Volume 17 Winter 2005 Issue No. 2
In This Issue:
Sustainability
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On Campus
Nine Join AIHEC’s Leadership Program
by Ron Selden
 KELLOGG FELLOWS. The 2005-2006 nominees are (left to right, back row) Lola Doore, Sean Chandler, Larry Blacksmith, and Samantha Cameron; (front row) Karita Coffey, Francine McDonald, Burt Medicine Bull, and Melissa Cook. Not pictured is Diana Canku. |
The third session of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium’s (AIHEC) leadership development program is now underway. New fellows from across the country are joining together to hone their skills and build a brighter future.
The year-long program is designed to prepare a new generation of senior-level leaders for AIHEC’s 36 member tribal colleges and universities.
Training topics focus on the history and purpose of minority-serving institutions, financial management and fundraising, tribal sovereignty, cultural issues, academic achievement, governing boards and program development, among other issues. The new fellows also will partner with tribal college presidents, who serve as mentors.
The W. K. Kellogg Foundation has funded the leadership program with a 4-year, $6 million grant to the Alliance for Equity in Higher Education. The alliance is a unique collaboration of AIHEC, the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (representing the country’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities), and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.
Nine educators were nominated by their individual schools to participate in this year’s AIHEC program. They are: Larry Blacksmith (Crow), dean of administration at Little Big Horn College; Diana Canku (Sisseton-Wahpeton), chief administrative officer at Sisseton Wahpeton College; Sean Chandler (Gros Ventre), director of American Indian Studies Department at Fort Belknap College;
Karita Coffey (Comanche), faculty member, 3-D Arts Department, Institute of American Indian Arts; Melissa Cook (Menominee), sponsored program specialist at College of Menominee Nation; Samantha Jackson Cameron (Bay Mills Indian Community), director of Business Administration Department at Bay Mills Community College;
Lola Doore (Blackfeet), administrative specialist to the president at Blackfeet Community College; Francine McDonald (Spirit Lake Dakota), director of Student Support Services at Cankdeska Cikana Community College; and Burt Medicine Bull (Northern Cheyenne), community coordinator at Chief Dull Knife College.
At the completion of this year, 28 upcoming tribal college leaders will have participated in the AIHEC Kellogg Leadership Program. One fellow, Olivia Vanegas-Funcheon, was named president of Tohono O’odham Community College this year.
Ron Selden is a freelance writer and photographer based in Helena, MT, and a frequent contributor to Tribal College Journal.
Ed Department Funds 6 TCUs to Train Teachers
The Office of Indian Education has announced 16 grants to train qualified individuals to become teachers and administrators in Indian communities. The Title VII discretionary grant program under the No Child Left Behind Act also provides resources to improve the skills of qualified Indians currently serving in the education field.
Of the 16 new grants, six involve tribal colleges: Diné College (DC, Tsaile, AZ), Fort Belknap College (FBC, Harlem, MT), Salish Kootenai College (Pablo, MT), Sitting Bull College (Fort Yates, ND), and United Tribes Technical College (UTTC, Bismarck, ND). (Some other colleges and universities have received funding under this program in the past and are continuing with those grants.)
Diné College received $242,605 to provide training programs to graduate new American Indian teachers and school administrators.
Most involve partnerships. Fort Belknap College received $325,000 grant to work with Montana State University-Northern (MSUN, Havre, MT) to recruit, train, and graduate new American Indian teachers. Fort Belknap College President Carole Falcon-Chandler (Gros Ventre) said she was delighted with the news. The last time that the partnership had a grant under this program, 23 students graduated, all of whom became employed.
Salish Kootenai College received a $278,392 grant. The college will work with the University of Montana-Western and the seven Montana Indian reservations and adjacent schools to recruit and train new teachers.
Sitting Bull College received a $296,112 grant to work with Sinte Gleska University (Mission, SD), to train American Indian teachers in elementary education and special education.
UTTC received two grants for its teacher education partnership with the University of North Dakota (UND, Grand Forks, ND). A $305,858 grant will help train 15 new elementary and secondary school principals for full state certification and licensure. A $297,704 grant will help 16 new Native American teachers earn their master’s degree and licensure in special education. Students involved in the partnership will complete their studies on the UND campus.
