Page 17 - 2022 Feb Report

Resilience
Martin Family Initiative report (5)
Third Goal for Year 1: Adapting the Course
In the third stage, the initial pilot course was adapted to the unique cultural contexts of Inuit communities in Nunavut and First Nations in the Yukon.
With the direction of the Early Years Curriculum and Training team, SEW adapted the pilot course for the unique cultural context of two Inuit communities in Nunavut, Arviat and Rankin Inlet, in partnership with the Inuit organizations Ilitaqsiniq
(the Nunavut Literacy Council) and the Aqqiumavvik Society, both which are currently developing Early Years programs. Ilitaqsiniq supports capacity building and community development, through non-formal, culture-based programs, family literacy initiatives, workplace-based initiatives and community-based research. The Aqqiumavvik Society provides local wellness programming based on the principles of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit. Despite significant challenges related to Covid-19 restrictions and delays experienced by community organizations in securing program funding from the federal government, cultural adaptation of the course, including Inuit Elder videos, Early Years resources translated into Inuktut,
and the co-creation of other culturally specific content was completed over the summer of 2021. This 45-hour course is set to launch in January 2022.
The Early Years Curriculum and Training team also partnered with the Yukon First Nation Education Directorate to culturally adapt the EY-1 course. The Yukon First Nation Directorate provides wraparound services focused on capacity-building, systems and resources development, second-level educational programs and services enhancements, and learning supports for First Nations children and families. The Directorate is currently running an Early Years program across the Yukon. To suit this
context, the course was adapted in collaboration with Elders, Knowledge Keepers and community members from Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, Selkirk First Nation, First Nation of Na- Cho Nyak Dun, Ross River Dena Council and Indigenous people living in Whitehorse. The course length was extended from 45 hours to 60 hours in order to align with the Yukon Territory requirements for a Level 1 Early Childhood Educator certificate so that it could better serve learners as a steppingstone to post-secondary education and meaningful employment. The development of culturally-specific content including videos, visual elements and other media was completed in August 2021.
In early September 2021, the Early Years hired a Learning Network Coordinator as part of the Curriculum and Training team, who built out the online course storyboards based on
the templates created by SEW for the pilot course. The Yukon First Nation Education Directorate 60-hour EY-1 course was then digitized and officially launched in October 2021. This course was first delivered in a hybrid format for 11 learners from four Yukon communities and facilitated by Rebecca LaRiviere, the Early Learning and Child Care Lead for MFI Early Years, along with Katie Swales, the regional co-facilitator mentored
by Rebecca through our developing train-the-trainer peer mentorship model.
The hybrid training, which included 35 hours of in-person delivery in Whitehorse and an additional 25 hours of asynchronous learning through the online course, was extensively evaluated through pre- and post-course surveys, daily reflections by learners and facilitators, and a mid- and end-of-course debrief. The feedback was documented in a report written by the Early Years Learning Network Coordinator in order to ensure that all suggestions for course improvements could be captured and applied in subsequent course revisions.
THE EARLY YEARS | 3
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