The Indigenous Initiatives Design Series (II Design Series) is a cohort program for instructors and members of the UBC teaching and learning community who come to Indigenous topics with different levels of knowledge and expertise. This is a three-part workshop series for anyone who wants to:
- Share practices to support meaningful and responsible engagement with Indigenous content and ways of knowing
- Redesign elements of their teaching and learning projects and resources
- Model and explore educational materials
- Apply classroom climate principles to everyday learning design situations
Through interactive, blended synchronous and asynchronous activities and peer-to-peer discussion, they will take a closer look at classroom climate, instructor/student positionality, and place.
Completion of the II-Design Series requires 13-15 hours total time commitment, including:
- Attendance and active participation in 3 half-day synchronous workshops (9 hours)
- Asynchronous learning activities, homework, and preparation before and between meetings (4 to 6 hours – Canvas)
Program Objectives
Through participating in this workshop series, you will:
- Identify and reflect on the mindset shift you need to engage with as you integrate and center Indigenous knowledges, histories and content in your course and teaching practices.
- Narrate your own experiences, histories with place, and what has influenced your learning of Indigenous knowledges and perspectives to begin crafting a positionality statement.
- Consider some diverse experiences of Indigenous students at UBC and within the context of all learners in your classroom.
- Identify and discuss different aspects of classroom climate as it relates to integrating Indigenous knowledges and perspectives in your course.
- Locate points of connection within your course and teaching, set some actionable goals related to those points of connection, start “walking the path” as an iterative process.
Upcoming Programming:

2023 Indigenous Initiatives Fall Design Series: Registration Open!
Please apply by Tuesday, October 10th
The Fall 2023 II Design Series is being offered for instructors and members of the UBC teaching and learning community from any faculty/unit.
Completion of the II-Design Series requires 13-15 hours total time commitment, including:
- 3 workshops (Total 9 hours)
- Workshop 1: Motivation and Context is Tuesday, October 31, 2023: 9:30am – 12:30pm (In Person)*
- Workshop 2: Positionality and Place is Tuesday, October 31, 2023: 9:30am – 12:30pm (In Person)*
- Workshop 3: Design Lab is Tuesday, October 31, 2023: 9:30am – 12:30pm (Zoom)
- Total required asynchronous work (4-6 hours), including:
- Up to 2-hour preparation time via Canvas prior to October 31, 2023; and
- 60-to-90 minutes of homework between sessions
Location Note: The workshops on October 31st and November 2nd will take place in Room 2.22 of Irving K. Barber Learning Centre.
*There is a possibility of sessions moving online should we receive a number of requests leading up to Day One from REGISTERED Participants with issues of illness or travel related to weather. We will do our best to notify everyone should this occur within 24 hours of Day One.
If you are unable to attend the dates listed above but would like to participate in the future, please add your name to the email list HERE.