More information about Indian education is available from the Office of Indian Education at http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ods/oie/index.html.
LCO Community Wrestles With Bio-tech Issues
Ojibwe communities in the upper Midwest face a classic bio-ethics dilemma: Scientists have begun mapping the wild rice genome. This has alarmed some tribal communities, who fear that wild rice will be genetically modified and introduced to the environment, where it might cross-pollinate with native stands of wild rice.
In Ojibwe culture, harvesting and eating wild rice is almost a sacrament, and changing its essence raises red flags for many.
This complex topic is one of many that instructors at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College (LCO, Hayward, WI) wanted to introduce to students and members of the community. Their objective? They wanted to demonstrate that biotechnology is part of everyone’s daily lives. They also wanted to foster a better understanding of ways in which tribal communities can address complex topics.
Their answer? Deb Hinterleitner Anderson and Patrick J. Shields have designed a Tribal Learning Community Model, a model that they hope can be used by other colleges. Anderson has been a faculty member 15 years; she teaches Life Science and Natural Resources. Shields teaches English and Sociology at the tribal college.
“We believe that complex topics, involving biological, social, or ethical issues, can be presented through a Tribal Learning Community Model in a way that is manageable to local communities,” Shields says.
The first step was for the faculty to determine which current issues existed within the tribal community that could be tied to biotechnology topics. Faculty attended conferences and workshops, such as the “Conference on Biodiversity, Biotechnology and the Legal Protection of Traditional Knowledge” hosted by Washington University in St. Louis and the Bioethics Institutehosted by the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
LCO faculty compiled relevant regional material at these conferences and other events organized under a USDA Biotech Consortium Grant. By networking within the tribal community, they were able to find specific local material on tribal issues.
All of the new material could be integrated into the curriculum. In addition, they took biotechnology issues to the people through community events, collaboration with tribal organizations, tribal media, and groups such as schools and elders.
The tribal college organized four conferences focusing on the scientific, social, ethical, and economic issues surrounding biotechnology and its impact on tribal cultures. One of the guest speakers was Winona LaDuke (White Earth Chippewa tribal member and former vice presidential candidate of the Green Party).
Activities were added to a broad array of classes, including Composition, Sociology, Biology, Plant Science, Forestry, Ethnobotany, Introduction to Tribal Cultures, and Computer Science. The Sociology courses, for example, completed consumer surveys and researched the social impact of wild rice and genetic engineering on tribal cultures.
In addition, K-12 tribal students participated in a poster contest with a wild rice theme. Tribal elders shared their spiritual perspectives and provided traditional foods for the community events.
Anderson and Shields say that other colleges could use the same model for other subjects. The bioethics grant was funded under the USDA Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems. South Dakota State University was the lead institution. The partners were in Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. In addition to LCO, three other tribal colleges participated: Si Tanka University, Leech Lake Tribal College, and Cankdeska Cikana Community College.
For more information, including a chart showing each step of the process, contact Patrick J. Shields (715) 634-4790 ext. 137 or pshields@lco.edu.Students See Renewable Power Potential at SIPI
For the past four years, Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI, Albuquerque, NM) has been developing a curriculum in renewable energy and the environment under a cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE).
SIPI designed the curriculum not only for the students but also for the surrounding tribes. SIPI faculty wants to help develop tribes’ capacity for making informed decisions regarding energy and other resource uses. The courses help students develop critical thinking skills by studying, for example, the economics of energy -- both capital and recurring cost perspectives.
 SOLAR ROBOT. This dual-powered, mobile robot (solar and fuel cell) demonstrates the excitement of science to college and high school students. |
DOE provided funds to alter existing facilities at SIPI, adding a number of photovoltaic, wind, solar- thermal hot air, and solar-thermal hot water systems. The SIPI campus is used as a model community.
Each class analyzes different aspects of this community, from waste and resource management to detailed energy and cost analysis. Partnering with the local utility, PNM, and a Native-owned industrial partner, Sacred Power Corp, SIPI students have developed detailed performance characteristics for each building and activity. This hands-on project helps engage students, according to the faculty.
The program includes outreach designed to excite pre-college students about science and technology. For example, SIPI students and faculty demonstrate robots fueled by photovoltaic and hydrogen fuel at area schools.
