Teaching Science

Science course material should include references to people of different ethnic and cultural groups.

Use study materials that show individuals of different cultural backgrounds engaging in science activities and/or occupations.

You cannot, and need not, be an expert on the aspects of different cultures represented in your class, but you should be sensitive to the fact there are differences and that such differences must be treated respectfully.

Use examples of native persons or groups that highlight their science successes or their respected position as a scientist and in their community.

Avoid segregating students by cultural groups, and do not allow the students to segregate themselves.

Recognize that cultural backgrounds may discourage some students from active participation in activities. (In some ethnic cultures, volunteering a response or a comment is a sign of the disrespect of authority.)

Avoiding Bias

• Teachers must take an introspective look at their own cultural background, understanding the effects their biases have when interacting with students. Only then can teachers examine the backgrounds and needs of their student population and understand their students' cultural biases as well.
• Recognize and understand the cultural differences among students from diverse backgrounds, and treat such differences with respect.
• Intervene immediately, should a fellow student disparage an American-Indian student's culture or language
• Value the broad and varied experiences American-Indian students bring to the classroom, and promote their acceptance.
• Avoid segregating students by cultural groups, and do not allow the students to segregate.
• Expand students' capacity to appreciate and deal with the differences in others, and help students to perceive self in a multi-cultural perspective.
• Demand the same level of excellence from all students.
• Have high science expectations for all students; positive expectations increase student achievement.
• Do not base a student's capability by their proficiency with the cultural mainstream.
• Due to cultural differences, cultural conflict and behavioral problems are more likely to emerge when minorities are unaware of expected cultural or communicative norms.
• Realize that every American is a product of his or her culture, and a tolerance and understanding of language differences must exist in such a diverse society.
• Do not criticize American-Indian students who choose to wear traditional clothing or braids; these may help keep their identity and do not harm the learning environment.
• Students should be judged based on current situations and circumstances, not on previous mistakes.
• There exists congruencies between a student's learning style and the teacher's teaching style.
• Recognize and discuss with American-Indian students potential conflicts between school-based expectations and their cultural background.
• To be an effective teacher, it is important to understand how the backgrounds of American-Indian students can affect their relationships with both teachers and their classmates.

Discussion/Interaction

• Do not persistently look directly at Native American students when speaking to them, or expect them to look directly at you. This is seen as a sign of defiance and hostility in many native cultures. Often Native Americans will look off in the same direction, not at each other, when speaking.
• Observe and ask questions that show genuine caring and concern.
• Do not put too much pressure on time. Traditionally, native cultures have relied on weather or other conditions to determine when something must be done, rather than using a clock. Many cultures do not even have words for time, or past and future tenses.
• Develop the student's self-concept. Curriculum of the typical school is designed for the middle class white students and Native Americans may not get any positive reinforcement from such a curriculum.
• Promote relaxed communication, native students need to be able to ask questions without hesitation and feel that they can discuss problems freely and without emotional upset. Many students have been taught that they should not express an opinion and that they should not make a statement unless they are sure that they are correct.
• Become part of the local native community.
• Show that you are really listening and interested in their ideas in group discussions and those of individuals.
• Make learning more of an interpersonal activity than goal oriented and impersonal.
• Show students that many times learning is gained from trial and error, rather than criticizing mistakes and failures.
• Use a warm and personal teaching style.
• Bring the native student's cultural heritage and values into discussions in every subject whenever possible. Show them that you value and respect their heritage.
• Share social control with all the students.
• Be sensitive to non-verbal cues.
• Provide students with opportunities to discuss information in a noncompetitive atmosphere.
• Allow a longer times for response after asking a question.
• Accept silence.
• Listen as well as talk.
• Avoid excess verbalization. Be direct and to the point.
• Be aware of proximity and other nonverbal preferences.
• Use a whole language, integrated approach that emphasizes the words and experiences of the native students.
• Emphasize cooperation and sharing. In Native cultures, status is gained by generosity and cooperation, not thrift and competition.
• Do not try to motivate students by competition. In many native groups, a person who shows himself/herself to be superior (as opposed to an equal and cooperating member of the group) is ostracized and belittled. Do we want adults who are aggressively competitive, or adults who work well with others.
• Use group problem solving to emphasize that the work is broadly group oriented rather than task oriented.
• Use deliberately diverse peer tutoring. Students boost their self-confidence by teaching each other and often the best tutors are those who have had difficulty and then finally come to understanding. They are better able to understand the difficulties that another student may have and not be impatient with him/her.
• Emphasize the improvement of each student rather than competition for grades.
• Use the oral and story telling traditions as the basis for creative writing, reading skills, speaking, listening, and dramatics.

