UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND PLACE-BASED CONSTRUCTIVISM AT OGLALA LAKOTA COLLEGE, PINE RIDGE RESERVATION, SOUTH DAKOTA

In order to meet the needs of Oglala Sioux Tribal agencies and improve the quality of life on the Pine Ridge Reservation, in 2008 Oglala Lakota College's Department of Math, Science, and Technology (OLC MST) realigned its BS in Natural Sciences curriculum to focus on undergraduate research, service learning, and a place-based constructivist pedagogy. OLC MST currently has 90 majors, of which 18 are paid interns. OLC MST’s constructivist approach is a significant departure from other pedagogies at the college. When entering our program, students enter our Natural Sciences Core, select either the Geosciences or Conservation Biology emphasis area, and begin our Capstone Research Sequence (NSci 273 Scientific Literature and Writing, NSci 393 Research Methods, NSci 493 Senior Research). Electives are selected to provide specific knowledge and skills directed towards their research focus and are based largely on student engagement in a sequence of progressively more challenging undergraduate research experiences: 1) 100-level courses emphasize acquisition of basic content knowledge, theoretical background, and a survey of OLC MST’s existing research programs; 2) 200-level courses emphasize the scientific method, technical writing, and a guided research experience; 3) 300-level courses emphasize mentor-selected research projects and in-house dissemination; and 4) 400-level courses emphasize self-selected research projects and professional dissemination (abstracts and papers). We currently support undergraduate research in landscape analysis, geologic mapping, freshwater hydrology, aquatic invertebrate, box turtle, and Bison ecology, radionuclide contamination pathways, volcaniclastic and zeolite mineralogy and geochemistry, Paleogene stratigraphy, and the pharmacology of native plants. Following the 2008 realignment, OLC MST raised its retention rate from 20% to 60%, quadrupled its number of annual graduates (2 to 8), and has placed 96% of its students in jobs on the reservation or in graduate school. OLC MST’s STEM curriculum and undergraduate research is supported by funding from the NSF TCUP Phase III (CJT & HEL), NSF PEEC (CJT & HEL), NSF EPSCoR RII T1 (HEL), USDA NIFA TCRGP (AH), NSF RIA (AH), NIH BRIN (DS), NSF EPSCoR Biofuels (DS), and USDA NIFA TCEP (HEL) grants.