This page is dedicated to publishing collaborative discussions between educators about connecting culture to STEM. Please share your ideas on this topic. You are encouraged to:
respond to one of the prompts below
suggest a prompt
simply express your thoughts on anything related to culture, STEM, and education.
This is a discussion that is open and evolving. The intent is to share ideas, spark curiosity, and deepen understanding. It is not, however, an open forum for inappropriate communication. Every submission is not guaranteed to be added to this site. All submissions will be reviewed, but not edited or altered in any way, before publishing on this site. As long as your comments are respectful and on topic, there should be no reason for your submission to be declined. If, however, the site managers note a reason your comments cannot be published to the site, you will be notified and given every chance to make adjustments. Remember, this site is available to the public, so only submit information you are willing to share openly. Additions to the discussion will be identified using the author's first name and location only. Submissions may also remain anonymous if requested.
Prompts
What are we doing now with our students that we can expand to connect with students in other communities?
Hawai'i Academy of Arts & Science Charter School on Hawai'i Island has a group of high school students deeply engaged in protecting significant areas of Hawai'i. They travel to the island of Kaho'olawe to help with restoration, and they are raising awareness of military use of a large tract of land on Hawai'i Island. Having these students communicate with other students about their efforts and feelings as they face significant challenges would be a great collaboration. --Randi in Hawaii
Check out chapter 1 in Educating for Global Competence: Preparing Our Youth to Engage the World by Mansilla & Jackson (https://asiasociety.org/files/book-globalcompetence.pdf). Great quote on page 5, "...students who are able to envision and carry out a plan of action—perhaps to aid cultural dialogue through community service or raise awareness about different perspectives through an art exhibit or blog—come to view themselves as active contributors in an increasingly diverse world." --Randi in Hawaii
Discuss your own experiences when an indigenous cultural perspective/world view intersected with STEM.
What can educators actually do to support traditionally underrepresented youth in exploring their interests in STEM? How can we make meaningful connections between STEM and their culture?
I think that having a connection with indigenous youth is very important in STEM because those communities bring in their own cultural perspectives, values and ideas that can impact all. As for example, I have been involved in the preservation of one indigenous language, Nahuatl (a derivative language of the Aztec civilization) of El Salvador. I believe that language can be a connection to those indigenous youths to find a sense of community. My vision is that possibility. --Marina in Hawaii
This is an interesting question that personally interests me. I had a call yesterday from an old friend who happens to be engineer from Cross Lake First Nation in northern Manitoba. He asked me this same question. He is working with a post-secondary program that is trying to recruit Indigenous students to STEM, and it is really struggling (zero applicants). I'm wondering if there are two big issues (among others): first, STEM programs may have more barriers than other PSE programs for Indigenous students (students coming from on-reserve high schools might require upgrading, for instance), and secondly, Indigenous students may be more interested in studying Indigenous STEM than the mainstream STEM these programs currently offer. Just my initial thoughts from our conversation.... --Nicki in Winnipeg
I think one thing we can do is notice when features of typical STEM activities, like structuring robotics clubs to culminate in a competition, are in opposition to cultural behaviors. We can notice and then adjust so that more people are comfortable with how the activities are conducted. --Randi in Hawaii
How is a perception of effort connected to cultural attitudes? How may differing perceptions of effort impact indigenous youth in STEM activities/arenas? (see research by Dr. Sela Panapasa and her students, https://micda.psc.isr.umich.edu/people/profile/77/Sela_Panapasa)
As a cultural practitioner and educator it has always struck me how some educators consider culture to be separate from science. In truth culture is the reservoir of the science of that place. Place based observations and conclusions over time are nature's answers to modern day issues. In that respect one's perception of effort (how "hard one works") would also be tied to place. If one's concerns for life centered on what nature provided then, as nature itself, there would be no anxiety. Attitudes toward effort would be reflected within that culture. Indigenous knowledge works best alongside cultural attitudes. To separate culture from science only perpetuates arrogance and leads science into a sterile void. --Tom in Hawai'i