Tag Archives: science

Mod 4 – Post #3

Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into Western Science Based Environmental Technology Curriculum – An examination,

The potential for integration of Western Scientific Knowledge and TEK in the curriculum of the School of Environment and Geomatics at Selkirk College, Castlegar B.C., is examined in this publication. This paper points out the increasing need for TEK to be integrated more in the curriculum and how the pedagogical shift could benefit the college. Students will be provided with a more holistic and thoughtful framework.

“If a process of beginning to understand Indigenous values can happen while attending school, the graduates from our program may be able to have more effective and meaningful relationships when they begin their careers as environmental technologists”.

http://dtpr.lib.athabascau.ca/action/download.php?filename=mais/Carol%20Andrews%20MAIS%20701%20Final%20project%20paper.pdf

Mod 2 – Post #4 – Eagle Festival and TEK

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TEK on the Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival site:

http://fraservalleybaldeaglefestival.ca/eagleeye/traditional_ecological.html

This site includes essays on TEK perspectives as well as information about the Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival (see also, http://fraservalleybaldeaglefestival.ca/). There is a wealth of information located on this site in which I will be referring to for my final paper. I think that doing something with the Eagle Festival with Grade 7’s in the winter is an excellent incorporation of TEK in the Science 7 classroom.

Mod 2 – Post #3 – Traditional Ecological Knowledge

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This paper focuses on traditional ecological knowledge perspectives, which is integral to my final paper.

This quotation stuck out to me (from the introduction):

“In the exploration of environmental ethics and religion toward an ecologically sustainable society, indigenous peoples and traditional ecological knowledge have attracted considerable attention from both scholars and popular movements.”

One section in the paper discusses Western science versus traditional ecological knowledge. For example:

“Some of the conflict between science and traditional knowledge is related to claims of
authority over knowledge. In the modernist tradition, Western science is seen as having a
monopoly on truth.” (p.4)

http://umanitoba.ca/institutes/natural_resources/canadaresearchchair/Encyclopedia%20of%20Religion%20And%20Nature%20Traditional%20Ecological%20Knowledge.pdf

Research Statement

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How is the Indigenous understanding of the environment different from western scientific understanding?

There are a few areas around environmental understanding and interconnectedness in which I would like to research further. I am passionate about the environment and see myself agreeing with a lot of traditional values that I have come across so far compared to dominant western science values. As a Grade 7 Science teacher in BC, I am obligated to teach TEK (Traditional Ecological Knowledge) when addressing ecosystems and sustainability. How teachers address this as well as the depth that we go into it is not consistent from what I’ve seen. I want to better my teaching practice by incorporating more TEK examples and activities in the classroom as well as further my knowledge on the topic. Furthermore, I want to see how technology, if at all, can help disseminate information of Indigenous knowledge to people via the Internet or other digital technologies. Looking ahead, I see that we will be addressing environmentalism and the Indigenous relationship to understanding the natural world compared to the western scientific approaches in Module 4 of the course. I have already found some research papers discussing environmentalism and Indigenous knowledge and have attached to Module 1 posts. I will continue to do this in further modules.

Alicia

Module 1 – Environmental Science Education

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Post 2:

As I am interested in researching about Indigenous Science Education, I am still looking for websites/research papers about Science, Technology, Math, Robotics, and Environment/Ecology. The first link that I have posted below is a research paper written in 2002 about the environmental concerns of Indigenous people in Canada. I haven’t given it a full read, but it seems to give an overview of environmental concerns of today that impact Indigenous education. It also discusses differences between mainstream Science education compared to worldviews about science from the perspective of Indigenous people. I look forward to reading this paper in more depth.

http://new-library.lakeheadu.ca/index.php/cjee/article/viewFile/271/160

Post 3:

This next article looks into Indigenous knowledge about science and how it differs from non-Indigenous views of Science. There are links to other research done in this area.

http://www.dialogueseminars.net/resources/Panama/Reading/B.-IPBES-related/comments-Y.-Vizina-IPBES-work-programme.pdf

Post 4:

Another article that is relevant to my interest in Indigenous science education is an article called “Discovering Indigenous Science: Implications for Science Education”. The authors are local and the focus of this paper is TEK – Traditional Ecological Knowledge. The authors make comparisons between Western or “conventional science” with Indigenous science and they take the reader through a sort of overview of science education and interest. I must say, I have not fully read this article yet, but I am excited to read it more thoroughly soon.

Here is the pdf: Indigenous Science Implications

Post 5:

This article was published in 2006 by Deborah McGregor, an Anishnabe woman and professor of geography and Aboriginal studies. Its main focus is on Traditional Ecological Knowledge from her perspective. She grew up in northern Ontario in a community that incorporated TEK but they did not place a name on it. She now teaches a course on Indigenous TEK at U of T and shares a lot of valuable information for readers to learn more about TEK.

Grade 7 Science in BC discusses TEK in many parts of the Ecosystem unit. Having taught this course for two years now, I value this part of the curriculum and I want to incorporate more Aboriginal perspectives in this course (and other courses that I will be teaching in the future).

http://www.silvafor.org/assets/silva/PDF/DebMcGregor.pdf

Alicia

Module 1 – IBM Youth Program

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As a math and science teacher, I am interested in student engagement in these areas.

Here is a link to an IBM Ignite Camp that my school sends two Grade 7’s to each year (a one-week program held at our district office). They typically experiment with Lego Mindstorms, creating websites, experimenting with Scratch software, taking apart electrical circuits and more. This year, my student came back with a DVD disc of what he did as well as a video of the computer game he “created”. I was very impressed and he was very honored to have attended.

http://www.aboriginalhr.ca/en/resources/promising/193

This websites claims the following goals of the program:

To build an awareness of opportunities in engineering, computer science and technology.
To provide an environment that facilitates learning and excitement about engineering and computer science.
To introduce children to role models who can help mentor and encourage them to consider careers in information technology.
To demonstrate that technology can be fun and exciting

The program is for both genders and ages 8-14. You can check with your school district to see if it is something that is offered or that can be offered.

Alicia