Two UBC MOOCs (free online courses)

Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education
Online MOOC

Next Offering October 17, 2017 | pdce.educ.ubc.ca/reconciliation

Engage with Indigenous knowledge keepers, educational leaders, and resources to enhance your understanding and knowledge of practices that advance reconciliation in the places where you live, learn, and work.

This course will help you envision how Indigenous histories, perspectives, worldviews, and approaches to learning can be made part of the work we do in classrooms, organizations, communities, and our everyday experiences in ways that are thoughtful and respectful. In this course, reconciliation emphasizes changing institutional structures, practices, and policies, as well as personal and professional ideologies to create environments that are committed to strengthening our relationships with Indigenous peoples.

For educators, this means responding to educational reforms that prioritize improved educational outcomes for Indigenous learners. In addition, educators must support all learners to develop their knowledge and understanding of Indigenous people¹s worldviews and cultures as a basis for creating equitable and inclusive learning spaces. To support these goals, teachers, administrators, young people, school staff, and researchers will learn from Indigenous Elders, educational leaders, and culturally relevant learning resources as part of their experiences in this MOOC.

For others who want to build their own competence and the capacity of those around them to engage in relationships with Indigenous peoples based on intercultural understanding, empathy, and respect, this course will help get you started in this process.

Learning Objectives:

·     Explore personal and professional histories and assumptions in relationship to Indigenous peoples histories and worldviews.

·     Deepen understanding and knowledge of colonial histories and current realities of Indigenous people.

·     Engage with Indigenous worldviews and perspectives that contextualize and support your understanding of the theories and practices of Indigenous education.

·     Develop strategies that contribute to the enhancement of Indigenous-settler relations in schools, organizations, and communities.

·     Explore Indigenous worldviews and learning approaches for their application to the classroom or community learning setting.

·     Engage in personal and professional discussions in an online environment with others committed to understanding and advancing reconciliation.

 

Bringing Mental Health to Schools
Online MOOC

Launches October 31, 2017 | pdce.educ.ubc.ca/mentalhealth

Mental health literacy is the foundation for mental health promotion, prevention and care and can be successfully implemented through classroom based curriculum interventions that have been scientifically shown to improve mental health related outcomes for students and also for their teachers. A Canadian-developed, nationally and internationally-researched resource, the Guide ­ previously delivered only through face-to-face training ­ is now available online through this UBC-supported program.

In this course, educators will learn how to apply this classroom-ready, web-based, modular mental health curriculum resource (the Guide) as well as upgrade their own mental health literacy. Educators can then use this curriculum resource in their schools to successfully address mental health related curriculum outcomes designed to be delivered by usual classroom teachers to students in grades 8 ­-10.

Learning Objectives:

·     How to apply a variety of first-voice and knowledge based classroom activities that have been shown to significantly, substantially and sustainably decrease mental health related stigma.

·     How to apply a variety of video and knowledge based classroom activities that have been shown to significantly, substantially and sustainably increase knowledge related to mental disorders and treatments

·     How to apply a variety of knowledge based classroom activities, personal exercises and other evidence based interventions that have been shown to significantly and substantially improve: health and mental health self-care; stress understanding and management; mental health help-seeking capacity.

·     Better understanding of all aspects of mental health literacy that can be applied not only in the classroom but to all aspects of an educator¹s own circumstances: understanding how to obtain and maintain good mental health; understanding mental disorders and their treatments; decreasing stigma; increasing help-seeking efficacy.

Visit our website for more detailed information, and program contactspdce.educ.ubc.ca/MOOC