GeoConnections: Relationships Between Indigenous Knowledges and Western Science

• In Event: 67.059 - Enacting Social Justice Through Transformative Science Education Research in Various Contexts

Abstract

Objective: GeoConnections is a research project which has helped to enhance the cultural relevance of introductory geology activities at the undergraduate level in an effort to increase student connections to geoscience concepts and careers. This was achieved through the development of three geoscience educational modules with major portions of the curriculum development influenced by Indigenous researchers. A major purpose of this project is to allow new geologic information to be understood by a larger segment of the world population, which could help strengthen the socio-political decisions being made by Indigenous groups regarding land use, natural resources, and climate change, as well as educational priorities for their younger generations.

Perspectives (theoretical framework): GeoConnections was developed using a combination of the sociotransformative constructivism (sTc) framework (Rodriguez, 1998/2011) as well as Indigenous Research Frameworks (Brayboy, 2005, Wilson, 2008). Together these frameworks were used to create a multimodal curriculum and educational setting in which Indigenous perspectives were valued equally alongside non-Indigenous perspectives. In addition, steps within the research protocol were purposefully designed to promote relational accountability between the Indigenous community and the academic researchers involved with the project.

Modes of Inquiry & Data Sources: A sequential transformative design was used for a mixed methods (MM) assessment of the impacts of place-based educational modules on students' connections to geoscience concepts and careers. The quantitative assessment began data collection using a survey instrument, designed to assess “sense of place”, before and after implementation of a place-based educational module (Semken & Freeman, 2008). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with all participants who agreed to be interviewed (n=10). A grounded theoretical approach utilizing exploratory, open and subsequent axial coding identified critical incidents which impacted student perceptions and conceptions of geology, geoscience concepts, geoscience careers, and the relevance of geology to their daily lives (Houlton, 2010).

Findings & Conclusions: Preliminary quantitative findings indicate no statistical significance to variable changes in sense of place indicated by the participants. Emergent themes from the post-intervention interviews revealed important aspects of the geoscience education modules that enabled a multimodal educational experience. Some of these themes include: the importance of sharing knowledge, action-oriented pedagogies, as well as holistic understandings of ecological environments. Together these indicate there are major differences between curricula developed from Western scientific perspectives and those developed in conjunction with Indigenous Research Frameworks.

Scholarly Significance: Geology, as a discipline, continues to lag behind other sciences in attracting growing numbers of previously underrepresented students, especially those from Indigenous communities. GeoConnections provides strategies for increasing the cultural relevancy of geoscience concepts as well as providing transparent perspectives of how geoscience knowledge and careers can benefit Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities alike, both socially and politically. The strategies used in the GeoConnections project were developed using innovative Indigenous research frameworks that are easily transferable to other disciplines and can also be modified to meet educational standards upheld the government for primary and secondary education.

Authors

• Darryl Reano, Florida International University

• Jonathan Harbor, Purdue University