American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students can experience a disconnect between their indigenous culture and the Eurocentric focus of U.S. science, tech¬nology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) class¬rooms. As a result, some AI/AN students are less moti¬vated to participate in educational activities that seem irrelevant or detached from their daily existence. An edu¬cational methodology utilizing AI/AN culturally-relevant medicinal plant knowledge as a foundation for inqui¬ry-based bioexploratory lectures and laboratory exper¬iments was tested for its potential to promote enhanced engagement in STEM instruction for AI/AN students. Workshop modules were held with 40 AI/AN high school student participants in Alaska and 12 middle and high school Lakota students and ten college Lakota students in North Dakota. The STROBE technique, an observa¬tional method previously validated to measure engage¬ment in medical school lectures, was used to determine the level of engagement among students during the lecture, discussion, and laboratory portions of the work¬shops. From 1718 discrete student observations, stu¬dents exhibited engagement behavior 1247 times, for an average of 72.5%. College students displayed higher levels of engagement (80.0% average) compared to high school students (70.3%). This research suggests that emphasizing traditional AI/AN culture in a participa¬tory learning environment has the potential to enhance engagement of AI/AN students in STEM disciplines. 

 

Keywords: Science education, student engagement, Native American students, STEM, STROBE method, traditional ecological knowledge, inquiry-based learning