Overall, the course was a lot of work. Compiling three modules inside a unit of study, taking resources, and converting them into resources usable in a blended course was a daunting yet rewarding project. In this reflection, I look at how the course utilizes the First Peoples Principles of Learning and the ISTE standards and how AI was utilized in my course.
Throughout the assignment, I aimed to keep the First Peoples Principles of Learning (FPPL) and the ISTE standards to guide my work. Throughout my project, I have purposefully embedded learning activities that involve the FPPL of:
- Learning recognizes the role of Indigenous knowledge. Evident through the inclusion of learning about Indigenous worldview and traditional legal approaches through restorative justice practices.
- Learning requires the exploration of one’s identity. All students must participate in a Padlet activity that encourages them to look at their worldview and share it on the class Padlet.
- Learning is embedded in memory, history, and story. Students had the opportunity to look at history through case studies and begin to look at how law and society have changed and continue to change regarding law and policy. (e.g., Assessment 2: looking at the TRC, Indian Act, the calls to justice for MMIWG)
- Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational (focused on connectedness, on reciprocal relationships, and a sense of place). Overall, the course enables relationship building through sharing learning experiences through discussion and assignments.
The inclusion of the ISTE student standards, Knowledge Constructor, and Creative Communicator are evident in the summative assessments in the course. Students are involved in curating information from digital resources to create meaningful projects. This is evident in the Module 2 inquiry and Module 3 Charter Analysis assessments. Students must publish and share the content and medium for their chosen audiences.
One of the key learnings in designing a course was using ChatGPT to create some of the lesson materials. ChatGPT was used to assist in summarizing some of the teacher’s background information notes to be presented to students. ChatGPT quickly summarized these notes and created a PowerPoint outline that I used to record quick videos for my students. Without the use of ChatGPT, the process of making these videos would have been tremendously time-consuming.
I also utilized ChatGPT to assist in creating the Module 3 Assessment. ChatGPT’s response enhanced the assessment because it found components of the assessment that I did not consider adding, such as “ethical requirements.” The previous version of the evaluation focused on the students finding ways to “gain power” by strategically dismantling the Charter. However, this assessment version felt unethical and contrary to promoting good citizenship, a vital component of the Saskatchewan Curriculum. ChatGPT assisted in framing the lesson around analyzing the consequences of modifying or rescinding pieces of the Charter. The ChatGPT response was then adapted to fit the need of the classroom.
Using AI to assist in creating courses will be an exciting development in the coming years. In reaching out to ensure that proper protocol was followed when utilizing AI for this purpose in the assignment, I was directed to look at the Perplexity AI tool, which identifies the resources it takes to generate the response. Future use of AI in course design would allow the creator to become more efficient in cross-referencing and ensure that the information is relevant and correct.
References
FNESC (2015). The First Peoples Principles of Learning. Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-12/teach/teaching-tools/aboriginal-education/principles_of_learning.pdf
ISTE. (2021). ISTE Standards for Students. Iste.org. https://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards-for-students
Curtis Bourassa 