| NSF Org: |
EES Div. of Equity for Excellence in STEM |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | September 21, 2015 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | April 3, 2020 |
| Award Number: | 1540675 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Jody Chase
lchase@nsf.gov (703)292-5173 EES Div. of Equity for Excellence in STEM EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | October 1, 2015 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2020 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $825,000.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $949,000.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2020 = $124,000.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
2522 KWINA RD BELLINGHAM WA US 98226-9278 (360)676-2772 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
2522 Kwina Road Bellingham WA US 98226-9217 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Tribal College & Univers Prog |
| Primary Program Source: |
04002021DB NSF Education & Human Resource |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.076 |
ABSTRACT
A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's indigenous students. Expanding the STEM curricular offerings at these institutions expands the opportunities of their students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be culturally significant, and encourages a community and generational appreciation for science and mathematics education. This project aligns directly with that goal, and moreover will inform the body of knowledge about the importance and conduct of undergraduate and graduate research experiences in recruiting and retaining underrepresented individuals into STEM studies, and preparing the next generation of STEM professionals. The connection of faculty to research and thereby the students to culturally and geographically relevant research is an important step in producing retained students who are more likely to pursue advanced degrees. For those students entering the workforce directly from a tribal college it is equally important that they have a well-defined skill set in mathematics, science, and technology for entry into the STEM workforce.
Northwest Indian College (NWIC) and Western Washington University (WWU) will collaborate to increase and modify the geosciences curriculum at the tribal college, establish an educational continuum that will facilitate the articulation of NWIC graduates into the graduate geoscience curriculum at WWU, and develop a shared research agenda between the two institutions that uses the ecosystem of the Bellingham Bay as a theme for scholarly studies and place-based instruction. Administrative changes at both institutions will include student mentoring, articulation agreements, co-listing courses, and cross-cultural faculty development.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
The goal of this was project was to support and serve Indigenous students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field, with an emphasis in the geosciences, through increase capacity building of partnering academic institutions. To accomplish this, Northwest Indian College (NWIC) and Western Washington University (WWU) collaborated to create stronger pathways for Indigenous students to enter STEM graduate programming. Institutional adaptations included increased student and peer mentoring, articulation agreements, place-based pedagogy, community-driven research questions, and cross-cultural faculty development. A significant contribution of this project was to ground the curriculum, training, and research in a shared geographic place, in this case the Salish Sea Basin. Faculty training opportunities, enhanced curriculum, and community-driven research questions helped to foster an environment with multiple ways of knowing and multi-generational knowledge transfer.
Outcomes of this project include: increased faculty capacity at NWIC to support Indigenous Science education, including the on-boarding of several Indigenous alumni to serve as faculty in the Native Environmental Science Department; increased faculty capacity at WWU's Huxley College of the Environment to understand the importance of culturally inclusive sciences and Indigenous education; and the creation of an ongoing, place-based and community-driven Speaker Series, the Salish Sea Speaker Series, which brings Indigenous Knowledge Holders into academic spaces to celebrate and honor Indigenous Knowledge Systems in the STEM field.
As a result of this project, an increase of Indigenous students from NWIC matriculated into graduate school, both at WWU and several other graduate programs throughout North America and the world. The project's long-term impacts will include an increased of Indigenous scientists, leaders, and scholars working in the STEM field. The increased diversity of the STEM field will lead to more innovations as multiple knowledge systems are employed to engage in complex world issues. However, students report that while partner programs are helpful in opening pathways, students prefer to continue graduate programming within the tribal college system. A key finding is that greater investment in growing graduate programs within the tribal college system is critical in increasing the number of Indigenous STEM professionals and leaders.
Last Modified: 01/28/2021
Modified by: Emma S Norman
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