Implementing Place-based Pedagogies to Transform STEM Graduate Education

全国各地的海洋生物学研究生从事沿海和海洋资源和过程的研究。然而，关心和利用自然资源的社区往往不参与形成这项研究。在夏威夷ʻI，这些资源是夏威夷原住民生计和文化习俗不可或缺的一部分。夏威夷大学ʻI at MāNoa(UHM)的海洋生物学研究生项目培养海洋生物学研究、保护和教育领域的新兴领导者。研究生通常在自然科学方面接受了强有力的培训，但缺乏关于如何创造知识的社会和文化方面的指导。这一NSF研究生教育创新(IGE)奖旨在将海洋生物学从一门将研究人员定位为独立于他们所研究的生态系统的“实地科学”转变为一门认识到海洋生物与人类社区和文化之间的基本联系的“社区嵌入科学”。这一创新项目将培训早期职业科学家在其职业生涯中建立和维持与当地社区的互惠关系。此外，改善科学工作者和公众之间的沟通增加了对科学相关政策的信任。在HawaiʻI使用基于地点的方法，学生将沉浸在Heʻ环境影响评估国家河口研究保护区基于社区的研究伙伴关系中。在学生第一个秋季学期之前，为期两周的密集学习包括几个相互关联的部分。首先是与ʻEIA NERR合作伙伴组织的管理、关系建设和服务学习机会。其次是阅读、演讲和案例研究的课堂讨论，在这些案例研究中，科学价值观和社区价值观经常会错位。第三是自我指导学习和反思的机会，第四项活动是建立队列和建立点对点的指导结构。向学生介绍夏威夷原住民公斤(观察和探究)和kuleana(责任和相互依存)作为将人与土地联系起来的基本实践。通过与当地土著管理组织建立联系的实践经验，课程强调研究人员对其工作所在的地方和社区的地位和责任。在秋季学期，学生进行迭代反思和知识整合。一个高度跨学科的教学和评估团队设计了课程阅读材料、客座讲座和讨论，以探索技术、文化和科学实践(包括数据管理和治理)交叉点的案例研究，重点是土著知识和数据主权。将课程置于伦理框架中，促进与这些新兴研究人员工作的社区的互惠参与和知识共同创造，改变土著学习之地的研究生教育文化。使用嵌入式评估方法的形成性评估将为迭代计划改进提供信息。来自总结性评估的研究结果，包括对参与的学生和系调查的分析，研究活动报告，以及对教师教学大纲/作业的文件分析，将被广泛分享，以指导以地点为基础的STEM研究生教育方法。研究生教育创新(IGE)项目专注于研究生教育的研究。IGE的目标是试验、测试和验证研究生教育的创新方法，并产生将这些方法推广到更广泛社区所需的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Marine biology graduate students across the nation undertake research on coastal and marine resources and processes. However, the communities that care for and utilize natural resources are often not involved in shaping the research. In Hawaiʻi, these resources are integral to the livelihoods and cultural practices of Native Hawaiians. The Marine Biology Graduate Program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) trains emerging leaders in marine biology research, conservation, and education. Graduate students have typically received strong training in the natural sciences but lack guidance on the social and cultural aspects of how knowledge is created. This NSF Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) award to UHM seeks to transform marine biology from a “field-based science” that positions researchers as separate from the ecosystems they study to a “community-embedded science” that recognizes the fundamental connections between marine life and human communities and cultures. This innovative project will train early career scientists in establishing and maintaining reciprocal relationships with local communities throughout their professional careers. Additionally, improving communication between the scientific workforce and the public increases trust around science-related policies. Using place-based methodologies in Hawaiʻi, students will be immersed in a community-based research partnership at the Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR). An intensive two-week period immediately prior to the students’ first fall semester incorporates several interrelated components. First are stewardship, relationship building, and service learning opportunities with Heʻeia NERR partner organizations. Second are readings, lectures, and class discussions of case studies where scientific values and community values can often misalign. Third are opportunities for self-directed learning and reflections, with a fourth activity of cohort-building and establishing of peer-to-peer mentorship structures. Students are introduced to Native Hawaiian kilo (observation and inquiry) and kuleana (responsibility and interdependence) as fundamental practices connecting people to the land. Through hands-on experiences establishing connections with local Indigenous stewardship organizations, the course emphasizes the positionality and responsibility of researchers to the places and communities in which their work is embedded. During the fall semester, students engage in iterative reflection and knowledge integration. A highly interdisciplinary instruction and evaluation team has designed course readings, guest lectures, and discussions to explore case studies at the intersection of technology, culture, and scientific practice, including data stewardship and governance, with an emphasis on Indigenous knowledge and data sovereignty. Grounding the curriculum in an ethical framework promotes reciprocal engagement and knowledge co-production with communities wherever these emerging researchers work, transforming the graduate education culture at an Indigenous place of learning. Formative evaluation using an embedded assessment approach will inform iterative program improvements. Research findings from a summative evaluation, including analysis of participant student and department surveys, research activities reports, and document analyses of faculty syllabi/assignments, will be shared broadly to inform place-based approaches to STEM graduate education. The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) program is focused on research in graduate education. The goals of IGE are to pilot, test and validate innovative approaches to graduate education and to generate the knowledge required to move these approaches into the broader 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.