Browsing by Subject "Native American students"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Determining the Effectiveness of Collaboratively Designed and Implemented Cultural Curriculum on Classroom Pedagogy
    (2007) Theobald, Joni R; Livingston, RunningHorse; Damme, Susan; Peacock, Thomas
    This study is part of an on-going line of research on effective mathematics instruction for Native American students in an urban area. The study is grounded on the research-based premise that culturally responsive methods of teaching will promote mathematics achievement of Native students. The primary goal of this study was to observe, record, and evaluate the process of developing an integrated geometry unit. The study was motivated by the fact that the underachievement of Native American students in mathematics has been historically and continuously a serious problem. In 2003, a National Assessment of Educational progress (NAEP) sample of 4th graders found the mathematics achievement gap between white and Native American student subgroups was significant (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2003). The school district in which the research was done initiated a mandatory policy requiring the successful completion of Algebra I and Geometry for high school graduation. This policy directly affected the high school completion of minority students. Specifically, a review of the district's achievement database indicated that, of 50 Native American sophomores, juniors, and seniors, only one had taken and successfully completed geometry. Why was this the case? Why were Native students not taking or successfully completing these basic math courses? Were the students simply not trying? Why weren't they trying? The study reported in this paper was conducted to begin to understand the cause of this problem and to begin to resolve it by developing a culturally responsive geometry unit.
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    Iskigamizige-Giizis: Evaporating Liquids Moon
    (2013) Jourdain, Gordon
    Curriculum infused with the personal perspective of a First Language (FL) Ojibwe speaker is almost non-existent. A new approach for inclusion of the viewpoint of a FL speaker into classroom lessons is imperative to address the achievement gap for Native American (NA) students. The approach will not only affect the NA students but the students they will have a class with as well. The project is presented with written teachings of the oral tradition of the Ojibwe people from Lake Superior. A strong identity is critical to the development of diversity in an ever-increasing change in the human demographic. This curriculum project was made possible with the help of the wisdom of my elders, coupled with an understanding developed by the traditional teachings of my family and an Ojibwe Environmental Knowledge (OEK) developed over centuries.
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    Native American Students' Perceptions of the Manoomin STEM Camp
    (2013) Kowalczak, Courtney C
    Tribal governments are facing harsh realities as climate change, development, and economics threaten not only the sustainability of the natural resources but also their culture. There is a growing need to recruit Native American students into STEM fields to meet the needs of their tribal communities. Tribal communities are seeking educational interventions that will motivate their young people to go to college and pursue STEM fields that will benefit future generations. The Manoomin (“wild rice” in the Ojibwe language) camp is a place-based American Indian youth science research program based in Cloquet, MN. This camp is a result of partnerships between University of Minnesota researchers, Fond du Lac Reservation natural resource managers, local teachers, Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College, and community members, working together to integrate meaningful research with emphasis on the cultural significance of wild rice on the Fond du Lac Reservation. The study described how the students in the Manoomin STEM camp felt that camp impacted their sense of community, their academic success, opportunities for careers, connection with their culture, and influenced their attitudes and behavior. These results holds out hope that the Manoomin STEM camp model is an educational intervention that will lead to academic success and future generations of STEM professionals.