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8 - Indigenous Knowledge and the Kindergarten to Twelfth-Grade Science Classroom

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2024

By
Susan M. Arlidge
Edited by
Edward A. Johnson  and
Susan M. Arlidge
Edward A. Johnson
Affiliation:
University of Calgary
Susan M. Arlidge
Affiliation:
University of Calgary
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Summary

Indigenous students live between two worldviews of how the natural world works – the world of traditional knowledge and the world of science. The common denominator is the land. In this chapter, I outline some of the challenges in matching best pedagogy within the cultures of schools, science, traditional Indigenous knowledge, and teaching on the land. How can schools build relationships with local Indigenous knowledge keepers to develop a culturally responsive science curriculum? How can we support knowledge keepers and teachers to provide land-based science lessons in the context of a typical school? How do we prepare teachers in active learning and inquiry methods to match traditional ways of teaching? And how do we do this all while on the land?

Keywords

land-based learningexperiential learninginquiry/problem-based learningIndigenous teaching partners
Type
Chapter
Information
Natural Science and Indigenous Knowledge
The Americas Experience
 , pp. 233 - 269
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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