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LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Fort Simpson educator Brian Jaffray is being recognized for his work on a project that engaged Deh Cho students with the Berger Inquiry.

Brian Jaffray displays a photo of Wrigley elder Mary Margaret Moses with Jim Antoine of Fort Simpson that was taken during the Berger Inquiry and is now stored in the Berger Inquiry Educational Resource Archive at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. Jaffray is receiving a 2012 Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Teaching for his work on the Berger Inquiry Project that created the archive and an interactive website for students. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

Jaffray is one of seven recipients of the 2012 Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Teaching. The awards honours the exemplary contributions of Canada's history teachers in both elementary and secondary schools.

Jaffray is to receive a gold medal and $2,500 during a ceremony in Ottawa on Dec. 10. Jaffray said he was shocked to be nominated for the award. The Berger Inquiry Project was a team collaboration and I was just one part of it, he said.

"It's a great honour," said Jaffray.

Interactive website

The project is producing an interactive website about the Berger Inquiry that will place students in the position of Thomas Berger. They will be given primary resources and challenged to come up with their own conclusions and recommendations about the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline.

The project has also resulted in the Berger Inquiry Educational Resource Archive at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. So far the archive contains 250 photos, eight hours of audio recordings and multiple newspaper articles from the inquiry. A film about the inquiry has also been placed in the archive.

While the project produced great resources, what is equally important is the way students in the Deh Cho were engaged in the process, said Jaffray.

Jaffray, a teacher consultant with the Dehcho Divisional Education Council, has taught for 30 years, 21 of those in the Deh Cho. The project combined two of his favourite interests, technology and history.

"I've always had an avid love of history and Northern history," said Jaffray.

"The stories here are always so engaging."

The Berger Inquiry Project started in 2010 when Drew Ann Wake found a box of audio recordings she'd made while covering the inquiry as a young CBC reporter. One of Jaffray's colleagues put Wake in touch with him.

The two met, along with photographer Linda MacCannell, and discussed the possibility of partnering with the Dehcho Divisional Education Council on a project about the Berger Inquiry. Once funding was secured the question was how to do the project in a way that was meaningful for students, said Jaffray.

"For me it's all about getting our students engaged."

The solution was taking a team of people who'd been involved in the inquiry to each Deh Cho community in the summer of 2011 where they did a series of workshops.

Wake taught students how to make soundscapes while Peter Gorrie, who was a reporter with News of the North during the inquiry, taught interviewing skills.

Michael Jackson, who was Berger's special council during the inquiry, showed his collection of photos and provided historical background while Elizabeth Hardisty covered mapping and land use. Other members of the team included MacCannell who imparted basic photography skills and Felix Isiah, who did filming.

Interviewing elders

Students used these tools to create material that would be used for the website. In some communities it included interviewing elders who'd participated in the inquiry.

In Fort Liard students held a press conference with Harry Deneron, who participated in the inquiry. In Fort Providence students did a live video chat with Thomas Berger. It was "powerful learning" for students to be able to talk to the person they were studying, said Jaffray.

The whole project is a template for how teachers can create a multimedia project, make subjects interactive, engage students and create partnerships with others, he said. A how-to section for teachers will be included on the final website.

"I think the website is going to be a great resource," said Jaffray.

He hopes the website will continue to grow and develop as more student material is included. He also hopes to see the archive of primary resources on the Berger Inquiry expand and student material added. Students and people across Canada will be able to use the archive for research and projects, he said.

The Governor General's History Award for Excellence in Teaching also comes with $1,000 to be donated to a school. Jaffray hopes to use the funds to preserve more primary documents for the archive.

Jaffray said he hopes the project shows educators there are different ways to deliver programs to students. When students have the chance to do things first hand they have a much deeper learning experience, he said.

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