Online, Outside, and in the Community: Making the Case for Science Education Relevance in Native American Communities

部落学院和大学方案的目标是支持为土著服务的高等教育机构建设其科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教学和研究能力。为了实现这些目标，利奇湖部落学院（LLTC）项目名为“在线，外部和社区：在美国土著社区中为科学教育相关性提供案例”，提供了一套连贯的活动，增强了学院的STEM学位课程。虽然该学位的开发是为了使当前和未来几代美国印第安学生具备进入竞争激烈和快速发展的STEM劳动力所需的技能，但社区调查表明，这些职业与社区内STEM教育的重要性和可及性之间存在脱节。为了解决这种脱节，LLTC项目建立学院的能力，提供相关的，高质量的STEM教学和改善访问STEM教育在水蛭湖社区。该项目的活动侧重于四个主要领域：推广、扩大远程教育、改善获得技术的机会以及学生的征聘和保留。多个组成部分旨在提高STEM成果为原住民学生包括增加原住民在STEM劳动力的代表性，从而减少水蛭湖社区内的经济差距.随着他们不断致力于生产准备满足当地和区域劳动力需求的毕业生，LLTC正在超越其传统的本地学生基础，通过社区服务提供无障碍STEM教育-面向外展和远程教育的发展。该项目利用一系列补充活动，包括1）在保留社区周围提供WiFi热点，计算机技能培训和计算机贷款计划，以增加学生的互联网接入; 2）开发额外的在线STEM课程; 3）使用反向设计修改发展数学课程; 4）在地区高中开展一系列与文化相关的STEM外展活动; 5）为教师提供远程教育教学技术的专业发展培训; 6）为STEM学生建立队列结构;以及7）制定针对当地中学生的正式招聘策略。LLTC教育能力的加强将为学院和社区带来长期利益，包括更多的STEM入学率，增加社区对LLTC STEM的参与，更多的本地毕业生进入当地STEM劳动力，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学术价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

The goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to support Native-serving institutions of higher education in building their science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities. In alignment with these goals, the Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC) project named "Online, Outside, and in the Community: Making the Case for Science Education Relevance in Native American Communities" provides a coherent suite of activities that enhance the college's STEM degree program. While the degree was developed to equip current and future generations of American Indian students with the skills necessary to enter a competitive and rapidly evolving STEM workforce, community surveys indicate a disconnect between these careers and the perceived importance and accessibility of STEM education within the community. To address this disconnect, the LLTC project builds the college's capacity to provide relevant, high quality STEM instruction and improved accessibility to STEM education within the Leech Lake communities. The project's activities focus on four main areas: outreach, expanding distance education offerings, improving access to technology, and student recruitment and retention. The multiple components are designed to improve STEM outcomes for Native students including increasing Native representation in the STEM workforce, thereby decreasing economic disparities within the Leech Lake community.With their ongoing commitment to produce graduates prepared to answer the local and regional workforce demands, LLTC is extending beyond its traditional local student base to provide accessible STEM education through community service-oriented outreach and distance education development. The project utilizes an array of complementary activities including 1) the provision of wifi hotspots around the reservation community, computer skills training, and a computer loan program to increase Internet access for students; 2) the development of additional online STEM courses; 3) the modification of developmental math courses using Backward Design; 4) a series of culturally relevant STEM outreach activities in area high schools; 5) professional development training for their faculty on distance education instructional techniques; 6) the formation of a cohort structure for STEM students; and 7) the development of a formal recruitment strategy aimed at local secondary students. The strengthening of LLTC's educational capacity will result in long-term benefits for the both the college and the community including greater STEM enrollment, increased community engagement with LLTC STEM, higher numbers of Native graduates entering the local STEM workforce, and improved economic stability for Native people and their community.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.