Doctoral Dissertation Research: Ecosystems of Teaching and Learning: An Ethnography of Two Inupiaq Dance Groups

土著环境中的教学与学习不同于西方教育传统中的活动和经验。本民族志研究探讨如何教学和学习发生在两个阿拉斯加土著舞蹈和鼓乐团体。舞蹈，歌曲和击鼓是不可或缺的土著教育活动，在整个北极地区具有独特的文化传统。这些活动体现在教学和学习模式中，将有关人际关系、社会价值观、语言、动物和环境的信息编码。这项研究的重点是舞蹈团体的成员如何发展和维护实践社区的共同利益，并评估舞蹈在青年赋权，文化传播和参与社会问题的作用。在这个项目中采用的方法包括与阿拉斯加原住民长老，教育工作者和青年，参与观察，和文件分析的民族志访谈。研究将在阿拉斯加的安克雷奇和乌特恰伊维克进行，然后进行定性文本分析。项目传播计划将与阿拉斯加土著合作者协商制定。预期成果包括学术报告、论文以及对比较教育、土著教育学和实践理论的智力贡献。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。

Teaching and learning in Indigenous contexts differ from activities and experiences within the Western educational tradition. This ethnographic research explores how teaching and learning occur within two Alaska Native dance and drumming groups. Dance, song, and drumming are integral Indigenous educational activities, with culturally distinct traditions across the Arctic. These activities are embodied modes of teaching and learning that encode information about interpersonal relations, social values, language, animals and the environment. This research focuses on how members of dance groups develop and maintain communities of practice united by common interests and evaluates the role of dance in youth empowerment, cultural transmission, and engagement with social issues. Methods employed in this project include ethnographic interviews with Alaska Native Elders, educators and youth, participant observation, and document analysis. Research will take place in Anchorage and Utqiaġvik, Alaska, followed by qualitative textual analysis. Project dissemination plans will be developed in consultation with Alaska Native collaborators. Anticipated outcomes include scholarly presentations, a dissertation, and intellectual contributions to comparative education, Indigenous pedagogy, and practice theory.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.