Infusing Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) into Teaching Integrated STEM Disciplines: An Empirical Project

More recently, archaeological evidence collected from different cultures has unearthed numerous indigenous technologies that inherently embody specific scientific and mathematical structures, such as number systems, folk games and puzzles, kinship relations, divination systems, and symmetric strip architecture (Chahine, 2011). Building on the ingenuity of numerous indigenous cultures, such as Southeast Asian and African cultures, research has provided some opportunities to various uses of materials, which represent invaluable clues to cultural connections and continuities through space and time. While ample evidence in the literature supports the assertion that culturally relevant pedagogy can provide meaningful context for learning, there is shortage in studies that demonstrated its effectiveness in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) classrooms. The overarching goal of this empirical project is to train teachers to use culturally relevant modules in STEM subjects in high need schools. The research component involved a mixed- methods case study that examines 20-30 high school teachers’ experiences from a local high-need school district in Greater Lowell city in Massachusetts as they engage in the summer institute and their efficacy to implement culturally relevant multimedia resources in teaching STEM subjects in their classrooms