Curriculum Development for Diabetes Education

Salish Kootenai College, Pablo MT

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (Provided by Applicant): This project will address the critical need for culturally competent science education on diabetes in the eight school districts of the Flathead Reservation home to the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes. This planning grant will complete the resources needed to develop and pilot curriculum relevant to the Salish and Kootenai. This proposal is composed of three modular components addressing the following grade levels of students: K-4th; 5th -8th; and 9th-12th grade. This delineates the composition of the elementary, middle and high schools on the Reservation. This project will build on an already well-established network of parents, teachers, curriculum developers, cultural content specialists, evaluators and school administrators to develop and start implementation of a diabetes curriculum project. The NSF funded Rural Systemic Initiative has a strong foundation of support and expertise that will be utilized to "fast track" development of two curriculum units for each grade level on diabetes. Initially, Dr. Craig Johnston, will train curriculum development teams on the pathology of diabetes. Teams include a teacher from each grade level, a curriculum development specialist, and a cultural specialist. These teams have been in place for four years specifically to develop math and science curriculum. This composition ensures age specific (developmentally appropriate), culturally competent, standards-based curriculum development. In addition, alternative evaluation strategies will be explored to assess the content knowledge retention and use as the new curriculum is piloted in the schools. This curriculum will become a valued part of the large base of culturally appropriate materials already developed by these teams. Ongoing testing and development is not addressed in this proposal, but will continue beyond the funding of this proposal as part of the overall Rural Systemic Initiative. After being reviewed by the science content specialist and cultural specialist and both of the Culture Committee Directors (Salish and Kootenai), it will then be available for wider delivery to the Reservation Schools as well as nationally through the National Indian School Board Association also housed at Salish Kootenai College.