Teaching On Campus and At A Distance

Oshki-Pimache-O-Win’s instructors enjoy the unique challenges of teaching students both on campus and at a distance.

“It’s pretty intensive,” says Instructor John Schmidt, describing the on-campus sessions that usually begin each course. “The students go from nine in the morning to eight at night.”

Instructor Nellie Beardy often faces another challenge while teaching her students; she uses a long distance education network to connect with her students in their communities while she is in her home community of Muskrat Dam.

“When I was visiting up north I was able to deliver all my instructions through the OTN site in Thunder Bay,” Beardy says. “We also used Wahsa to connect to the students.”

Beardy, like most of the instructors, has plenty of experience in the field she is teaching, including over 25 years of community health experience and some experience teaching First Nation health workers at the Sioux Lookout Zone and developing curriculum at Windigo Tribal Council.

“That’s when I first developed an interest,” Beardy says. “I saw the need for properly trained front-line health workers in the communities.”

While the students are on campus, the instructors provide them with as much information as possible so they will be prepared to study on their own in their communities until the next on-campus session. Schmidt usually takes the opportunity to bring in speakers or to visit health sites around Thunder Bay, such as the Sister Margaret Health Centre and Dilico Anishinabek Family Care.

“There is a huge responsibility to deliver a lot of information in a short period of time,” says Instructor Catherine Flynn-Reynolds. “I also provide a lot of support to the students while they are studying in the community.”

The instructors realize that most of the students are working at full-time jobs in their community while pursuing a full-time course load through Oshki-Pimache-O-Win.

“One of the biggest challenges is trying to juggle being a full-time student and an effective community health worker,” Beardy says. “I thoroughly enjoy teaching at Oshki-Pimache-O-Win. The students are very committed and they are hard working.”

Beardy has already committed herself to teaching at Oshki-Pimache-O-Win during the upcoming academic year, as have Schmidt and Flynn-Reynolds.

“I’ll be teaching a nine-week GED program in Wunnumin Lake this summer,” Flynn-Reynold says, noting that she delivered the same course last summer to 25 students in Wapekeka. “I enjoy going into the community and meeting the people. It keeps me challenged - I find that people are extremely welcoming.”

The GED program is a full 300-hour program, which means that Flynn-Reynolds will be teaching for seven to seven-and-a-half hours per day throughout the summer.
“It’s a full day,” she says. “And it’s intensive.”

Twenty-five people have already signed up for the course, which is designed to update their skills and provide them with a Grade 12 equivalency.