Implementing Place-based Pedagogies to Transform STEM Graduate Education

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

Marine biology graduate students across the nation undertake research on coastal and marine resources and processes. However, the communities that care for and utilize natural resources are often not involved in shaping the research. In Hawaiʻi, these resources are integral to the livelihoods and cultural practices of Native Hawaiians. The Marine Biology Graduate Program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) trains emerging leaders in marine biology research, conservation, and education. Graduate students have typically received strong training in the natural sciences but lack guidance on the social and cultural aspects of how knowledge is created. This NSF Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) award to UHM seeks to transform marine biology from a “field-based science” that positions researchers as separate from the ecosystems they study to a “community-embedded science” that recognizes the fundamental connections between marine life and human communities and cultures. This innovative project will train early career scientists in establishing and maintaining reciprocal relationships with local communities throughout their professional careers. Additionally, improving communication between the scientific workforce and the public increases trust around science-related policies. Using place-based methodologies in Hawaiʻi, students will be immersed in a community-based research partnership at the Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR). An intensive two-week period immediately prior to the students’ first fall semester incorporates several interrelated components. First are stewardship, relationship building, and service learning opportunities with Heʻeia NERR partner organizations. Second are readings, lectures, and class discussions of case studies where scientific values and community values can often misalign. Third are opportunities for self-directed learning and reflections, with a fourth activity of cohort-building and establishing of peer-to-peer mentorship structures. Students are introduced to Native Hawaiian kilo (observation and inquiry) and kuleana (responsibility and interdependence) as fundamental practices connecting people to the land. Through hands-on experiences establishing connections with local Indigenous stewardship organizations, the course emphasizes the positionality and responsibility of researchers to the places and communities in which their work is embedded. During the fall semester, students engage in iterative reflection and knowledge integration. A highly interdisciplinary instruction and evaluation team has designed course readings, guest lectures, and discussions to explore case studies at the intersection of technology, culture, and scientific practice, including data stewardship and governance, with an emphasis on Indigenous knowledge and data sovereignty. Grounding the curriculum in an ethical framework promotes reciprocal engagement and knowledge co-production with communities wherever these emerging researchers work, transforming the graduate education culture at an Indigenous place of learning. Formative evaluation using an embedded assessment approach will inform iterative program improvements. Research findings from a summative evaluation, including analysis of participant student and department surveys, research activities reports, and document analyses of faculty syllabi/assignments, will be shared broadly to inform place-based approaches to STEM graduate education. The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) program is focused on research in graduate education. The goals of IGE are to pilot, test and validate innovative approaches to graduate education and to generate the knowledge required to move these approaches into the broader community. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.