Modularizing High School Courses at Nuiyak School

Dinah Kavik

Dinah Kavik has students who “decide to return or not to return to the same course year after year.” Would these students benefit if high school courses at Nuiyak School were modularized? Choosing different approaches for different groups, Dinah used individual interviews, a questionnaire and focus groups to gather opinions from 3 parents, 4 teachers, 7 high school students and 3 students who had dropped out of high school. Most, she concluded, believed that modularization would help the majority of students, though exceptions need to be recognized. She identified four other components: better information for parents and students; adequate resources for Inuttitut courses; a school year reflecting the seasons; use of age-appropriate learning stages as in the Inuit tradition. Modularization and other changes require work and commitment from educators but we must not forget “it is the students we work for.”