Decolonizing the Virtual Classroom with Talking Circles

Decolonizing the Virtual Classroom with Talking Circles

What is this Research About?

When courses shifted to virtual classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic, effective teaching methods became crucial in an online environment.  Educators were also searching for authentic and respectful ways to weave Indigenous pedagogies and practices into their classrooms. Circles are rooted in Indigenous communities and are used in teaching and ceremony. The authors of this article focused on the effectiveness of talking circles as a practice of decolonization as well as a teaching tool to engage and connect students in virtual classrooms. 

What did the Researchers Do?

The article authors are instructors in the field of teacher and Indigenous education who teach courses predominantly online. The authors provide an overview of the use of circles in education and discuss the tensions with non-Indigenous educators using circles. The authors review and examine their experiences using pedagogical talking circles to determine if their use is effective and appropriate in online classrooms. 

What did the Researchers Find?

“We know more together than we do separately, and we have created a rich whole.” (p.6) 
 
The article authors found that using talking circles in an online classroom improved the quality of discussions and created opportunities for rich and complex conversations between the students (p.6). Circles created a community for students spread out across a wide geographical area and a safe space to learn, and shifted the disconnection of online learning (p.8). Within the circle, students engaged with academic topics and each other by sharing and listening to personal reflections. The authors also found that the use of circles brought a diversity of perspectives into the classroom and challenged students’ deeply held beliefs. Importantly, circle work improved students understanding of Indigenous knowledge systems and developed their capacity to engage with Indigenous pedagogies. 
 
The authors outline the basic protocols and guidelines that they use for talking circles: 
 
“Since we cannot actually sit in one, I create a visual circle by arranging students' names onto a circular diagram, so that students can see whose turn it is to speak. When it is their turn, they unmute their mic, turn on their camera, and say their piece, sharing their responses to my open-ended, guiding questions of the day or simply speaking to their ongoing learning journey.” (p.5) 

→ How to Implement this Research in Your Classroom

The authors found that pedagogical talking circles can create community and co-learning in virtual classrooms and allow students’ perspectives to be incorporated into classroom learning. They are also an effective way to introduce students to Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing.  

Before using circles in a classroom, it’s important that you: 

  • Engage with local Elders, Knowledge Holders or institutional Indigenous Advisory teams to learn about the specific protocols and practices of the Indigenous territories in which you are using talking circles.  
  • Introduce and acknowledge talking circles as Indigenous pedagogy. 
  • Discuss the origins and uses of talking circles. 

Beyond this, it’s important to continue your learning about Indigenous history, culture and communities.  

You can consider using talking circles in small classes and seminars, both online and in-person.  

Circles can be used to: 

  • Assess students’ knowledge and experiences with a topic at the beginning of a class. 
  • Check students’ progress with an assignment. 
  • Help students connect with course content. 
  • Conclude a lesson or course by asking students about what they learned. 

→  Citation

Hanson, A., & Danyluk, P. (2022). Talking circles as Indigenous pedagogy in online learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 115, 1-9. 

→  Keywords

  • Decolonizing education
  • Virtual Classroom
  • Indigenous Pedagogy
  • Discussion Facilitation

Creative Commons by logo This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Canada License

Snapshot Writer: Lisa Blenkinsop

Snapshot Publication Date: 2024

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