| NSF Org: |
DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | March 16, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 17, 2020 |
| Award Number: | 1759407 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Robert Russell
DRL Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) EDU Directorate for STEM Education |
| Start Date: | May 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | April 30, 2022 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $869,744.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $869,744.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
875 PERIMETER DR MOSCOW ID US 83844-9803 (208)885-6651 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
ID US 83843-1022 |
| 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): | ITEST-Inov Tech Exp Stu & Teac |
| 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
This project will advance efforts of the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) program to better understand and promote practices that increase student motivations and capacities to pursue careers in fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM). Voices to Hear (V2H) will use the oral tradition of storytelling to empower Native American students (middle school, high school and college) to engage in environmental decision-making and scientific communication, while building a stronger sense of their ethnic identity. The Coeur d'Alene Tribe (CdAT), University of Idaho, and University of New Hampshire research alliance will recruit and work with middle school, high school, and undergraduate students from the CdAT Reservation in Idaho and other Tribal youth who attend University of Idaho, to develop high-quality audio documentaries focused on environmental decision-making processes. The production of a three- or five-minute high- quality audio documentary/podcast is a multilayered, labor-intensive process that emphasizes scientific inquiry, patience, and perseverance, ultimately requiring observation, data collection, analysis, and building a summary or conclusion. While podcasts resonate strongly with the oral storytelling traditions of native American youth, they also provide a mechanism for conducting scientific inquiry. The project focuses on students learning about how to merge different knowledge systems (Western- mainstream/dominant science perspective, and Indigenous traditional knowledge) in order to become effective environmental decision-makers in the future. By investigating how community members resolve local environmental problems, students will be mentored by traditional and professional experts, and learn to utilize both STEM and cultural perspectives to solve environmental issues. The project will develop and implement a unique, vertically integrated mentoring model where Native undergraduate students will be trained to mentor high school and middle school students, thereby helping middle school and high school students learn about pathways to college and other careers.
The V2H project will examine how people from Native American communities negotiate their Indigenous knowledge sources with Western science to make decisions in their everyday lives. The project grounds itself in research on how student's ethnic identity impacts their science learning and also decision-making capacity in their everyday life. Project research will employ a mixed-methods design. The project will address several research questions: (1) What complex systems thinking attributes do students demonstrate? (2) How do students merge or negotiate different knowledge systems (Indigenous and Western)? (3) How do the students ethnic identity change through both audio documentary making and mentoring? (4) What aspects of complex thinking and integrating knowledge systems improve students attitudes toward traditional and non-traditional STEM topics? Both quantitative and qualitative data will be collected and parallel data analysis will be implemented through the life of the project. In order to understand what complex thinking attributes students demonstrate, the project will employ a pre- and post- modeling activity, using Mental Modeler, software that allows individuals to define components of a system and show the interconnectedness between the components of that system. Project research and resources will be widely shared with educational researchers, educators, and Tribal communities.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
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.
Membership (t’u’lschint), Scholarship (snmiypnqwiln), Stewardship (ats’qhnt’wesh), Guardianship (hngwa’ygn), and Spirituality (chsnpa’silgwesn) are the characteristics that define the Tribal Core Values of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe (schitsu’umsh). The Voices to Hear (V2H) project is a collaborative effort among the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, University of Buffalo, and University of Idaho to engage tribal youth in cross-generational discussions to learn about environmental decision-making and scientific communication impacting their community. The V2H program engages Tribal youth (middle school, high school, and undergraduate) to develop and share stories via podcasts to facilitate an understanding of how their Tribe addresses significant environmental issues, both culturally and scientifically. Over three summers, V2H youth participated in three to six-week learning experiences delivered face-to-face or virtually (in the case of the COVID pandemic). The project's key outcome is producing and presenting high-quality audio documentaries: https://www.cdatribe-nsn.gov/education/voices-to-hear/ that emphasizes processes of scientific inquiry, quantitative and qualitative data collection, and analysis to provide a culturally nuanced understanding of the issues.
Program evaluation indicates participants displayed an increased understanding of STEM careers within the Tribe’s Department of Natural Resources and other environmental protection departments. Additionally, participants expressed great interest in learning from several additional Tribal departments and divisions (i.e., cultural restoration, cultural tourism). Participant interviews indicated an emerging understanding of the meaning and importance of the above Tribal Core Values related to their identity and relationship to their Tribe.
Other significant outcomes are the cross-generational communication and dialogue among program youth, Tribal leaders, community members, and professional scientists who work for the Tribe. V2H youth and their mentors interacted with Tribal leaders and professionals to learn about and gather information to create program podcasts (see about). All program podcasts were distributed to the Tribal community through public and Tribal websites, social media, and other youth-community events.
The most significant outcome of the V2H project is the continuation and sustainability of the program by the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. The continued V2H summer youth program maintains the basic format of the V2H program. The content focus of the continued program (re)connects youth to their land, awakening place-consciousness through an exploration of Coeur d’Alene Tribal history. The V2H logistical design—summer learning experience, intern and mentor participation, program name, and program products (podcasts) remains.
Last Modified: 06/17/2022
Modified by: Anne L Kern
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