Incorporation of Indigenous Knowledges into Higher Education Earth Science Courses
Poster Session Part of
Monday Poster Session
Authors
Stephanie Erickson, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Amanda Patsis, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
This poster highlights Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) work occurring at the University of Minnesota's Department of Earth and Environmental Science (ESCI). Using the framework for Inclusive Teaching at a Predominantly White Institute proposed by the Center for Educational Innovation at the University of Minnesota, the ESCI department modified our instructional practices through a lens of inclusive teaching and learning (Inclusive Teaching at a Predominantly White Institution, 2022). The framework considers three dimensions of inclusion: Pedagogy, Climate, and Content. Although these three dimensions overlap, here we focus on our recent efforts to consider and implement the content aspect of this framework and center Indigenous knowledges in Earth Science curriculum.
Graduate students and faculty from the department DEIB committee and confronting colonization subcommittee worked together to implement changes to course content across the curriculum, including non-major, major, and graduate coursework. Our work has primarily focused on Indigenous knowledges given our commitment to confronting colonization in research and instruction (Tuck & Yang, 2021). This work highlights the importance of partnering with Indigenous knowledge holders and elders in research, providing examples of how Indigenous knowledge provided insights into historical and contemporary Earth science processes and recognizing and reconciling past harms Earth science research has had on Indigenous communities.
Changes to the curriculum include using a place-based approach in our introductory level, non-major geology course and incorporating Dakhóta knowledge into local geology labs (Gruenewald, 2003). In our major courses, we also emphasize research partnerships and the legacy of harm perpetrated by geologic research. While the prospect of incorporating Indigenous knowledges into Earth Science curriculum felt daunting, resources providing case studies and examples were readily available. They afforded many opportunities for inclusion across our courses.
References
Gruenewald, D. A. (2003). The Best of Both Worlds: A Critical Pedagogy of Place. Educational Researcher, 32(4), 3–12. https://doi-org.ezp1.lib.umn.edu/10.3102/0013189X032004003
Inclusive Teaching at a Predominantly White Institution. (2022). Center for Educational Innovation, University of Minnesota. https://cei.umn.edu/inclusive-teaching-predominantly-white
Tuck, E., & Yang, K. W. (2021). Decolonization is not a metaphor. Tabula Rasa, 38, 61–111.
Graduate students and faculty from the department DEIB committee and confronting colonization subcommittee worked together to implement changes to course content across the curriculum, including non-major, major, and graduate coursework. Our work has primarily focused on Indigenous knowledges given our commitment to confronting colonization in research and instruction (Tuck & Yang, 2021). This work highlights the importance of partnering with Indigenous knowledge holders and elders in research, providing examples of how Indigenous knowledge provided insights into historical and contemporary Earth science processes and recognizing and reconciling past harms Earth science research has had on Indigenous communities.
Changes to the curriculum include using a place-based approach in our introductory level, non-major geology course and incorporating Dakhóta knowledge into local geology labs (Gruenewald, 2003). In our major courses, we also emphasize research partnerships and the legacy of harm perpetrated by geologic research. While the prospect of incorporating Indigenous knowledges into Earth Science curriculum felt daunting, resources providing case studies and examples were readily available. They afforded many opportunities for inclusion across our courses.
References
Gruenewald, D. A. (2003). The Best of Both Worlds: A Critical Pedagogy of Place. Educational Researcher, 32(4), 3–12. https://doi-org.ezp1.lib.umn.edu/10.3102/0013189X032004003
Inclusive Teaching at a Predominantly White Institution. (2022). Center for Educational Innovation, University of Minnesota. https://cei.umn.edu/inclusive-teaching-predominantly-white
Tuck, E., & Yang, K. W. (2021). Decolonization is not a metaphor. Tabula Rasa, 38, 61–111.