Back to the Earth: The Growth of a Community-Based STEM Education Program

• In Event: Community-Based Science Learning: Models to Make Classroom Learning Relevant to Students' Everyday Lives

Abstract

The Back to the Earth (BTTE) program is an NSF ITEST project with the goal to develop, deliver, and conduct research on a culturally rich STEM curriculum that focuses on “place” for youth living on Native American reservations. Over a three-year process, the project staff had invited the partner communities to collaborate on developing the program curriculum. Additionally over those three-years, the community partners have incrementally provided input and involved in the actual deliver of the BTTE program. The emerging research demonstrates the need to build positive and trusting community relationships, engage community partners in the development and implementation of the STEM learning events, and consider new ways to think about and deliver curriculum that is steeped in culture and focused on STEM.

Theoretical Framework
Drawing on the curricular frameworks of Place-Based Pedagogies (Semken & Freeman, 2008) and critical pedagogies of place (Gruenewald, 2003) the BTTE project aimed to develop a curriculum that engaged youth from the communities in a culturally relevant educational experience. The goal being to provide a space where youth could build connections in their community to make sense of their Indigenous Knowledge as well as the western ways of knowing. The place contextualized the curriculum, a shared watershed, which has endured both political and environmental challenges over the last century. In this respect, water quality, natural resources, and restoration through engineering provided the STEM content for the BTTE curriculum.

Research Technique
Through the implementation of a community-based participatory (Hacker, 2013) methodology we hoped to engage the community and tribal interests throughout the length of the project: in the planning phases, embedded in the delivery of the project to students, and in the final celebration and debriefing at the end of the work.

Data Sources
The data sources for these complex and varied informal learning events over the years of the project, the developed curriculum, field notes, and observations from community planning meetings and curricular events, as well as participant surveys.

Results, Conclusions
At the beginning, attempts to create a truly collaborative network among the researchers, community members, and STEM experts was extremely difficult due to lack of an established and equitable partnership (Burhansstipanov, Christopher, & Schumacher, 2005). Through a process of trust building and relationship, that was at times disorienting and uncomfortable for those trained in a Western paradigm, the project team was forced to build a foundation for communication, shared goals, and a grounded approach for working in partnership with the community partners. It is through this relationship the resulting BTTE program events began to take on a truly collaborative culturally embedded STEM youth program.

Significance of the Work
For those intending to develop a truly culturally rich STEM learning experience for tribal youth, and subsequent research, building an authentic collaboration with the community and tribal partnerships are significant. One must be willing to spend time developing trust and shared knowledge of historical/cultural norms and values.

Authors

• Anne L. Kern, University of Idaho

• Melinda Howard, University of Idaho

• Laura Anne Laumatia, Coeur d'Alene Tribe of Indians

• Sameer Honwad, University of New Hampshire