In the robotics program, 12 pre-engineering SIPI students each year learn the fundamentals of robotics, including electrical and mechanical assembly, programming, troubleshooting, and operating sophisticated, wireless-networked robotics platforms. The mobile robot platform will be loaned to any tribal college that is willing to serve as a beta site and provide feedback to improve the platform.
SIPI students in the robotics programs also see how various “science payloads” are used in NASA’s robotics Mars exploration missions.
One of the miniature robots they work with is powered by photovoltaics and a hydrogen fuel cell. The fuel cell is attached to a small plastic car chassis (less than one-foot long) with two tanks for hydrogen and oxygen attached to the back.
When placed under sunlight (or other light source), electricity runs from the solar panel to the fuel cell and car motor. As electricity passes through the fuel cell, electrolysis occurs, creating hydrogen and oxygen.
When the level of light can no longer support the motor and fuel cells, then reverse electrolysis occurs. Hydrogen and oxygen gases combine in the fuel cell, producing water and electricity. Electricity from the reverse electrolysis can be used to power sensors or to supplement the main power source for the system.
The students and faculty will try to improve the design and increase its efficiency.
For more information on the tribal energy program, contact Dr. Mike Thomas, (505) 346-7730, email pdth@worldnet.att.net. For information on the robotics, contact Dr. Nader Vadiee, (505) 792-4618, email nvadiee@sipi.bia.edu.
CDKC Building Strawbale Early Childhood Center
Chief Dull Knife College (CDKC, Lame Deer, MT) is constructing an Early Childhood Learning Center that will serve the community in many ways beyond its primary purpose. The facility is the most recent to be constructed with the college’s partners in the American Indian Housing Initiative -- Penn State and the University of Washington.
The American Indian Housing Initiative (AIHI) is a long-term effort, dedicated to restoring a culture of self-sufficiency on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation through the use of regionally appropriate green building technologies and sustainable development strategies. AIHI is both a learning exchange between the tribal community and academic community and a capacity-building initiative.
In 2002 students and faculty from the two universities first joined with tribal community members when they constructed a strawbale literacy center on the CDKC campus. Funding for this project was obtained through a USDA tribal college grant, with additional resources provided by AIHI partners.
Local Northern Cheyenne artists provided artwork for the building, including tile mosaics and trim paintings. The vaulted ceilings, round interior walls, and open-air classrooms of the building now provide a learning environment quadruple the size of the previous literacy center.
In addition, an itinerant group of college students joined with a local Native artist and youth from the Boys and Girls Club of the Northern Cheyenne Nation to create a public art installation and courtyard for the CDKC campus, connecting the Literacy Center to the main classroom buildings.
This project engaged community youth in all aspects of the design process, from conception to construction.
For the Early Childhood Learning Center, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approved a grant to the college for $400,000 in September 2003. The new center will provide a healthier, energy-efficient space for children and double the space of the current facility.
Constructed out of strawbales, it utilizes energy-saving features such as day lighting, cellulose insulation, and radiant floor heating. The center should be completed by next summer, according to CDKC Vice President Bill Wertman.
For more information, contact Bill Wertman at Chief Dull Knife College, email bwertman@cdkc.edu or (406) 477-6215.
Leech Lake Provides Diverse Survival Tools
For the past six years, Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC, Cass Lake, MN) has provided reservation residents with the everyday tools needed to survive.
The tribal college extension’s Sustainable Living Program has utilized workshops, newsletters, and individual sessions to focus on financial literacy, workforce training, entrepreneurial enterprises, food security, and much more, according to Sherri Moe, associate vice president for the Center for Career Development.
The financial literacy and entrepreneur program has helped families work on savings goals, budgeting, and entrepreneurial business start-up plans.
The LLTC Building Community One Garden at a Time Project serves more than 250 individuals and their families with seed distribution, gardening skills seminars, and tilling services for the elderly.
Participants learn to grow their own produce, preserve their food, and prepare traditional meals. In the winter time, a traditional gathering draws more than 150 people each year for 2 days of classes, workshops, and community building.
The LLTC Entrepreneurial Program entails a comprehensive, 8-week, workforce training readiness curriculum. By partnering with local and regional economic development organizations, the program trains local entrepreneurs and business owners in comprehensive business planning. Last year, 18 new and existing business owners received such training.
