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土著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提高生态可持续性意识和机会。在美国西北太平洋地区的几十个部落和5万多名海岸萨利什民族中尤其如此。这些社区的青年尤其脆弱。这个发展创新项目致力于通过实施一个多维的、多代的模型来解决这一严重问题，该模型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)在各个科学领域增加STEM知识和技能，以及(c)海岸萨利什社区内的STEM领域和劳动力机会。在先前试点研究成果的基础上，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，包括创新的文化响应工具包、课程、博物馆展览和编程、研讨会和新建立的实践社区。如果成功，该项目可以为有效机制提供新的见解，不仅可以在海岸萨利希社区的非正式背景下促进STEM知识和技能，还可以提高太平洋西北地区环境可持续性问题的意识和社会变革。在五年期间，该项目将建立在现有的课程和初步研究成果的基础上。试点工作的每一个方面都将得到完善，以确保创新与发展项目建立的模式具有连贯性、全面性和可复制性。讲习班和实习将为多达200名海岸萨利希族非正式社区教育工作者做好准备，以便在其社区内实施该模式。预计2500多名海岸萨利希族和斯威诺米什族青年、成年人、教育工作者和老年人将直接受到讲习班、实习、课程和在线工具包的影响。另外300名不同年龄的学习者预计将受益于该项目开发的便携式教学集。通过与华盛顿州伯克自然历史博物馆（Washington State Burke Natural History Museum）的合作，将开发一个基于该模型的展览和博物馆项目，并在博物馆内开放，每年可能再吸引3.5万人。项目评价将评估下列预期成果的实现程度：(a)提高对土著环境可持续性挑战的认识和理解；(b)提高通过土著视角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)萨利希沿岸国家之间的可持续关系。将进行过程评价，以形成监测和评估工作。一个跨文化小组，包括一名公认的海岸萨利希土著评价员，将领导总结性评价。项目团队经验丰富，由来自Swinomish印第安部落社区、俄勒冈州立大学、Garden raise Bounty、STEM终身学习中心、城市印第安研究所、Feed Seven Generations和Burke自然历史与文化博物馆的代表领导。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识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.