Author(s):
Need: STEM skills are integral to countless aspects of modern society—infrastructure, health, economic development and community building. Like all demographic groups in the US, tribal communities must develop their STEM workforce to meet the needs of their own communities. Students from underrepresented minority groups face unique barriers including for example family structure, single parenthood, lack of academic preparation, and inadequate financial support. However, we must recognize that American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) students face challenges that are distinct from other underrepresented groups including historical trauma, responsibility to one’s tribal nation, and maintaining cultural/linguistic identity. Therefore, to improve access to STEM fields for AI/AN students, there is a critical need to expand undergraduate research programs with an Indigenous focus. Guiding Question: The purpose of our IUSE Engaged Student Learning project is to: • Create a professional development training course to educate faculty in culturally responsive pedagogy that is relevant to AI/AN students. • Guide faculty in the development of an Indigenous focused sophomore-year, course-based undergraduate research experiences (SY-CURE). Outcomes: We have developed a professional development course that trains faculty in culturally responsive pedagogy and guides them in the development of an Indigenous focused SY-CURE. A total of nine faculty members have completed the professional development course resulting in seven indigenous focused SY-CUREs having been taught thus far at Fort Lewis College. Broader Impacts: By focusing on the needs of AI/AN undergraduates we are supporting the growth of the potential pool of future AI/AN scientists whom, in turn, will strengthen the diversity of the overall American STEM workforce and be more responsive to the needs of their own tribal communities. While we are early in the data collection and analysis process, we feel our project has already begun to have a broader impact through alignment with our institutional strategic plan and reconciliation efforts, given our institution’s history as an Indian Boarding school. Current SY-CURE projects have leveraged the cultural abundance of the region to provide authentic Indigenous focused research opportunities for undergraduates. By creating such a novel course model, we expect that our undergraduates will cultivate their understanding of how scientific research is connected to their local communities, foster civic engagement, and strengthen relationships between Fort Lewis College and the communities in which many of our students reside. Faculty professional development and resource sharing to the broader STEM education community related to the use of Indigenous ways of knowing, culturally responsive mentoring, and CURE design will offer STEM faculty a new understanding of how social identities, histories, and experiences affect AI/AN student learning and their ability to achieve their educational goals. Taken together, we expect our project’s findings will fill a gap in knowledge as to how to best serve a distinct and vital group of our nation’s population.
Coauthors
Chiara Cannella, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO; Marnie Clay, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO; Erin Lehmer, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO
