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

美洲印第安人和阿拉斯加原住民社区继续不成比例地面临重大的环境挑战和关切，因为他们主要居住在当地，他们的健康、文化、社区和生计往往与当地环境状况直接相关。随着土著土地和传统受到越来越多的威胁，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。这在美国西北太平洋沿岸的几十个部落和5万多名萨利希人中尤其如此。这些社区中的青年特别脆弱。这个发展创新项目致力于通过实施一个多层面，多代人的模式，旨在将传统生态知识与当代知识相结合，以促进解决这一严重问题：（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）STEM领域和沿海萨利希社区的劳动力机会。该项目将以先前试点研究的结果为基础，以八项指导原则为基础。这些原则将反映在项目的各个方面，包括一个创新的、对文化敏感的工具包、课程、博物馆展览和方案编制、讲习班以及一个新建立的实践社区。 如果成功的话，这个项目可以提供新的见解，有效的机制，不仅促进STEM知识和技能在非正式的背景下海岸Salish社区，但也认识和社会变革周围的环境可持续性问题在太平洋西北地区。在五年的时间里，该项目将建立在现有的课程和成果编纂在一个试点研究。将细化试点工作的各个方面，确保创新发展项目建立的模式具有连贯性、全面性和可复制性。 讲习班和实习将使多达200名海岸萨利希民族非正式社区教育工作者在其社区内实施这一模式。超过2,500海岸Salish民族和Swinomish青年，成人，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名不同年龄的学习者将受益于该项目开发的便携式教材。 通过与华盛顿伯克州立自然历史博物馆的伙伴关系，将根据该模型开发展览和博物馆节目，并在博物馆开放，每年可能再吸引35 000人。项目评价将评估在多大程度上实现了以下预期成果：（a）提高对土著环境可持续性挑战的认识和理解;（B）提高通过土著透镜制定和实施教育方案的技能;（c）提高对环境科学和其他STEM学科和领域的兴趣和认识;（d）提高对环境科学和其他STEM学科和领域的认识;（e）提高对环境科学和其他STEM学科和领域的认识;（f）提高对环境科学和其他STEM学科和领域的认识;（f）提高对环境科学和其他STEM学科和领域的认识;（g）提高对环境科学和其他STEM学科和领域的认识。（d）沿海萨利希民族之间的可持续关系。将进行一次过程评价，以形成性地监测和评估工作。一个跨文化小组，包括一个公认的海岸萨利希土著评估员，将领导总结性评估。项目团队经验丰富，由来自Swinomish印第安部落社区、俄勒冈州州立大学、Garden Raised Bounty、终身STEM学习中心、城市印第安人研究所、养活七代人、该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的评估来支持。影响审查标准。

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.