Ways of knowing: how can traditional knowledge enrich geoscience education?

Suitable for 14-19-year olds (secondary and high schools, and college), this article and accompanying activity sheet can be used in the classroom, STEM clubs and at home.

This resource links to KS4 and KS5 geoscience.

It can also be used as a careers resource and links to Gatsby Benchmarks:
Gatsby Benchmark 2: Learning from career and labour market information
Gatsby Benchmark 4: Linking curriculum learning to careers

• This teaching resource explains the work of Dr Judith Brown Clarke, from Stony Brook University, and Dr Wendy K’ah Skaahluwaa Todd, from the University of Minnesota Duluth, USA, who hope to increase the participation and retention of Indigenous students in geoscience, by incorporating traditional knowledge in geoscience education and research.

• This resource also contains interviews with Judi and Wendy and offers an insight into careers in geoscience. If your students have questions for Judi and Wendy, they can send them to them online. All they need to do is to go to the article online (see the Futurum link below), scroll down to the end and type in the question(s). Judi and Wendy will reply!

• The activity sheet provides ‘talking points’ (based on Bloom’s Taxonomy) to prompt students to reflect on Judi and Wendy’s research and challenges them to consider what we can learn from traditional Indigenous stories.

• In the accompanying podcast, Judi discusses the importance of diversity and inclusion in science and education and shares her experiences as an elite athlete.

This resource was first published on Futurum Careers, a free online resource and magazine aimed at encouraging 14-19-year-olds worldwide to pursue careers in science, tech, engineering, maths, medicine (STEM) and social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy (SHAPE).

If you like these free resources – or have suggestions for improvements –, please let us know and leave us some feedback. Thank you!