Inuit Preservice Teachers: A Lesson in Community Learning

Abstract

While some current teacher-education programs emphasize community-based learning, Inuit preservice teachers on Baffin Island already operate in a genial and collaborative atmosphere. Within these strong Arctic communities three important conditions frequently emerge in Inuit teacher education programs. First, Inuit preservice teachers tend to use a variety of learning approaches; second, the novice teachers typically create collaborative activities; and third, the Northern teachers tend to emerge from the isolation of classrooms to include more natural learning environments. My hope in this essay, is that Inuit teacher ideas about community-based teacher education, might extend to our Southern odyssey about learning and teaching within a community setting.