EXPERIENTIAL ACTIVITIES

• Build life skills into the curriculum.
• Emphasize the writing process approach rather than a grammar-based sub skills method to writing instruction.
• Assist students in integrating and synthesizing new material into their prior knowledge and experiences.
• Individual work and group directed small groups produce greater participation than teacher lecturing or teacher directed small groups.
• Provide time for practice before expecting performance.
• Value the native student's background and provide additional experience. The things a student of a different background will know through his/her experience may not be what you expect, making much of your material meaningless to them unless you recognize that this and provide additional background as needed.
  

INSTITUTIONAL

• Provide adequate counseling and support services when appropriate.

MATERIALS/METHODS/CURRICULUM

ETHNOSCIENCE
In order to better understand the differences in world views between European thinkers and Native thinkers the term, Ethnoscience, is offered to help frame instruction. Ethnoscience is the methods, thought processes, mind sets values, concepts, and experiences by which Native American groups understand, reflect, and obtain empirical knowledge about the natural world (Cajete, G.,1986)

Adopting an Ethnoscience framework will aide the educator in adopting a broader view of knowledge systems. Successfully teaching Indian students requires a shift in thinking--western, scientific thought and knowledge is not THE TRUTH, it is ONE way of understanding the world.

CURRICULA SUGGESTIONS:

ASTRONOMY
All tribes have oral explanations for the constellations; these are not simple stories, they are rational, logical explanations that serve as parables--stories that give guidance--within the knowledge system at the base of the explanation. Some suggested readings are listed below:

• Thirteen Moons on Turtle's Back Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) Grosset & Dunlop, 1992.
• Native American Stories Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) Fulcrum Publishing, Golden, CO., 1991.
• Keepers of the Earth Michael Caduto and Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) Fulcrum Publishin, Golden,CO, 1989.
• Sky Watchers of Ages Past Malcolm Weiss, Houghton Mifflin Publishing, New York, 1982.

BIOLOGY
Because of the interrelatedness of all living things in the Indian world view, many Indian students are unable to perform invasive experiments on animals, reptiles, birds, etc. Also, students belong to clans and specific animals are taboo or sacred to them and, again, handling, cutting into, applying electric current to, etc. are not acceptable activities.

Observing animals, comparing western science's view of a --- with students' oral knowledge of that --- are all skill building learning activities.

The Salmon Recovery Projects of the Plateau Region Tribes employ fisheries biologists, Indian students can benefit from lessons generated from these projects and direct contact with these specialists.

The Appaloosa Recovery Project is an example of sophisticated genetic engineering and cultural maintenance. Indian students will gain much from involvement in this project at any and all levels.

BOTANY
Concrete knowledge about an area's plant life was essential to the survival of tribal groups. This knowledge base is preserved in oral structures and must be accessed through listening activities--Indian students need to interview their elders.

The multiple uses of plants--food, rituals, dyes, clothing, etc. can be documented and demonstrated by Indian students

In the Plateau region tribes, the Camas Root, the Water Potato, etc. are still gathered and play an important role in rituals among the people.

Roots and plants will have names that differ from Latin or German or colloquial languages. Charts--systems of classification--can be constructed by Indian students and they will learn how and why plant science relies upon classification systems, i.e., a necessary skill.

Tribes that use natural dyes in weaving have elaborate classification systems that are unique to specific clans. In a holistic lesson plan the art and science curriculum connect in an exploration of these systems.

Tribes that relied upon agriculture utilized complex planting and rotating systems to maintain their soils and to guarantee their yields. The Three Sisters--Corn, Beans, Squash--of the Iroquois Nations is an exciting and informative example of how plant science developed among American Indian groups.

