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Cultivating Indigenous Research Communities for Leadership in Education and STEM (CIRCLES)

  

Institution/Organization
University of Montana

Principal Investigator
Aaron Thomas

Co-Principal Investigators
Philip Stevens
Kelly Rusch
Tarissa Spoonhunter

Goal: The CIRCLES Alliance aims to develop and sustain a national model for centering Indigenous, culturally responsive educational approaches and practices in STEM to enhance inclusivity, increase participation, and build capacity among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) STEM educators and other professionals.

The CIRCLES Alliance builds on the efforts of an existing partnership among six Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) states―Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming―to address the severe underrepresentation of AI/AN students in STEM disciplines and within the STEM workforce. The CIRCLES Alliance is establishing a system of place-based educational resources and activities, teacher professional development, and student supports to effect change in the awareness of, and support for, culturally relevant STEM education.

Research has considered the marginalization of AI/AN students in STEM due to an inherent epistemological conflict between mainstream STEM educational contexts and AI/AN identity, traditional knowledge, and ways of knowing. The CIRCLES Alliance is addressing this challenge. The network of experts, institutions, and communities in these six states, which represent 10.5% percent of the nation's AI/AN population, participate in a Networked Improvement Community to develop an evidence-based model of working hand-in-hand with tribal communities to enhance STEM education through the integration of Indigenous ways of knowing. Each of the CIRCLES Alliance states has AI/AN representation and established relationships with tribes, tribal colleges and universities, and professionals engaged in working within tribal communities.

This project will generate tangible resources and new partnerships by building a repository of culturally relevant K–12 STEM curricular materials and providing tailored supports and learning opportunities for students, faculty, and staff involved in STEM disciplines and the STEM workforce. It will foster intentional collaboration with STEM and traditional knowledge holders, including AI/AN students, faculty and staff, and Indigenous communities.

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