Community Learning Circle

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As we navigate the ever-shifting teaching and learning landscape together, Andrea, Mandy, and Dalbir invite University of Alberta educators to engage with Indigenization, decolonization, intersectionality, accessibility, and justice-focused approaches to teaching and learning at moments of change and possibility. This community is open to educators across campus, including all instructors, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, and parafaculty educators engaged in teaching and learning.

This pilot program represents the coming together of two CTL programs from the Fall 2022 semester: Communities of Practice and Care and ᐱᒥᓇᐊᐧᓱᐃᐧᑲᒥᐠ piminawasowikamik/Kitchen Table Conversations. Together, Andrea, Mandy, and Dalbir hope to nurture opportunities for relationship-building, critical, creative, and affective self-reflection, and capacity building at the University of Alberta.

Theme: Anticolonial approaches for community building in a variety of teaching and learning environments

Key Areas of Focus and Engagement: Indigenization, decolonization, intersectionality, accessibility, and justice-oriented teaching/learning

Facilitators: Andrea Menard, Mandy Penney, & Dr. Dalbir Sehmby

Time Commitment: 3 meetings monthly (~January 9 – April 21, 2023)

Format, Mode, and Platform: Virtually through Zoom. Synchronous online, low-stakes, and collaborative with semi-structured supportive conversations. Flexible options for pre-readings and reflections.

Monthly meeting structure (Week 1, Week 2, Week 4 from January to April)

  • Week 1: Community of Practice and Care with Mandy
    Pre-readings, in-session reflection and conversation
  • Week 2: Kitchen Table Conversations with Andrea
    In-session sharing circles
  • Week 4: Kitchen Table Conversations with Andrea
    In-session sharing circles

Possible Topics: The topics of conversation during Week 1 sessions (facilitated by Mandy) are intended to support participant (un/re)learning and reflection in advance of the Kitchen Table Conversations facilitated by Andrea in Weeks 2 and 4. Some of the areas of focus may include the following:

  • Understanding and engaging in social location reflection
  • Collaborative approaches to determining community guidelines for engagement
  • Values-based approaches to anticolonial teaching/learning
  • Settler-colonial systems and the responsibilities of settlers in our community
  • The work of allyship / accomplice work in the university
  • Reflecting on Braiding Past, Present, and Future: University of Alberta Indigenous Strategic Plan
  • Engaging students in difficult conversations about settler-colonialism and teaching/learning
  • Anticoloniality, justice, and access in teaching/learning

Capacity: In order to facilitate authentic and engaged conversations, our Community Learning Circle (CLC) will be capped at 15 participants. However, we are open to developing further CLCs in the future where there is an interest.

If you would like to be notified of our next Community Learning Circle Expression of Interest, please email ctl@ualberta.ca