Using Experiential Learning to Engage Aboriginal Students in the Visual Arts Classroom

Abstract

My interest in cultural craft education began when I found myself a newcomer to the province of Nova Scotia where I started teaching as a visual arts specialist over six years ago. Arriving in a new community with a far more culturally diverse roster than I was accustomed to, I struggled to understand the students before me. In particular, I knew very little about Aboriginal culture and, when teaching at a school with over 70 First Nations students, I had a great deal to learn as a non-Aboriginal teacher.