour la cohorte existante d’enseignants en formation initiale au sein de son programme de formation des enseignants axé sur les Premières Nations (IFTEP). Ce pilote mixte avait pour objectif d’augmenter la flexibilité de la participation des étudiants de l’IFTEP, qui étaient tous employés à temps plein comme aides-enseignants au sein d’un conseil scolaire local. L’auteur a ...