Welcome
Published on Nov 19, 2015
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Welcome
who am i?
Name, location, career, hobbies
Background
Prairie Island Indian Community
850 Tribal Members, 3,000 acre Reservation, Dakota Sioux
Capstone Project
Integrating Dakota Sioux Culture with Environmental Science Curriculum
what inspired me?
Classes the tribe offered
Singing, dancing, drumming, language
The need
Connecting the culture with the environment
How?
With cultural and medicinal PLANTS!!!
why plants?
Plants were interwoven among the lives of the tribes
plants were:
Their pharmacy, grocery, toys, tools, fabric, dwellings, spiritual icons
what can i do?
Through the capacity of the Environmental Dept.
Original idea
Create culturally inclusive science material to use in education acticities
conceptual framework
Discoveries made through literature review:
1. Native American students struggle in traditional classrooms with standard curriculum
2. They do better when there is culturally relevant curriculum that helps tie the subject to their identity
3. There is not a lot of culturally inclusive science material available.
4. It is up to the educator to create their own content.
Create the Material!
Have the educators educate themselves
Revised action research project
Focus on the educators; The Tribes environmental staff
FOCUS QUESTION
Does having access to culturally relevant resources help educators feel better prepared to instruct to cultural sensitivities?
Sub-Question #1
What is the extent of educators knowledge on Native American cultural and medicinal plants?
Sub-Question #2
What resources do educators use most when researching culturally significant plant information?
methodology
METHODOLOGY
Create culturally relevant educational material to prepare educators with a way to spark student inquiry into environmental science by using materials that the student can identify with.
participants
Three staff from the Environmental Dept. that work with education/outreach
INTERVENTION
Staff worked towards creating their own educational tool as a way to educate themselves on culturally inclusive curriculum and become more comfortable with the material they will use to educate others.
data collection tools
Google Docs
Untitled Slide
- Pre Questionnaire/Attitude Scale
- Content Knowledge Self-Asessment
- Field Notes and Observational Records
- Structured Interviews
- Post Questionnaire/Attitude Scale
The activity
Untitled Slide
data analysis
Three case studies: Ann, Beth, Claire.
Untitled Slide
Untitled Slide
Where to locate resources on cultural plants
- Online
- Published Books
- Community Elders
Resources on Plants
- Online
- Published Books
- Community Elders
interview
- Resource Use: Preference vs Actual
- What elements do you find most helpful in plant guides
- Resources: Make versus existing
- Did you feel you learned more by creating your own resource
- Are you more likely to use your own resource vs whats available
"The amount of learning that took place as a result of this project was well worth it. I never would have learned this much without the incentive of this project."
Conclusion
The process of completing this study reaffirmed the lack of culturally relevant resources that are available to educators as the participants were frustrated with the limited resources available to complete the activity.
enduring value
next steps
Create a complete cultural plant field guide
Specific to the Dakota Sioux Tribes
