April 23rd, 2015
Join PIs, educators, scientists, policymakers, learning researchers, and youth from Sept. 3rd – 5th for the Indigenous Worldviews in Informal Science Education (I-WISE): Integration, Synthesis, and Opportunity conference in Albuquerque, NM. This event will advance research at the convergent margin of Native and Western science in the field of informal STEM learning. Funded by the National Science Foundation Advnacing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, and is co-sponsored by the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai’i, Indigenous Education Institute, and University of Hawai’i at Hilo. The goals of the conference are to:
- Integrate and synthesize approaches, methods and findings of work to date;
- Formulate a research agenda in this area;
- Provide participants with the opportunity to experience living examples of Native and Western science within the unique setting of Albuquerque, NM.
The conference will be preceded by a six-week online discussion of issues that will be addressed in the conference. Discussions will focus on the important of taking into account Indigenous world views to enhance science literacy and improve STEM education, career opportunities, and lifelong learning for Native youth. The results of the conference and following discussions will be synthesized and are expected to contribute toward advancing the informal education field.