NSF Award
2120633
For institutions of higher learning to meet their goals of educating their students effectively, the curriculum must be designed to acknowledge and validate the experience of their various student populations. The Wokini (New beginnings in Lakota) Undergraduate Biology Education Network will create a group of scholars that integrates Indigenous thought and knowledge into the teaching of biology, while meeting the core competencies as defined in Vision and Change in undergraduate biology education. Applying Indigenous methodologies and localization techniques will empower the network participants to engage effectively with underrepresented Indigenous communities in the design of an instructional curriculum that supports both an Indigenous and scientific identity. Using a collective impact framework, the network will address ways to increase recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of Indigenous undergraduates in Biology and increase the number of Indigenous students pursuing graduate education in Biology. Understanding that this goal requires engaging students in culturally relevant learning, the network is highly diverse and draws on knowledge and expertise outside of biology. <br/><br/>The formation and implementation of the Wokini Undergraduate Biology Education Network will connect Indigenous and non-Indigenous faculty at land grant institutions and tribal colleges, enrolled tribal members, scientists, educational researchers, leaders of non-profit organizations and language and culture experts. This incubator award will allow the network to create a common language, shared understanding, and common goals through strategic planning, a virtual learning community, regular dialogue and a face-to-face summit in an Indigenous community. The network will collaboratively develop and grow a local and international network, which will create, share, and host resources through social media and an open-source digital hub for a more inclusive curriculum, co-curriculum, and pedagogy in undergraduate biology education. Resources will include case studies, activities, lesson plans, course based undergraduate research experiences, and laboratory activities. These activities have the potential to broaden participation and engagement of Indigenous students who are underrepresented and underserved in undergraduate biology and will also support all students in developing a deeper understanding of the life sciences. This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO), Division of Biological Infrastructure, and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR), Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (http://visionandchange.org/finalreport/).<br/><br/>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.
