Learning Glossary - Teaching, Learning, Creativity and Innovation

 Learning Glossary - Teaching, Learning, Creativity and Innovation 

Creativity:

            Creativity is like a positive spark.  In Bell’s (2014) Anishinaabe Medicine Wheel teachings, creativity is “vision” which is associated with spirituality and wholeness. Creativity is part of the ongoing process of teaching and learning we are all engaged in through living and being together. Creativity brings us together in new ways with fresh perspectives, helping us to better understand how to live together in a good way. There are various forms of creativity and these are emphasized or cultivated differently in diverse cultures around the world, however creativity is a universal human quality.

Innovation:

            Innovation is the application of creativity, with the added element of wisdom, to create something of value.  On a basic level it is taking something and making it better. In Bell’s (2014) Medicine Wheel framework, it emerges from creativity (vision), understanding over time, reasoning, and wisdom in action. It involves a new idea, and a practical application of that idea, which creates wealth or value for society.  Definitions of wealth or value vary depending on the community and its ethics.  This could refer to the artistic wealth of a community, the improved health of an ecosystem, or even a treasured religious or contemplative practice.  In many Indigenous traditions, such as the Seven Grandfather Teachings (Cubello and Weber, n.d.), value might be defined as things which bring us towards “a good way of life”, respecting all things, including the earth, ourselves, Elders, plants, water, rocks, the ancestors and our descendants.

Teaching:

            Teaching is an ongoing, reflective, contemplative, generational and interconnected process involving heart and mind together, occurring in specific places and in relationships. Teaching relates to the passing on, sharing or transmission, of cultural knoweldge, wisdom, or wealth to others. Teaching may be viewed as an action of sharing or contributing, however teachers in various cultures may be human, animal, plant or even inanimate objects, such as rocks or the Universe itself.  In many Indigenous societies, teaching and learning are interconnected, co-constructed processes which unfold in relationship, and this process involves the constant creation of new knowledge or cultural wealth.  In many cultures teaching is perceived as an important or even spiritual role involving guiding, mentoring, and sharing important cultural knowledge.

Learning:

               Learning is a continuous, ongoing, reflective, contemplative, generational and interconnected process involving heart and mind together, which occurs in specific places and relationships. Learning refers to co-constructing new knowledge, understanding, skills, strategies, or ways of being. Synonyms for learning might be growing, reflecting, understanding, developing or creating.  Learning is a process which is generally ongoing throughout our lives.   It can be both an individualistic and a collective process.  Additionally, teaching and learning are inter-related and co-created.

Final Reflection on Revisions:  

            Reflecting on my revisions, I have tried to root my understandings in my understanding of some Indigenous pedagogies such as Bell’s (2014) Medicine Wheel model, the Seven Grandfather Teachings (Cubello and Weber, n.d.), and Chrona’s (2023) teachings regarding the First People’s Principles of Learning (FNESC, 2007).  Building on Freire’s (2014) Pedagogy of Hope, and Bourn’s (2024) thoughts, Ball’s (2004) article on the transformational potential of constructivist and generative pedagogies was also pivotal for me providing an important practical example of how this can work, which I hope to explore more in my own teaching and learning. 

One key shift in my thinking is in my definition of creativity.  At the beginning of the course, I was struggling with a positive definition of creativity.  While I perceived the positive potential of creativity, I was noting the many Nazi inventions during WWII might be seen as being “creative”, however I have revised my definition of creativity in light of the medicine wheel teachings (Bell, 2014), which roots creativity as a spark moving us towards living a good life in relationship to all things.  In this light, the destructive inventions of the Nazi’s would not be defined as creative, but rather as destructive, disrespectful, and harmful.   

Themes throughout many diverse Indigenous pedagogies (Bell, 2004) (Bourn, 2021)(Chrona, 2023)(Horsethief, 2017) that stand out include the interconnection of heart and mind in teaching and learning, the relational nature of these, and the location of teaching and learning in relationship to specific places.   In the past I have located teaching and learning in my mind, which I assumed was in my head.  The more I learn, reflect and practice, I realize that heart and mind are interconnected and work in powerful relationship.  As well, everything that we do is influenced by where we are – environment, whether being in a giant concrete box, or sitting in the shade of cedar trees by the lake, profoundly influences our teaching and learning.  It affects what we perceive to be important, what we value and therefore what wisdom and knowledge we choose to pass on to our descendants.

Overall, the process of taking time to reflect on these four concepts over months, has been a fascinating process, and certainly one that follows the generative and constructivist model (Ball, 2004) of teaching and learning.  We started by reflecting and articulating our initial understanding of these concepts, then through reasoning, reading diverse literature, reflecting and connecting with our own practices and in the context of our relationships and places we began to transform ourselves, developing new wisdom which we can now put into action in our own lives.  Actions I aspire toward from this reflective process include creating a book study on Chrona’s (2023) book Wahi! Wah – Indigenous Pedagogies An Act for Reconciliation and Anti-Racist Education in the fall for my community of teachers, applying a constructivist/generative model in my teaching practice, and developing my skills in place based outdoor learning so I can more effectively bring my students to learn how to be in better relationship with the land and all things.

References

Ball, J. (2004). As if Indigenous knowledge and communities mattered: Transformative

education in First Nations communities in Canada. The American Indian Quarterly, 28, 454-

479.

Bell, N. (2014) Teaching by the medicine wheel. EdCan Network.

https://www.edcan.ca/articles/teaching-by-the-medicine-wheel/

Bourn, D. (2021). Pedagogy of hope: global learning and the future of

education. International Journal of Development Education and Global

Learning, 13(2), 65-78. 

Chrona, J. (2022) Wayi Wah! Indigenous Pedagogies – An Act for Reconciliation and

Anti-Racist Education. Portage & Main Press.

Cubello, M. and Weber, P. (n.d.) Teachers guide seven grandfather teachings. McIntyre

Media Inc.  https://rover.edonline.sk.ca/system/guides/R054842.pdf

First People’s Cultural Council (FPCC)(2007) First People’s principles of learning. 

 https://www.fnesc.ca/first-peoples-principles-of-learning/

Freire, P. (2014). Pedagogy of hope. Bloomsbury Academic.

Horsethief, C. P. (2017). From awkward kid to awkward father: Parenting post-colonization.

[video]TEDx Nelson; Nelson, BC. https://vimeo.com/249222853/3c2e6533b1