The mission of the Leech Lake Center for Career Developmentand Outreach and Extension Programs is to assist reservation community members in accessing resources to develop new strategies for life and work, which will link ancient cultural and spiritual values with the best of contemporary technology, thus promoting an environment for sustainable living.
The outreach and extension programs at LLTC are funded via the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES).
The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe established the tribal college in July 1990. The college was accredited as a vocational school in 1993. The college was awarded candidacy status with the Higher Learning Commission of NCA in 2001 and anticipates full accreditation in 2006.
For more information, contact Sherri Moe, email smoe@lltc.org, or (218) 335-4258.
Team Researches Alleged Intellectual Differences
A team of Red Crow Community College (RCCC, Cardston, AB) faculty and students are working on an ethnographic research project. They want to challenge the belief that there are fundamental differences in the cognitive abilities of Western and indigenous peoples, according to Ryan Heavy Head, one of the participants.
Heavy Head said that many Western and indigenous people believe there are intellectual disparities linked to whether a people has an alphabetic writing system. This project focuses upon one indigenous group -- people of the Blackfoot Confederacy who are called Niitsitapi in their native language.
The Niitsitapi communities assert that certain people have superior intellect – those who rely upon the oral tradition and not writing have better memories and more potential to internalize knowledge.
On the other hand, some Western academics associate the introduction of writing with an increase in the ability to deal in complex, abstract thought. According to this point of view, those who rely upon the oral tradition are limited to their personal, concrete experiences. The project will examine both presumptions.
The project is called “Itsinikssiistsi: Remembranced Offerings and Generous Feedings, the Role of Narrative Exposition in Blackfoot Knowledge Production.” The 3-year study of Blackfoot storytelling and traditional oral education is funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Much of the material will be digitized, and some will be available on the college website. Thus future generations of the Blackfoot Confederacy will benefit from this knowledge. RCCC and the elders committee will decide what type of content is appropriate for public viewing.
The participants have high hopes for this inaugural partnership between the college and the national research council. They want to foster greater respect between two knowledge traditions. They also hope that the project will contribute to more equitable policies in Canadian and American education and research programs.
For more information about the project, see the Red Crow Community College website, www.redcrowcollege.com, or call the college at (403) 737-2400.
Lindquist Will Advise NIH Director Zerhouni
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has appointed Cynthia Lindquist as one of seven new members of the director’s Council of Public Representatives. Since 1999 the council has advised the NIH director on issues of public importance. Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., directs the NIH. The new members join 12 current members of the council.
 STAR HORSE WOMAN. A long-time women’s health advocate, Cynthia Lindquist now serves on a council that advises the National Institutes of Health director. |
Also known as Ta'sunka Wicahpi Win (Star Horse Woman), Lindquist has been president of Cankdeska Cikana (Little Hoop) Community College (Fort Totten, ND) since 2003. Her career began when she became the health director/planner of the Spirit Lake (Dakota) tribe in the early 1980s.
She wrote and developed the Northern Plains Healthy Start initiative, and she is an adjunct faculty member at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Other professional experience includes serving as executive director of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission (Governor-appointed cabinet position) and as senior advisor to the director of the Indian Health Service in Washington, DC.
In April 2004, Lindquist was appointed by President George Bush to serve a 3-year term as a member of the National Advisory Council on Indian Education (NACIE) and was elected chairwoman of the council.
She also serves as a consultant and advisor to the Kaiser Family Foundation and is chairwoman of the National Indian Women’s Health Resource Center.
In 1999, she was honored as one of 10 national winners for the "Women in Government" award presented by Good Housekeeping magazine, the Ford Foundation, and the Women's Center at Rutgers University.
Lindquist earned a bachelor's degree in Indian studies and English from the University of North Dakota in 1981 and a master's degree in public administration from the University of South Dakota in 1988. As a Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow, she is working on a doctorate in educational leadership at the University of North Dakota and will graduate soon.
A native of North Dakota and a member of the Spirit Lake (Dakota) Nation, she has two grown children, one daughter at home, and four granddaughters.
FPCC Greenhouse Yields Food, Flowers, Trees
The high price of tomatoes in northeast Montana inspired Fort Peck Community College (FPCC, Poplar, MT) to start its own greenhouse. Tomatoes are in high demand for use in Indian tacos and salads at FPCC's dinners and fundraisers.
