The STEM Collaboration Workshop for TCUP, RDE and REESE Communities is a project designed to bring together educators and leaders of RDE, REESE and TCUP awards for pre-workshop virtual communication, three subsequent workshops, and post-workshop virtual networking; the objectives of this work are for facilitators to: 1) Conduct a pre-workshop capacity assessment of tribal colleges and communities concerning the status of services, educational practices and policies for students with disabilities in STEM. 2) Conduct an initial three-day workshop at CMN. The primary goal of the workshop is to create partnerships and to develop collaborations across the tribal college, STEM disability education and STEM education research communities. At this initial gathering the participants will target the following activities: - The capacity assessment will be reviewed; and the RDE-funded and REESE-funded researchers and educators will propose resources for the AI/NA students and tribal colleges; - The tribal teams will educate the RDE/REESE communities about how non-tribal institutions of higher education can employ culturally sensitive supports for AI/NA students with disabilities transitioning from high school to college and pursuing STEM degrees; - Facilitators will emphasize how to create collaborations for joint work across the TCUP, RDE and REESE programs. - Recommendations will be generated for distribution to HRD PIs at the HRD Joint Annual Meeting (JAM). 3) Continue, post-conference, to work with participants using virtual communication tools to strengthen and implement the RDE/REESE/TCUP collaborations. 4) Support collaborating teams at half-day workshops held at the 2011 and 2012 JAM. 5) Encourage tribal college teams to discuss, refine and submit NSF proposals.
The proposal contains three specific intermediate outcomes resulting from the workshop series and the virtual communication across the research and education communities: 1) To increase the number of collaborations between TCUP, RDE and REESE funded projects for curriculum development, research and workforce development for American Indian (AI) Students With Disabilities (SWD) in FY 2010-2014 2) To increase the number of proposals submitted to the RDE and REESE programs from TCUP funded institutions in FY 2011-2014; and 3) To increase the number of collaborative proposals from TCUs and RDE projects to the following EHR programs in the FY 2011-2012: ATE, TUES, DRK-12, ISE, ITEST, MSP REESE, STEP and the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program
An independent evaluation of the project will be conducted and the following dissemination strategies will be utilized: 1) Post-workshop virtual communication among RDE, REESE and TCUP participants and community members. 2) Information and recommendations will be presented at the JAM. 3) Findings and recommendations will be published in a final report.
The National Science Foundation, Resesarch in Disability Education Grant supported a Universal Design in Learning Conference, "Nurturing Student Potential". It was held at the College of Menomnee Nation in Keshena, Wisconsin May 20-22nd, 2012 for Tribal College faculty, administration and Principle Investigators. The purpose of the grant was to promote collaboration between Tribal Colleges to increase NSF grant submissions. The event was well received by 61 indiviudals who participated in a 3 day event. They represented 32 out of 34 Tribal Colleges from Alaska, Arizona, Oklahoma, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Minnesota and North Dakota. Dawn Tamarkin, Ph.D., a Biology Professor from Springfield Technical Community College, led the introductory sessions on Universal Design for Learnnig (UDL). Dr. Tamarkin has developed YouTube videos to specifically help Science and Math Instructors change their teaching methodology to accommodate all students. Her explanations were clear and succinct. She has obtained 2 NSF grants to continue her work on UDL in biology and other STEM related projects. MIchael Lawler, a Professor from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, complemented Dr. Tamarkin's presentation by including his experience in Vocational Rehabilitation Department. He is well known for the international trainings about UDL and Rehabilitation. Mr. Lawler is also engaged in research collaborating with colleagues from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee concerning UDL for STEM students with disabilities. The second day was led by two distinct Outreach Specialists from the distinquished Landmark College in Putney, Vermont. Landmark serves students with disabilities in meeting their goals toward obtaining college degrees. Their research provides the base of innovative teaching strategies for higher education institutions to reach more students, especially as it pertains to STEM fields. The first speaker, Ibrahim Dahlstrom-Hakki, Ph.D., modeled the UDL constructs in his presentation. His experience with NSF Research in Disabilities Education Grant in which he focused on improving introductory level Statistics courses for students with Learning Disability gave him credibility with the audience. The second speaker Karen Boutelle, is a Leadership Coach and co-authored "Executive Function Coaching for College Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD: A New Approach to Fostering Self-Determination" which appears in the Journal of Learning Disabilities Research & Practice (11/09). Ms. Boutelle rounded out the presentations by bringing forth Executive Function challenges for the audience to consider in setting their goals of initiating UDL strategies to improve the performance of their students to meet the demands of gateway coursework for STEM fields. Several opportuntiies were available for participants to collaborate with each other to form future associations for collaborative grant efforts with each other at social events, working lunches, dinners and local tours. This effort was further encouraged by participating in a Facebook page, and a Universal Design Website sponsored by the College of Menmoinee Nation. Incentives were given for initial participation in social media to share their experiences and dreams. The introduction to UDL occurred at an NSF Annual Meeting. Dr. Powless expanded the concept of UDL to include the benefits to "ALL" students. She encouraged participants to bring forth their ideas for grant submission. Additional reminders will be received through social media, email, and an advertisement in the Tribal College Journal that also promotes NSF funding opportunities. Landmark College met the challenge and devloped the WIDER grant to provide further training in UDL to Tribal Colleges over three years. The proposal stated they would give a leader in each geographical community free education to become a UDL Trainer and hold local training sessions across the country. This was submitted with the support of several letters of support from Tribal Colleges. Data collected throughout the conference indicated the following: 65% agreed that they learned practical ways to apply UDL; 56% agreed that they will collaborate to implement UDL strategies; 59% strongly agreed that attendance at the conference was a valuable experience; 46% of participants will implement UDL in Faculty Development and Student Service personnel training; 47% anticipate that they would face challenges to implementing UDL principles at their Tribal Colleges; 40% agreed that the materials and textbooks would provide a resource for their post-conference work; and 65% of participants strongly agree that they would be interested in participating in a Landmark conference to learn more strategies to implement UDL principles and enhance learning. Comments from participants were encouraging. Participants clearly acknowledged the need for change of their teaching strategies to better prepare students for the gateway classes for STEM fields. Participants would like to see more instructional training for Tribal colleges and sharing of ideas of what is working in Tribal education. Research is the key to successful teaching practices and increasing the number of American Indian students entering STEM fields. Tribal Colleges will meet the challenge and perservere by our continued diplomacy and associations with institutions that share our common commitment to native nations.
