NAS 484 Native American Inclusion in the Classroom

Summer 2017

2 credits

Instructor: Dr. Martin Reinhardt

Office Location: Whitman Hall Room 112C

Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 9-11am and 1-2pm, and by appointment

CNAS Office Phone: (906) 227-1397

CNAS Website:

EduCat (Course Website) Login Page:

E-Mail:

Important Note: E-mail from students in this class must always have “nas484s17” in thesubject line, although you may include additional words. Make sure your name is somewhere in your email, email submitted without names will automatically be deleted.

Classroom Location: Whitman 122

Course Schedule – Monday-Friday, 9am-4:00pm, includes 5 classes. Participation in class is required and will count toward the overall participation grade.

The Center for Native American Studies Mission Statement:

The Center for Native American Studies offers a holistic curriculum rooted in Native American themes that challenges students to think critically and communicate effectively about Indigenous issues with emphasis on Great Lakes Indigenous perspectives; stimulates further respectful inquiry about Indigenous people; and provides active learning and service learning opportunities that strengthen student engagement, interaction, and reciprocity with Indigenous communities.

Course Description: This course will challenge students’ preconceptions of what Native American inclusion means and provide methods and materials that will help them meet state standards while effectively including Native American cultural concepts across the curriculum. Emphasis is on State of Michigan standards and Anishinaabe language and cultural concepts.

Class Goal, Objectives, and Outcomes:

Goal:

The primary goal for this course is to familiarize educators with methods and materials regarding Native American inclusion in the classroom.

Objectives:

Students will learn about: American Indian identity in the curriculum, evaluative tools for American Indian content, standards and benchmarks for American Indian education, and methods for developing American Indian curriculum.

Outcomes:

After completing this course successfully, students will be able to:

  1. Think critically about the relationship between identity and American Indian education curriculum with an emphasis on tribal groups within the Great Lakes Region.
  2. Communicate effectively about the relationship between identity and American Indian education curriculum issues with an emphasis on tribal groups within the Great Lakes Region.
  3. Utilize multiple evaluative tools, standards and benchmarks while developing an American Indian Interdisciplinary Thematic Unit (AIITU).
  4. Articulate how their active learning and/or service learning experience strengthened their student engagement, interaction, and reciprocity.

Assessment Strategies/Outcomes
1. Multiple Choice Quizzes (Outcomes: 1,2,3,4)
2. American Indian Curriculum Materials Evaluation (Outcomes: 1,2,3)
3. AIITU Development Projects and Presentations (Outcomes: 1,2,3,4)
4. Small and Large Group Tuning Protocols (Outcomes: 1,2,3,4)
Graduate Students Only:
5. Graduate Student Projects (Outcomes: 1,2,3,4)

Grading:

Final grades for this class will be an average of scores for each assessment strategy. Total possible points for each assessment strategy will be 100. Specific requirements for each assessment strategy are included in the scoring rubrics on each assessment strategy sheets. All work must be submitted by the due date/time unless otherwise arranged with the instructor. Late work may be occasionally accepted, but will have points deducted.

A 94-100 / A- 90-93 / B+ 87-89 / B 84-86 / B- 80-83 / C+ 77-79
C 74-76 / C- 70-73 / D+ 67-69 / D 64-66 / D- 60-63 / F <60

Required Materials:

Seale, Doris. Slapin, Beverly. & Gonzales, Rosemary. (2000). How to Tell the Difference: A Guide for Evaluating Children’s Books for Anti-Indian Bias. Sonoma: Oyate.

Recommended Materials:

Cajete, Gregory. (2016). Native Science: Natural Laws of Interdependence. 2nd ed.Santa Fe: Clear Light Publishers.

Roberts, Patricia & Kellough, Richard. (2008). A Guide for Developing Interdisciplinary Thematic Units. 4th ed. New Jersey: Pearson.

Other materials will be available within EduCat or students will be directed to external websites.

Module 1:

Conceptualizing American Indian education

Using a medicine wheel approach to curriculum and instruction

Developing an American Indian Interdisciplinary Thematic Unit (AIITU)

Assigned Readings: How To Tell The Difference & Interdisciplinary Manual for American Indian Inclusion.

Quiz 1

Module 2:

Book/Website/Curriculum Reviews

Quiz 2

Module 3:

AIITU Tuning Protocols

Quiz 3

Module 4:

Presentation of Final AI-ITU.

Graduate Projects Due if applicable.

Course Evaluations

Quiz 4

Graduate Project:

Graduate projects must include the following components:

  1. Research an approved topic regarding Native American inclusion in the classroom.
  2. Compile an annotated bibliography of resources and references about the topic. Must include a balance of peer reviewed scholarly articles and other sources.
  3. Lead a class discussion on the topic.
  4. Summarize the class discussion and submit your summary via email to the instructor along with a copy of your annotated bibliography.

1