Evidence of Co-learning through a Relational Pedagogy - Indigenizing the Curriculum through MIKM 2701 - Article 11

Oct 15, 2026

In the winter term of 2016, Cape Breton University launched a revised second-year Mi’kmaw Studies course, Learning from the Knowledge Keepers of Mi’kmaki (MIKM 2701). The course was co-led by local Elders and Knowledge Keepers with university faculty facilitation, offered in a dual-mode format for face-to-face and online participation. Using analysis of participants’ reflections across 13 weeks, the paper examines course design considerations for post-secondary institutions seeking to indigenize curricula and evaluates co-learning as an educational complexity- and decolonization-oriented classroom process.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Evidence of Co-learning through a Relational Pedagogy: Indigenizing the Curriculum through MIKM 2701

Keywords

Setting the Stage for Co-learning

Learning journey in Canadian education

Course aims and context

Course design constraints and boundary-pushing

Research focus and emerging phenomena

The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning | Volume 10 | Issue 1 | Article 11 | | --- | --- | | Spring 5-31-2019
Evidence of Co-learning through a Relational Pedagogy: Indigenizing the Curriculum through MIKM 2701
Emily Root
Cape Breton University, [emilyroute@hotmail.com](emilyroute@hotmail.com)[ ](emilyroute@hotmail.com)Stephen Augustine
Cape Breton University & Unama'ki College, [stephen_augustine@cbu.ca](stephen_augustine@cbu.ca)[ ](stephen_augustine@cbu.ca)Kathy Snow
Cape Breton University, [kathy_snow@cbu.ca](kathy_snow@cbu.ca)[ ](kathy_snow@cbu.ca)Mary Doucette
Cape Breton University, [marybeth_doucette@cbu.ca](marybeth_doucette@cbu.ca)
Follow this and additional works at: [https://www.cjsotl-rcacea.ca](https://www.cjsotl-rcacea.ca)
[https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2019.1.8006](https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2019.1.8006) | | Recommended Citation Root, E., Augustine, S., Snow, K., & Doucette, M. (2019). Evidence of co-learning through a relational pedagogy: Indigenizing the curriculum through MIKM 2701. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 10(1). [https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl](https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl)rcacea.2019.1.8006 Evidence of Co-learning through a Relational Pedagogy: Indigenizing the Curriculum through MIKM 2701 Abstract In the winter term of 2016, Cape Breton University launched a revised version of a second year Mi’kmaw Studies course entitled Learning from the Knowledge Keepers of Mi’kmaki (MIKM 2701) . This course was designed to be led by local Elders and Knowledge Keepers with facilitation support from university faculty. It was designed by course facilitators as a dual-mode course, with the opportunity for students to participate face-to-face and online, and the excitement it generated quickly went “viral.” In this paper, we describe the experiences of the participants in the course through an analysis of their own reflections on the 13 weeks of instruction. The aim of this analysis is to share course design considerations for post-secondary institutions attempting to “Indigenize the academy”at a course level, but also to evaluate the process of co-learning as it was evidenced in the course as a means to address educational complexity and decolonization efforts in the classroom. Au cours du trimestre d’hiver de 2016, l’Université du Cap-Breton a lancé une version révisée d’un cours de deuxième année d’études mi’kmaw intitulé « Learning from the Knowledge Keepers of Mi’kmaki » (Apprendre avec les gardiens du savoir du Mi’kmaki) (MIKM 2701) . Ce cours avait été conçu de façon à être dirigé par des aînés et des gardiens du savoir originaires de la région avec lesoutien de professeurs de l’université. Il avait été conçu par les facilitateurs du cours en tant que cours bi-mode, qui donnait l’occasion aux étudiants de participer face à face et en ligne, et l’enthousiasme qu’il a généré s’est rapidement propagé . Dans cet article, nous décrivons les expériences des participants inscrits dans le cours par le biais d’une analyse de leurs propres réflexions sur les 13 semaines d’enseignement. L’objectif de cette analyse est de partager les considérations concernant la conception du cours à l’intention des établissements d’enseignement post-secondaire qui voudraient « indigéniser l’université » au niveau d’un cours, mais également d’évaluer le processus de coapprentissage tel qu’il a été mis en évidence dans ce cours en tant que moyen de répondre à la complexité éducationnelle et aux efforts de décolonisation dans la salle de classe. Keywords culturally relevant pedagogy, co-learning, Indigenous pedagogy, blended learning, community engaged learning, participatory reflective case study, Indigenous studies, Indigenous education, decolonizing education, settler-colonial studies, intercultural relations and reconciliation This research paper/rapport de recherche is available in The Canadian Journal for t

FAQs

What course is described in the paper, and when was it launched?

The paper describes the Mi’kmaw Studies course Learning from the Knowledge Keepers of Mi’kmaki (MIKM 2701), launched in the winter term of 2016 at Cape Breton University.

How was MIKM 2701 delivered and who facilitated it?

The course was co-led by local Elders and Knowledge Keepers with facilitation support from university faculty, offered in a dual-mode format allowing face-to-face and online participation.

What method did the authors use to analyze co-learning?

The authors analyze participants’ own reflections from the 13 weeks of instruction to describe experiences and evaluate co-learning evidenced in the course.

Oct 15, 2026

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