Equipped with a hydroponic system, the greenhouse provides the “ideal growing environment,” according to Brent Vinger of the FPCC Agriculture Department. The system provides a continuous flow of nutrients over the roots of the plants.
When FPCC harvested tomatoes last summer, staff members created and bottled their own salsa. Using the greenhouse and an outdoor garden, they also produced lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, and various herbs. “We used as much as we could and gave as much away as possible,” said Vinger.
In addition to vegetables, the greenhouse has produced flowers and hundreds of cottonwood trees. The college’s reforestation project, however, has not been as successful as the other crops. About 400 cottonwood trees started in the greenhouse were transplanted in June 2005 by FPCC staff along a 40-mile stretch of the Missouri River bottom. Native to the river bottom, cottonwoods help keep erosion down.
“We planted the trees in a sandy, low lying drainage area as cottonwood trees need a lot of moisture,” said Vinger.
The Missouri River water level has been dropping due to the dry weather, lack of spring runoff, and release policies used by the Corps of Engineers at Fort Peck Dam. As a result, the roots of the cottonwood trees were not being replenished, and the cottonwood trees became a “dying forest,” said Chris Martinez of the FPCC Agriculture Department.
FPCC's Agriculture Department staff has been collecting seeds to start more cottonwoods. “It's a building process,” said Vinger, who said they are working with the county extension service and the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes’ Fish and Game Department.
The staff is proud of the flowers grown in the greenhouse, which were transplanted to large, round, wooden planters. Placed along the highway that goes through Poplar, the flowers are a colorful and beautiful reminder of what FPCC's greenhouse project can do.
CIT, NASA Explore Alternative Energy
 SUNNY STUDENTS. CIT students (left to right) Jonathan Begay, Candice Craig, and Charley Herbert display photovoltaic modules, which convert the sun’s energy into electricity. |
With the soaring price of oil and gas, a tribal college in Crownpoint, NM, recognizes the need to establish other energy options and change the norm. The Alternative Energy Program at Crownpoint Institute of Technology (CIT) teaches renewable energy methods and theories and offers practical lab and field applications.
The current program is a 1-year certificate program totaling 24 credits, with plans to offer a 2-year associate degree in the future.
The Alternative Energy Program centers primarily on photovoltaics and wind-generated power. Solar hot air collectors, energy conservation, and other energy-saving components are covered as well. Students integrate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and sometimes they can even “learn and earn” through work-study positions.
In October 2003, CIT’s program won a 3-year, $299,000 grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)to study and enhance renewable energy applications. Raymond Griego, alternative energy instructor at CIT, is the project director for NASA’s Curriculum Improvement Partnership Award Program.
Last year CIT offered a 7-day workshop on photovoltaic design and installation, coupled with installing an 1,800-watt grid-tied photovoltaic system at the CIT library. The system now promotes renewable energy as it supplies approximately 10-12% of the library’s electrical needs, at a savings of $30-$55 per month.
Participants included the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 611, journeyman workers from Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, interns from Sandia National Laboratories, students from the community, and students from Jamaica.
Currently, students are in the final stages of constructing a 400-watt wind generator. And recently the National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL) agreed to loan CIT an anemometer to study wind patterns for one year. CIT students will install and maintain the instrument, which will determine if CIT has sufficient wind to power industrial-scale wind generators.
CIT has an advisory committee of experts in renewable energy that includes the Bureau of Land Management, Sandia Labs, National Renewable Energy Laboratories, Sacred Power Inc., Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Solar Energy International, Institute for Sustainable Power Inc., Diné College (Tsaile, AZ), SouthwesternIndian Polytechnic Institute (Albuquerque, NM), and San Juan College (Farmington, NM).
“CIT recognizes the need to educate our students and our communities,” Griego says. “We continue to encourage our students to seek energy that is friendly to our environment.”
Land Grant Professionals Form Network: FALCON
More than 20 tribal college representatives gathered in Minneapolis on May 26, 2005, to formalize their association of land grant professionals. The First Americans Land-grant College Organization & Network (FALCON) results from over 3 years of work providing professional development opportunities to those who work on land grant programs.
