LaFever

Indigenizing Learning Outcomes

LaFever has elab­o­rat­ed on the cat­e­go­riza­tions devel­oped by Bloom and Fink to include a 4‑quadrant mod­el based on the Med­i­cine Wheel, that includes the spir­i­tu­al aspect of learn­ing. By includ­ing the addi­tion­al ‘spir­i­tu­al domain,’ LaFever pro­vides a mod­el for indi­g­e­niz­ing learn­ing out­comes and course design.

The Spir­i­tu­al Domain Includes:

  • Hon­our­ing — refers to being con­scious and aware of our own thoughts and feel­ings, with­out judg­ing, and being open to new expe­ri­ences.
  • Value/d - refers to rela­tion­ship build­ing that acknowl­edges the impor­tance and worth of qual­i­ties relat­ing to spir­i­tu­al well-being.
  • Connect/ed - relates to devel­op­ing a sense of group belong­ing (e.g., in the class­room, com­mu­ni­ty etc.).
  • Empower/d — relates to an giv­ing and receiv­ing sup­port in an envi­ron­ment that fos­ters con­fi­dence and strength.
  • Self actualize/d - becom­ing who we are meant to be.
  • Tip: As a way of think­ing about the more spir­i­tu­al aspects of learn­ing, explore this info­graph­ic “Human­iz­ing your Online Class [PDF].

Pros of LaFever

  • Spir­i­tu­al domain is added to a tax­on­o­my with which many peo­ple are already famil­iar (Bloom).
  • Is more inclu­sive for indige­nous stu­dents and for diverse stu­dents in gen­er­al.
  • Invites us to reimag­ine how we teach and assess in ways that also sup­port men­tal health and well-being.

Cons of LaFever

  • Typ­i­cal col­lege modes of assess­ment do not lend them­selves well to assess­ing the spir­i­tu­al domain of learn­ing.
  • More chal­leng­ing for non-indige­nous instruc­tors to apply appro­pri­ate­ly and with­out inad­ver­tent­ly rein­forc­ing colo­nial approach­es.
  • Eequires rein­ter­pret­ing the roles of both the teacher and stu­dents (which may be eas­i­er in some areas than oth­ers).

Sample Verbs & Progression for Creating Outcome Statements

Honouring

  • Con­sid­er
  • Medi­ate on
  • Be aware
  • Seek
  • Allow
  • Lis­ten
  • Observe

Value/d

  • Empathize
  • Hon­our
  • Acknowl­edge
  • Bal­ance
  • Exem­pli­fy

Connect/ed

  • Con­sult
  • Work with
  • Sup­port
  • Coop­er­ate
  • Par­tic­i­pate
  • Devel­op

Empower/ed

  • Gain
  • Speak out about
  • Advo­cate
  • Act on
  • Defend
  • Influ­ence

Self-Actualize/d

  • Become
  • Self-define
  • Sus­tain
  • Pos­sess
  • Dream

 Handouts