Encouraging Excellence: Health Science Education in Native American Communities

The University of Nebraska Medical Center will continue to leverage the trust and cooperative spirit we have garnered working with tribal schools and communities in Nebraska and South Dakota. We will develop, implement, and evaluate science curriculum, outreach activities, and training experiences targeting Native American students and their teachers in grades K-12. The long-term goals of this project are to promote student interest in the sciences, foster a more science-literate public, and ultimately to increase the number of Native Americans entering health and science careers. Improving science and math instruction in the classrooms serving our Native American partners is key to this project. This objective will be accomplished by creating and adapting hands-on, age-appropriate lessons. Through summer workshops, mentoring, and in-service education, teacher support will facilitate the implementation of novel science and math education strategies for use in tribal schools. Student engagement will be enhanced through summer experiences from science camps for middle school to longer-term enrichment programs for select high school students. Reaching beyond the classroom to parents and communities is also critical to the success of this project. Community programs will be designed to give parents and elders the sense of excitement that students feel when doing science. Ancillary benefits will include promoting educational opportunities, healthy living, and improving health literacy. Professional evaluations will be made at all stages, with major emphasis being placed on evaluating the educational and community impact of the project. Research techniques will include baseline and post measures of attitudes and subject content, participant evaluation questionnaires, and student retrospective pretests. Advancing the health of Native American communities is the ultimate aim of every aspect of this project. Improved science teaching and heightened awareness of health careers will encourage students to enter these careers and hope to bring these skills back to their communities. Public outreach that increases health literacy and healthy living will promote better personal health decisions.