Breaking the Mold: An Examination of Student Perceptions with Faculty-Led Native American Student Research Experiences

In recent years, Native American students in Minnesota have experienced the state’s widest equity gap. In response, a faculty advisor guided students through an immersive Indigenous research experience using the medicine wheel as a learning model focused on culturally relevant topics. Culturally relevant teaching uses methods and techniques that are building from a student’s interests, values, and strengths helps them to have a more meaningful educational experience by connecting home with school (Gay, 2000). Grounded in culturally relevant teaching theory, this approach connects students’ lived experiences to academic learning, making the exploration of equity gaps particularly meaningful for Indigenous students in higher education. The overall goal of the research experience was to deliver a learning opportunity for indigenous students with a topic of cultural importance, but to explore the existing equity gap with an indigenous faculty member using culturally responsive research techniques. Moreso, examining the research experience itself as well. This study examined the research experiences of three Native American students that served over seven months as research assistants in administering the first campus Native American Student Needs Survey. Students were then asked to share their experiences, and the learning model was assessed for balance based on their testimony using the medicine wheel. The four realms of the medicine wheel using experiential learning methodology are physical learning, mental learning, emotional learning, and spiritual learning. The findings of this study revealed that the online student had less physical learning experiences compared to the students attending on campus. Additionally, despite the research centered design of the experience, mental learning was the lowest of all categories with spiritual learning being the highest; overall, the design was balanced with all categories ranging from 20-26.67% hours.