It is important to remember that Indian students like their non-Indian counterparts are not knowledgeable about the history and details of how their predecessors developed scientific systems and integrated new knowledge with old--they come to school to learn how such systems developed. A successful science curriculum includes an exploration of multiple systems.

GEOGRAPHY
Place is significant in an Indian world view. A land formation or water system often has spiritual value and continues to play an important role in a tribe's rituals. Some of this information is not for the general public and students will be uncomfortable with any discussions about a such a place. All Indian communities have cultural affairs offices, check with this group before developing lessons plans to avoid a difficult situation for learners from Indian tribes.

Map making is a skill Indian students often excel at due in part to the importance of place in their rituals and due in part to their rural life. Long bus rides to and from school are often part of the Indian students day, this ride can be incorporated into map making activities as well as observation and recording skills.

Place names will differ from textbook information or regional lore. Because Native people relied upon oral structures to systematize and organize their knowledge, place names are/were descriptive or commerative. Indian students can construct detailed maps using names and labels from their oral tradition and learn the essentials of map making at the same time.

Often, Indian students will know both the Native language name and the English translation name of a place, school knowledge fails to acknowledge this bilingual ability and, as a result, the Indian student is seldom offered activities in which to demonstrate his/her skills.

Weather is often coupled with spiritual entities in Native knowledge systems, i.e., the Navajo People classify rain as male or female depending upon the season, the force and the benefits of a particular rain storm. Such a classification system is neither pagan nor superstitious, it is a classification system that reflects the geography and the beliefs of the Navajo People.

Poetry by Indian authors is an excellent resource for understanding the significance of place to Indian people. Using current Indian writers in a cross-curricular lesson enhances access for Indian students in science classes.

GEOLOGY
As with Biology and Botany, the geological classification systems developed by Native groups will include spiritual and utilitarian functions rather than Latin or Greek etymologies, thus, the names will be descriptive.

Oral structures leave room for dispute, unlike written classification systems that unify and codify. What this means in the classroom is that Indian students will bring different names or different versions of stories about a place or a rock formation to school--all names and all versions of stories are valid.

Rocks are a unique learning opportunity in an inclusive science classroom. Upper Plateau Tribes all use Sweat Lodges for purification rituals and Sweat Lodges use specific rocks to heat the lodges. The selection and stacking of specific rocks requires an extensive expertise and each tribe has several members who have this knowledge and pass it down through the generations.

Indian students can master Western classification systems for geology if/when the sophisticated knowledge their tribes have developed is included in this skill building.

Show native students that learning is often achieved by trial and error, rather than criticizing mistakes and failures.

It may be helpful to have a unit on time in old as compared to modern cultures that can help students recognize the importance that others place on time without making it more important than people and human relationships. Many cultures do not have a word for time, or past and future tenses. Traditionally, native cultures have relied on weather or other conditions to determine when something must be done, rather than using a clock.

Bring the native student's cultural heritage and values into discussions in every subject whenever possible. Show them that you value their heritage.

Share classroom control and responsibility with the class.

Develop instructional materials which are related to student experience and present students with problem assignments that relate to their backgrounds.

Choose culturally related reading materials for part of the instruction in reading and comprehension skills.

Reduce the time spent in formal lecturing.

Make Native American culture visible in your instructional program. Use of local native role models will enhance all areas and be more relevant to the students than to just have Native American history during social studies.

Allow students to share control over their learning.

Adapt instruction to student learning modes. The majority of Native American students may be visual learners who begin with observation and tend to develop their skills by demonstration and imitation. They learn most easily by starting with a large concept and then exploring the parts.

Provide students with the opportunity to rehearse a skill before publicly demonstrating competency.

Do not assign homework for the sake of work. Traditionally, work and play both bring pleasure if they are in harmony with Nature. Native Americans only hunted as much as they needed and grew the crops that were necessary, doing more than one needs is a waste of the resources of Nature, time and energy.

Present new material through as many different learning modes as possible to give everyone an equal opportunity for learning.

Provide visual learning aids, especially for new or difficult materials.

