i-NATURE: Indigenous iNtegration of Aquatic sciences and Traditional-Ecological-Knowledge for Undergraduate culturally Responsive Education

项目i-NATURE（水生科学和生态知识的本土整合本科文化响应教育）将传统生态知识纳入现有的STEM教学模式，并提供对影响美国印第安人/阿拉斯加原住民（AI/AN）社区的环境问题的见解。它将建立一个相互关联的STEM计划，促进对自然科学和资源保护教学的文化敏感方法。AI/AN学生在美国主流学院和大学的任何学生群体中的大学入学率和毕业率最低，并且在STEM领域的代表性明显不足。该项目旨在了解和解决这一入学赤字，并通过文化相关的伙伴关系，研究和经验，以学习者为中心的课程为学生的未来做好准备。i-NATURE将在太平洋西北部的学术界和部落自然资源项目之间建立一个合作网络，并建立一个相互关联的学术STEM项目，以促进和建立AI/AN学生对自然科学和资源保护的现有文化吸引力。它将成为全国其他代表性不足的群体和地区以及对环境问题感兴趣的人的典范。i-NATURE的目标是开发一种新的、文化上敏感的、基于地方的STEM课程，为美国印第安人/阿拉斯加原住民（AI/AN）学生提供从高中到STEM劳动力的无缝过渡。i-NATURE将利用太平洋西北地区学术机构（包括部落学院）和部落自然资源项目之间的多个合作伙伴关系来开发这一模式。该计划将以文化响应的方式量身定制，以满足AI/AN学生的需求，同时帮助学生获得在STEM领域取得成功最关键的技能和知识。它还将为学生准备21世纪的劳动力。该模式的组成部分包括：（i）基于项目的体验式学习模式，重点是数据分析和沟通，（ii）代际指导，（iii）暑期实习，以及（iv）区域合作伙伴关系发展，以创建专为AI/AN在STEM领域取得成功而量身定制的计划。它将产生关于学生对学习，成功和影响的影响的新证据，作为社区驱动的，传统生态知识的STEM教育方法的结果。

Project i-NATURE (Indigenous iNtegration of Aquatic sciences and Traditional-Ecological-Knowledge for Undergraduate culturally Responsive Education) will incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge into existing models of STEM instruction and provide insights into environmental issues that impact American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. It will build an interconnected STEM program that fosters a culturally sensitive approach to teaching the natural sciences and resource conservation. AI/AN students have the lowest college enrollment and graduation rates of any student cohort at mainstream U.S. colleges and universities, and are significantly underrepresented in the STEM fields. This project seeks to understand and address this enrollment deficit, and prepare students for their futures through culturally relevant partnerships, research, and an experiential, learner-centered curriculum. i-NATURE will develop a collaborative network between academia and tribal natural resource programs in the Pacific Northwest, and produce an interconnected academic STEM program that fosters and builds on an existing cultural gravitation of AI/AN students toward the natural sciences and resource conservation. It will serve as model for other underrepresented groups and regions nationwide, as well as those interested in environmental issues.The goal of i-NATURE is to develop a new, culturally responsive, place-based STEM curriculum that provides a seamless transition from high school and into the STEM workforce for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students. i-NATURE will develop this model using multiple partnerships among academic institutions (including Tribal Colleges) and tribal natural resource programs in the Pacific Northwest. The program will be tailored to meet the needs of AI/AN students in a culturally responsive manner while helping students acquire the skills and knowledge most critical for success in STEM fields. It will also prepare students for the 21st century workforce. The components of this model include: (i) an experiential project-based learning model with an emphasis on data analysis and communication, (ii) intergenerational mentoring, (iii) summer internships, and (iv) regional partnership development to create programs uniquely tailored for AI/AN success in STEM. It will generate new evidence regarding the student-level impacts on learning, success, and affect as a result of a community-driven, Traditional Ecological Knowledge approach to STEM education.