Talking circles as Indigenous pedagogy in online learning

Abstract

This article examines the effectiveness of using talking circles as Indigenous pedagogy in online education for preservice teachers. It considers how Indigenous pedagogy ameliorates the often-disconnected experience of online environments for learners, while also considering the risks and tensions of bringing circle work—which arises from experiential ways of knowing, being, and doing—into a virtual setting. As two teacher educators teaching in online environments, we outline our own pedagogical approaches and bring our experiences into dialogue with critical scholarship on Indigenous education and circle work in particular.