Keep the learning schedule flexible so there is not a feeling of pressure to finish at a particular time or to stop in the middle of incomplete work.

Allow time for thought. Many students are taught that a quick response indicates that the question is not worthy of consideration. Other students may have to translate the question into their native language, think about it, and then translate their answer into English before they can reply.

Use student directed small groups.

Favor essay exams over objective exams.

Whenever appropriate, make nature the focus of learning. Many native people have great knowledge of animal ways and the uses of plants.

Emphasize cooperative and collaborative learning.

Use global, holistic instructional approaches.

Do not make Native American students dissect animals and be cautious about having them pick, capture, and handle plants or animals. Check first to be sure you are not having them go against Native taboos.

Adapt your instructional pace to the speed and movements of the students.

Emphasize cooperation and sharing. In Native cultures, status is gained by generosity and cooperation, not thrift and competition.

Do not try to motivate students by competition. In many groups, a person who shows himself/herself to be superior (as opposed to an equal and cooperating member of the group) is ostracized and belittled.

Use group problem solving to emphasize that the work is group oriented rather than task oriented.

Peer tutoring can help native students boost their self-confidence by teaching each other and often the best tutors are those who have had difficulty and then finally come to an understanding of the learning outcome. Tutors will undoubtedly be better able to understand the difficulties that another student may have and assist him/her in solving in a patient and understanding fashion.

Emphasize the improvement of each student rather than competition for grades.

Use the oral tradition and story telling as the basis for creative writing, reading skills, speaking, listening, and dramatics.

Show students how to perform a task, rather than describing it.

Use verbal instruction and tape recorded story books to make reading instruction emphasize modeling.

Make instruction multisensory, relevant and active so students have several means and opportunities to absorb information and can tie ideas and concepts to the concrete experiences.

Begin instruction with an overall concept and then move into the details, rather than the using the customary linear sequential instruction.

HOME AND FAMILY

• Try to become informed about the homes from which students come, they may not have a place to do homework where they can be isolated from family or TV.
• Meet the parents and show them what you are doing and how it relates to everyday life and the community.
• Attend community functions and cultural event so students and parents see that you are interested. Then in class, show students how the material relates to their life outside of school. Make instruction relevant to their present day life.

Personal

• Identify and emphasize positive Native American values, one cannot assume that any student believes in or follows what might be considered "typical Indian culture".
• Develop the student's self concept. Curriculum of the typical school is designed for the middle class white students and Native Americans may not get any positive reinforcement from such a curriculum.
• Promote relaxed communication with the native students. Students need to be able to ask questions without hesitation and feel that they can discuss classwork or problems freely and without emotional upset. Many native students have been taught that they should not express an opinion and that they should not make a statement unless they are sure that they are correct.
• Do not single out any one student for praise, criticism, recitation, etc.
• Help children eliminate prejudice by discussing with them stereotypes of Native Americans, other minorities, and students with disabilities portrayed on TV and in books.
• In personal interactions, be very sensitive to non-verbal cues.
• Do not freely give personal advice. Respect for the students privacy and minding one's own business are highly valued in Native American cultures. Native Americans may seem aloof and reserved and may perceive Euro-Americans as superficial and untrustworthy if they are too open.
• Do not criticize students who choose to wear traditional clothing or braids, these may help them keep their identity and do not harm the school.
• Do not expect students to look you in the eye when you are speaking to them. This is a sign of trust and respect in the dominant culture, but a sign of defiance and hostility in many Native American cultures.
• Do not persistently look directly at Native American students when speaking to them, this can be perceived as hostile, intrusive, and/or disturbing. Often, Native Americans look off in the same direction, not at each other, when speaking.
• Become familiar with and learn to accept Native American ways as equally valid values and ways of life. Mutual respect and understanding can develop when neither the student or the teacher feels pressured to adopt the other's culture.
• Give Native students assurance that they can live in the dominant society without rejecting the culture of their families and community.
• Be sure to prepare yourself to show native students that learning is trial and error, rather than criticizing mistakes and failures.
• Show that you are really listening and interested in their ideas.

Stereotypes

• Identify and emphasize positive Native American values, one cannot assume that any student believes in or follows what might be considered "typical Indian culture."