| NSF Org: |
EES Div. of Equity for Excellence in STEM |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | June 30, 2017 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 30, 2017 |
| Award Number: | 1724847 |
| 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: | July 15, 2017 |
| End Date: | December 31, 2019 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $234,187.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $234,187.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
32 CAMPUS DR MISSOULA MT US 59812-0003 (406)243-6670 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
32 Campus Drive Missoula MT US 59812-0001 |
| 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): |
AGEP, Tribal College & Univers Prog |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| 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 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. The Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program funds research and the development, implementation, and investigation of models to transform the dissertation phase of doctoral education, postdoctoral training and/or faculty advancement of historically underrepresented minorities (URMs) in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and/or STEM education research. The focus of the proposal from the University of Montana (UM) is on developing faculty at tribal institutions, so they too will be able to support the needs of their students. In addition, UM continues to build and strengthen collaborative efforts with the Montana tribal colleges, which could provide more opportunities for tribal students to do research at UM.
The University of Montana will expand upon a successful model to provide tribal college faculty collaboration with UM researchers and new research opportunities. Tribal college (TC) faculty will be provided field research experience to gain exposure to various research opportunities at the Flathead Lake Biological Station while investigating lab research practices that are appropriate for the TC's campus lab infrastructures, the needs of their students, and the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the TC faculty members. The research group model will continue to strengthen a faculty network as TC faculty learn from each other and begin establishing collaborations with UM faculty for future possible research discussion. The workshop will have TC faculty come to the UM campus and the FLBS for one week during the summer of 2018, have two follow up meetings during the subsequent fall and spring semesters, and participate in a specialized program for experienced TC faculty in the summer of 2019. A parallel track will be developed and provided for new TC faculty in the summer of 2019.
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.
1. Built a Community of Practice: Professional isolation is one of the biggest challenges that tribal college and university (TCU) STEM faculty encounter. The tribal colleges involved in this project are all located in rural areas across Montana and New Mexico. In addition to the geographic isolation, faculty members from these colleges have heavy teaching loads and rare opportunities to connect and communicate with faculty members from other institutions. This project has brought 13 STEM faculty from 6 TCUs together through a unique program developed based on their needs, suggestions, and feedback. Through the participation of the one-week workshop at the Flathead Lake Biological Research Station in summer 2018, an eight-day tour visiting the campuses of other tribal colleges in summer 2019, and biannual one-day follow up meetings (one in the fall and the other in spring), this group of faculty have developed strong relationships and connections, both professionally and personally.
The 6 TCUs represented by the faculty included 5 Montana tribal colleges and one New Mexico tribal college. They are: Navajo Technical University (from New Mexico), Salish Kootenai College, Blackfeet Community College, Aaniiih Nakoda College, Stone Child College, and Little Big Horn College. Each TCU has its own unique culture, history, and strengths and serve tribal communities with their needs and challenges. Faculty brought their individual and institutional knowledge and expertise into the communication and interactions with each other. Learning and collaborations occur within such community. Avenues of communication between faculty of the tribal college were established that lead to several collaborative efforts. For instance, the new hydrology program at Blackfeet Community College (BCC) was started in large part due to a collaborative effort between participants from BCC and SKC through a seed grant offered from this project.
2. Introduced new research avenues, resources, and opportunities for collaboration: The 13 tribal college faculty were immersed in research experiences with faculty from the University of Montana at the Flathead Lake Biological Research Station. This allowed the tribal college faculty to be introduced to new research areas and resources as part of the intellectual merit of the program. Collaborative seed grants were offered to faculty that worked with other campuses that resulted in joint educational projects involving students (between Blackfeet Community College and Aaniiih Nakoda College), starting of new one-year certificate and two-year Associate degree programs at Blackfeet Community College, and working on a new 4-year Bachelor?s degree in Math Education at the Navajo Technical University. In visiting other tribal colleges, faculty were able to experience how other campuses address certain educational, technological, and student programming challenges. It provided a place-based opportunity for dialogues and potential to bring some of these ideas back to their respective campuses.
3. Community Dissemination: The workshop model was disseminated in several venues that included the Native American Student Advocacy Institute (NASAI) national conference, the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans (SACNAS) national conference, and the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) national conference. These conferences provide a chance to show other states on how to develop collaborative programming with tribal communities, and how to best approach these communities and have them lead projects and programming.
Last Modified: 04/07/2020
Modified by: Aaron M Thomas
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