The group elected officers and approved by-laws at the May meeting. The first president is Terry Tatsey, land grant director at Blackfeet Community College. Other elected officers include Virgil Dupuis, Salish Kootenai College, as vice president; Susan Given-Seymour, Northwest Indian College, as treasurer; and Martina McKinney, United Tribes Technical College, as secretary.
John Phillips, USDA/AIHEC liaison, served as the acting executive director. FALCON's goals include maintaining the unique identity of the 1994 land grant institutions, fostering collaborative partnerships, and facilitating professional development.
Land grant goals are typically incorporated throughout a tribal college's mission to serve communities, and faculty development needs are great regardless of department. Therefore, each and every tribal college faculty and staff are automatically considered members of FALCON. No membership dues or application fees are required. Faculty and staff only participate at the level at which they are comfortable. Joining FALCON provides a network of tribal college expertise and resources to help land grant and non-land-grant professionals cope with the demands of the workplace.
As a new organization, FALCON’s first task is to educate and energize its membership by communicating the benefits of being active members of the association. FALCON plans to provide opportunities such as scholarships, training events, mentoring programs, web-based collaboration, and face-to-face networking meetings.
For example, a mentoring program will match an experienced faculty or program director with a junior colleague. Technical assistance workshops related to program development, research, or specific topical areas will be planned.
For more information, contact Terry Tatsey, email ttatsey@bfcc.org, or (406)338-7755.
TCUs in N.D. Will Get Biomedical Instructors
North Dakota’s tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) will benefit from a $204,000 federal grant to the University of North Dakota. The North Dakota Bridges to the Baccalaureate Program will help five selected University of North Dakotaand North Dakota State University advanced graduate students in biology, chemistry, and physics teach for a semester at North Dakota’s five tribal colleges.
The project will provide supplemental career-related opportunities for tribal college students and classroom teaching experience for the graduate students. The goal of the project is for tribal college students to actively engage in laboratory coursework that emphasizes experience -- not just textbooks. The National Institute of General Medicine awarded the grant.
The Bridges to the Baccalaureate program is modeled after a pilot program at Turtle Mountain Community College (TMCC). TMCC received $880,000 through that program, and another $1.5 million went to the North Dakota Tribal College Association to support tribal college biomedical research.
“It was a win-win project,” says Carol Davis, acting president of TMCC. “[Our] faculty benefited by having teaching assistants from the universities teaching in our classrooms. It reduced the teaching load of our full-time science faculty and extended them the opportunity to develop new courses, teach new courses, and conduct research.”
The new program aims to help tribal colleges turn out more qualified graduates in the science fields. “We worked with the universities to seek this,” Davis said. “We were pleased it was funded.”
TV Game Show Format Provides Enjoyable Test
by Dennis J. Neumann
LAKOTA JEOPARDY. Lakota History Instructor Sheri BearKing Baker is game show host for this fun assessment tool. |
The TV game show “Jeopardy” has long been a favorite of college students. Sheri BearKing Baker created “Lakota Jeopardy” for her class in Lakota History at United Tribes Technical College (UTTC, Bismarck, ND).
She had given the typical paper and pen quizzes, but she questioned whether they really measure student learning. “We know that students learn in different ways,” says Baker. “For educators, it requires measuring in different ways too.”
The UTTC faculty has had extensive experience learning about multiple forms of assessing student learning and reporting their findings, according to Brian Palecek, UTTC assessment coordinator.
“Testing is only one way of assessing student learning and not a very revealing way at that,” said Palecek. “The really important part of student learning will not be found in tests. The human mind is too complex for it to be that easy.”
Baker’s students took the Jeopardy “test” near the end of the term. The contestants grouped together in three teams. Each taking turns, one member represented a group, honking a bicycle horn to ring in for the answer. If no one knew the answer, teams were allowed to collaborate and use the book.
The students themselves had created the questions. Student Tanya Mendoza designed the Jeopardy board.
“I learned more about Lakota History in this class than I ever knew,” said Janice St. Claire (Three Affiliated Tribes). “It’s interesting to learn about another culture other than your own.”
“It was a totally awesome learning tool,” said Kristi Dionne (Turtle Mountain Chippewa). “It brought the whole class together. Even the shy people came out of their shells.”
“The best part was that no one was a loser,” said another student.
Dennis J. Neumann is the United Tribes Technical College public information director.