Thompson Rivers University

The science of including Indigenous knowledge to solve problems

March 29, 2019

Campers glimpse the tiny world of microbiology during TRU's Indigenous science and health-sciences camp.

Showing a path to exciting days ahead

Sandra Bandura graduated from TRU with a Bachelor of Science majoring in math, and is now in TRU’s Master of Education. She is also a paid teacher assistant with TRU’s math help centre and graduated with distinction from NAIT’s diploma in civil engineering technology. A member of the Qayqayt First Nation in New Westminster, Bandura intends to specialize in counselling and will use her knowledge to guide Indigenous youth toward science—including changing perceptions around math.

“At its core, math is finding patterns, logical thinking and problem solving. This is valuable for all students. The most important skills I have learned are organizing complex problems into smaller ones, making mistakes and most importantly, understanding you may not be able to solve a problem immediately,” said Bandura.

“I see the indigenization and reconciliation effort as an opportunity to do better for all students. When we focus on building relationships with students and leave room for different views, it should make math less scary and more accessible. I cannot speak to specifics related to math, engineering and physics, but I am really excited to see how an Indigenous scholar can present physics, because I think there is a real opportunity to do amazing work in that field,” she said.

“First, we need to get Indigenous students into university, and that is where math will play a large role.”

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