Sharing Place: The Virtual Watershed

• In Event: Roundtable Session 30
  In Roundtable Session: PCs in the Himalayas and iPads on the Reservation: Impact of Technology on Learning Within Cultures

Abstract

Objective
Geographical places are rich in social, cultural, and historical significance, yet become devoid of life “when we fail to consider places as products of human decisions” (Gruenewald, 2003, p. 627). Semken and Freeman (2008) note, “in the natural sciences, place-based pedagogy is advocated as a way to improve engagement and retention of students, particularly members of indigenous or historically inhabited communities” (p. 1044). Water restoration is a major natural resource activity on many American Indian reservations (McCool, 2007).
As such, learning and reflection on the issues of living in nature, place, has been advocated by Aikenhead and Michell (2011). Davidson-Hunt and O’Flaherty (2007) add “the goals of a place-based learning community are to support people in responding to their own needs, developing a capacity to generate their own research projects, creating supportive relationships with other actors through the building of dynamic processes for the coproduction of locally relevant knowledge” (p. 295).

Overview, Methods, and Data Sources
The backdrop for the Back to the Earth (BTTE) program is the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene watershed in North Eastern –Western Washington and Idaho. The watershed connects two American Indian reservations, the Spokane Tribe of Indians (STOI) and the Coeur d’Alene Tribe (CdA), physically and culturally. Students from the two communities engage in study and reflection about the impact of water health, monitoring, restoration efforts, and historical and future land-water policy that impact their communities, individually and collectively. Crucial to the BTTE project is the ability to record and share data, stories, and images of the shared watershed. The Virtual Watershed is a web-based space that includes an interactive map with geospatial locations tagged with places of social, cultural, and scientific significance for both tribes.
The project has students engage in lessons on watershed and natural resource management. Students’ work and progress is documented via videos, podcasts, blogs, wikis and other texts. Of particular interest is to understand what kinds of artifacts and materials students and community members chose to post and interact with on the Virtual Watershed.

Results
Early web analytics and metrics show site visitors are those participants directed to the website for specific use or purposes, such as access to program information or completion of forms to sign-up for BTTE project activities. Students will create and post “personal” webpages to capture their ideas of watershed need, management, and restoration. However, due to the students’ age (under 13-years old), they will make posts via a self-chosen avatar. Other students and community member will be encourage to comment on student posts and webpage content. Results from these activities will be available and report at the annual meeting.

Significance

Of particular importance is the accessibility of STEM education in light of cultural significance for American Indian students as a means for strengthening leadership to support sovereignty and land-water preservation. The research findings from this project will assist educators and teachers of American Indian students to more effectively incorporate interdisciplinary STEM learning activities into the curriculum and engage in projects of importance to the community.

Author

• Anne L. Kern, University of Idaho