Examples+-+Place-based+Teacher+Training

=LODGE POLE RIVER PROJECT =

 In 2002, a partnership consisting of the Cheyenne Nation, Comanche Nation, National Geographic Society, National Park Service, Oklahoma Alliance for Geographic Education (OKAGE), and Oklahoma Historical Society launched the three-year Lodge Pole River Project. The goals of the project were "...to change educator perceptions of American Indian historical geography and encourage the creation of a balanced and culturally sensitive American Indian K-12 curriculum" (Hurt & Wallace, 2005, p. 188). This is to provide all students with a more well-rounded picture of their state geography and history, particularly Native American students whose culture, though important to the state, is invisible or misunderstood in the traditional curriculum. Each year, different teachers (referred to as TCs) participated in the program. Throughout their session, the TCs worked with tribal members, culminating in a joint volume of curriculum materials and ideas.
 * Background **

 A study by Hurt and Wallace (2005) focused on the second year of the program, in which 15 TCs spent three weeks doing field work in Comanche territory, learning their Comanche perspective on their history/geography before and after they were resettled on a reservation in 1875. During the first weeks of the program, the TCs engaged exclusively in field work, meeting with Comanche tribal members, viewing primary and secondary source documents. They spent the third week synthesizing information and developing a curriculum that included the Comanche perspective. The TC group was a mix of primary and secondary school geography teachers, the majority of which were Caucasian (four identified themselves as Native American). Most group members were also older, with more experience teaching and considerable expertise and training in geography and history.
 * Program **

 The Project wanted to measure the effect the program had on perceptions of Native American geography and culture. Thus, they gave the session a two-section pretest: section one was a 20 question multiple choice test "designed to assess their general knowledge the participants had of the Comanche" (Hurt and Wallace, 2005, p. 188), section 2 consisted of Likert statements that assessed on a scale from 1 (weakly agree) to 5 (strongly agree) attitudes toward Native Americans and personal comfort with teaching about Native American geography. The results of the pre-test showed that although most TCs thought their schools adequately covered Comanche geography and history, they felt they personally lacked knowledge on the subjects. This was true, as the TCs failed the multiple choice pre-test.

 The post-test at the end of the three week session consisted of the same exact questions as the pre-test, but the questions were in a different order. The results of the post-test showed statistically significant improvement in general and specific knowledge about Comanche culture and geography, as well as greater confidence about teaching Comanche perspectives. Hurt and Wallace (2005) found that although cultural sensitivity did increase, the program planned to alter its structure to increase general knowledge about Comanche culture.

 All participants of the Lodge Pole River Project, Session II, valued the experience and the resources the project supplied them with. Taped interviews with Comanche tribal members, access to primary sources, and exposure to multiple perspectives allowed them to create a geography curriculum that was more culturally-sensitive and inclusive. They continued to work with tribal members to enrich their curriculum for their students. However, increasing amounts of standards/standardized tests could jeopardize this new curriculum.
 * Implications **

References:
Hurt, D.A., & Wallace, M.L. (2005). Teaching American Indian geography and history with new perspectives: the Lodge pole river project example. //Journal of Geography, 104 //, 187-193.