Proposal Title
How can we incorporate Indigenous perspectives into science courses?
Session Type
Plenary
Room
Somerville House, room 3345
Start Date
13-7-2023 9:00 AM
End Date
13-7-2023 9:50 AM
Keywords
decolonization, indigenization, indigenous students, course design
Primary Threads
Curriculum
Abstract
In recent years, post-secondary institutions across Canada have emphasized the importance of incorporating Indigenous perspectives into curricula. Science instructors may be uncertain about how to successfully integrate Indigenous traditions and ways of knowing with concepts derived from the scientific method while remaining respectful of and true to both approaches. In this session, I would like to spark discussion by presenting my initial attempts to incorporate Indigenous perspectives into an introductory biochemistry course. I will describe how I approached the land acknowledgement, give examples of how I connected traditional Indigenous practices to scientific concepts presented in the course, and show how students were encouraged to independently explore connections between biochemistry and Indigenous traditions through an open-ended assignment. Session attendees will be encouraged to share their own approaches and ideas in this area and reflect on changes they could make to their own courses. Through this session, I hope that all in attendance will progress in their thinking about how to create science courses through which non-Indigenous students will gain appreciation for Indigenous ways of knowing, and Indigenous students will feel a greater sense of belonging.
Elements of Engagement
At the beginning of the session, attendees will be polled anonymously about their level of 1) confidence and 2) knowledge on this topic.
Please bring your own internet-connected device to respond to polls.
An early think-pair-share will ask participants to reflect on obstacles to incorporating Indigenous perspectives into science courses. Attendees will be encouraged to keep a specific course of theirs in mind in which they themselves have incorporated Indigenous perspectives, or to which any insights gained could be applied. After sharing my experiences, I will solicit ideas and comments from attendees and facilitate a discussion of different approaches and considerations.
Creative Commons License
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How can we incorporate Indigenous perspectives into science courses?
Somerville House, room 3345
In recent years, post-secondary institutions across Canada have emphasized the importance of incorporating Indigenous perspectives into curricula. Science instructors may be uncertain about how to successfully integrate Indigenous traditions and ways of knowing with concepts derived from the scientific method while remaining respectful of and true to both approaches. In this session, I would like to spark discussion by presenting my initial attempts to incorporate Indigenous perspectives into an introductory biochemistry course. I will describe how I approached the land acknowledgement, give examples of how I connected traditional Indigenous practices to scientific concepts presented in the course, and show how students were encouraged to independently explore connections between biochemistry and Indigenous traditions through an open-ended assignment. Session attendees will be encouraged to share their own approaches and ideas in this area and reflect on changes they could make to their own courses. Through this session, I hope that all in attendance will progress in their thinking about how to create science courses through which non-Indigenous students will gain appreciation for Indigenous ways of knowing, and Indigenous students will feel a greater sense of belonging.