The Post-Pandemic Achievement Gap in Indigenous Students in a First-Semester Mixed-Level Language Course

Academy for Educational Studies. 2419 Berkeley Street, Springfield, MO 65804. Tel: 417-299-1560; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://academyforeducationalstudies.org

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19

American Indian Students; Spanish; Courses; College Students; Achievement Gap; Grades (Scholastic); Academic Failure; COVID-19; Pandemics; Data Analysis; Social Isolation; Sociolinguistics; Skill Development; Teaching Methods

2327-3607

This paper analyzes data from Native American students' attainment in a first-semester Spanish language course at an indigenous-serving institution before, during, and after the pandemic. The gap between Native American and non-Native American students increased during the first post-pandemic semester to the point that just one out of 11 Native Americans passed the course in the fall of 2021. After that, the gap between Native American and non-Native American students gradually narrowed until reaching the lowest failing grades of 23% in the spring 2023. In my teaching, Native American students benefit from a classic teaching style involving longer lecture time, monitored note-taking, consistent attendance requirements, in-person communication, and clearly communicated differentiation strategies for grading. This may align with the cycle of learning outlined by Benally (1994): Nitsáhákees (Thinking), Nahat'á (Planning), Iiná (Living) and Sihasin (Assuring).

As Provided

2024

EJ1428980