Using Context-Adaptive Indigenous Methodologies to Address Pedagogical Challenges in Multicultural Science Education

Abstract

This chapter describes an innovative extension of a technology-based tool for place-based learning: Indigenous Mapping on FieldScope. We share the process and principles that shaped this new iteration of FieldScope, a technology-based citizen science tool, specifically adapted to support place-based learning within and across Indigenous communities. Participating teachers had many questions about whether the scientific information gathered would become truly useful to their local communities; they shared concerns about how culturally sensitive ecological information might need to be secured for community use only. Although these issues were not important for FieldScope users in general, it was vital to address them if we were to meet the needs of Indigenous participants. To accomplish this, the research team systematically and self-reflectively worked with participants to consider Indigenous contexts as a key part of the research process. We sought out diverse expertise and perspectives from within the research contexts in Hawai‘i, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and the Navajo Nation, allowing this feedback to inform both product development and research design. While this dynamic and iterative approach tends to be the exception in educational research, rather than the rule, it does point to a promising pathway for generating optimal research outcomes with goodness-of-fit, and meaningful, lasting learning impact. We conclude with principles and heuristics for researchers interested in using both participatory research methods and context-adaptive research methods that may be beneficial when working with/in and designing for diverse communities.