JOHN ABBOTT COLLEGE
Building a toolkit for Indigenous students in post-secondary classrooms

John Abbott College, along with Université de Montréal's Faculty of Education, are excited to announce that Dr. Tania Peres, faculty member in the Chemistry department at John Abbott College, and Dr. Neerusha B. Gokool, Assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at Université de Montréal, have been awarded a grant from Pôle interordres de Montréal (PIM).

The two-year grant will help fund the project titled A culturally responsive toolkit to pave the way for positive and successful integration of Indigenous students in post-secondary classrooms. The project aims at co-constructing an academic skills digital toolkit grounded in Indigenous knowledge and culturally responsive pedagogy.

Dr. Tania Peres, faculty member at John Abbott College, and Dr. Neerusha B. Gokool, Assistant professor at Université de Montréal, stand in the Kahnikonri:io - Good Mind Garden and Microforest at John Abbott College.

Research done by Dr. Peres and Dr. Gokool have found that First Nations youth are less likely to attend or complete a post-secondary education as compared to non-Indigenous youth. The reasons for this ranging from struggling with time management, mental health issues, feeling of disconnectedness from teachers and classmates, and more.

"We want [Indigenous students] to have success. To be able to make that transition from where and how they were learning before, to how we learn in CEGEP and to move forward. We want to be able to bridge that gap by trying to understand how they learn and merge the two learning styles together."

Dr. Tania Peres, faculty member, Chemistry department, John Abbott College

The project consists of three phases:

1. Develop a comprehensive understanding, through sharing circles, storytelling and interviews with Indigenous students, of the challenges and strategies in post-secondary schools.
2. Create a learning community, made up of teachers, researchers, student programmers, and Indigenous students to discuss the findings in phase one, and co-construct the toolkit.
3. Implement and assess the effects of the toolkit on Indigenous students.

"In the end, we hope that [Indigenous students] develop the learning skills needed to succeed in CEGEP, and that they involve themselves in the classroom more through communication and collaboration. All of this is part of the toolkit so that they feel confident to share their perspectives, and they are engaged and motivated to pursue and develop resilience to complete their programs. [ ... ] This tool will be their voices, and what works and doesn't work for them."

Dr. Neerusha B. Gokool, Assistant professor, Faculty of Education, Université de Montréal

The toolkit will be made available online to promote accessibility and flexibility at John Abbott College and the Kahnawake Survival School. The project is expected to launch in Fall 2026.