Transforming American Indian and Alaska Native STEM Learning via Indigenous Knowledge Translation, Education, and the Environment

美国印第安人和阿拉斯加原住民社区继续面临着巨大的环境挑战和关切，因为他们主要是以地方为基础的人，他们的健康、文化、社区和生计往往与当地环境的状况直接相关。随着对土著土地和传统的威胁日益增加，迫切需要在受影响地区内外的所有利益攸关方中促进生态可持续性意识和机会。这在美国太平洋西北部的几十个部落和50,000多名萨利什海岸民族成员中尤其如此。这些社区中的青年特别容易受到伤害。这一发展创新项目致力于解决这一严重关切，实施了一个多维、多代的模式，旨在将传统生态知识与当代知识相结合，以促进：(A)环境可持续性意识，(B)增加各个科学领域的STEM知识和技能，以及(C)沿海Salish社区内的STEM领域和劳动力机会。在先前试点研究的基础上，该项目将以八项指导原则为基础。这些原则将体现在项目的各个方面，包括创新的、符合文化的工具包、课程、博物馆展览和规划、讲习班和新建立的实践社区。如果成功，该项目将提供关于有效机制的新见解，这些机制不仅可以在萨利什海岸社区的非正式环境中促进STEM知识和技能，而且还可以提高人们对太平洋西北部环境可持续性问题的认识和社会变革。试点工作的每个方面都将得到改进，以确保在该创新和发展项目中建立的模式是连贯的、全面的和可复制的。讲习班和实习将培养多达200名海岸萨利什民族非正式社区教育者，以便在其社区内实施这一模式。超过2500名沿海撒利什民族和Swinomish青年、成年人、教育工作者和老年人预计将直接受到讲习班、实习、课程和在线工具包的影响。预计另有300名不同年龄段的学习者将受益于该项目开发的便携式教学收藏。通过与华盛顿州伯克自然历史博物馆的合作，将开发一个基于该模型的展览和博物馆节目，并在该博物馆进行访问，每年可能会有另外3.5万人参加。项目评估将评估在多大程度上实现了以下预期成果：(A)提高了对土著环境可持续性挑战的认识和了解；(B)通过土著视角提高了制定和实施教育方案的技能；(C)提高了对环境科学和其他STEM学科和领域的兴趣和认识；以及(D)沿海萨利什国家之间的可持续关系。将进行过程评估，以形式化地监测和评估工作。一个跨文化小组，包括一名公认的海岸萨利什土著评估员，将领导终结性评估。该项目团队经验丰富，并由来自Swinomish印第安人部落社区、俄勒冈州立大学、花园养育基金会、终身STEM学习中心、城市印第安人研究所、Feed七代人和伯克自然历史和文化博物馆的代表领导。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

American Indian and Alaska Native communities continue to disproportionately face significant environmental challenges and concerns as a predominately place-based people whose health, culture, community, and livelihood are often directly linked to the state of their local environment. With increasing threats to Native lands and traditions, there is an urgent need to promote ecological sustainability awareness and opportunities among all stakeholders within and beyond the impacted areas. This is especially true among the dozens of tribes and over 50,000 members of the Coast Salish Nations in the Pacific Northwest United States. The youth within these communities are particularly vulnerable. This Innovations in Development project endeavors to address this serious concern by implementing a multidimensional, multigenerational model aimed at intersecting traditional ecological knowledge with contemporary knowledge to promote: (a) environmental sustainability awareness, (b) increased STEM knowledge and skills across various scientific domains, and (c) STEM fields and workforce opportunities within Coast Salish communities. Building on results from a prior pilot study, the project will be grounded on eight guiding principles. These principles will be reflected in all aspects of the project including an innovative, culturally responsive toolkit, curriculum, museum exhibit and programming, workshops, and a newly established community of practice. If successful, this project could provide new insights on effective mechanisms for not only promoting STEM knowledge and skills within informal contexts among Coast Salish communities but also awareness and social change around issues of environmental sustainability in the Pacific Northwest.Over a five-year period, the project will build upon an extant curriculum and findings codified in a pilot study. Each aspect of the pilot work will be refined to ensure that the model established in this Innovations and Development project is coherent, comprehensive, and replicable. Workshops and internships will prepare up to 200 Coast Salish Nation informal community educators to implement the model within their communities. Over 2,500 Coast Salish Nation and Swinomish youth, adults, educators, and elders are expected to be directly impacted by the workshops, internships, curriculum and online toolkit. Another 300 learners of diverse ages are expected to benefit from portable teaching collections developed by the project. Through a partnership with the Washington State Burke Natural History Museum, an exhibit and museum programming based on the model will be developed and accessible in the Museum, potentially reaching another 35,000 people each year. The project evaluation will assess the extent to which the following expected outcomes are achieved: (a) increased awareness and understanding of Indigenous environmental sustainability challenges; (b) increased skills in developing and implementing education programs through an Indigenous lens; (c) increased interest in and awareness of the environmental sciences and other STEM disciplines and fields; and (d) sustainable relationships among the Coast Salish Nations. A process evaluation will be conducted to formatively monitor and assess the work. A cross cultural team, including a recognized Coast Salish Indigenous evaluator, will lead the summative evaluation. The project team is experienced and led by representatives from the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, Oregon State University, Garden Raised Bounty, the Center for Lifelong STEM Learning, the Urban Indian Research Institute, Feed Seven Generations, and the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.