The First Peoples Principles of Learning are a set of guiding principles that emphasize indigenous ways of learning. They were created by indigenous educators as a tool to help guide teaching practices in a way that is more inclusive and understanding of indigenous ways of knowing and doing.
Learning Involves Patience and Time
This FPPL represents a lot of the shifts in my thinking around education. It is the FPPL that I have incorporated most often in my lesson plans and it is also the FPPL that has undergone the most evolution in its significance for me over time. Initially, it seemed like the FPPL to integrate into any unit plan because it was the most straightforward to align with conceptually. It is simple to say, of course learning requires patience and time, that’s how you get better, you can’t just be an expert at something instantly. It wasn’t until reading Jo Chrona’s blog that my perception of it began to change. It is more than just patience and time to learn, but it is that patience and time is required to cultivate the relationships and trust that allows learning to happen. It’s about the time it takes to get to know each student and understand their needs for a learning environment. It’s about making compromises between your teaching style and how your students learn best. It’s about teaching to the student and not to the timetable.