Making Connections Through Discovery

SHUMLA’s Mission

To connect people of all ages with the land and our shared cultural heritage.

SHUMLA’s Goals

To foster student curiosity through discovery learning programs.

To empower student critical thinking practices through applied discovery learning.

To challenge student perceptions about human cultures and societies.

SHUMLA’s Values

TeamworkDiscoveryLeadershipProblem solvingStewardshipCreativityCritical thinkingSelf EfficacyConnectivity

Teamwork

Educational experiences are modeled on hunter/gatherer communities in which all members are required to contribute.

Students are empowered to take responsibility for their social environments.

Discovery

SHUMLA programs empower students to take responsibility for defining their roles as learners.

Discovery learning programs stress application over memorization.

Students are required to interact as researchers instead of passive audience members.

Leadership

SHUMLA programs require students to use multiple competencies to problem solve. This allows a diverse range of student skill sets to flourish.

Students who possess unusual skill sets have opportunities to take on leadership roles through exposure to different learning scenarios.

Problem Solving

Primitive technology programming emphasizes problem-solving skills.

Students are asked to address problems that they ordinarily take for granted such as shelter, heat and food procurement.

Stewardship

Students are challenged to manage resources.

Programming focuses on ways in which resources can be used sustainably and with an emphasis on community rather than individual use.

Creativity

SHUMLA programming promotes creativity by giving students direct outlets to express as they learn.

Creative expression is a part of every course that SHUMLA teaches. It can be found in adornments on an atlatl or in the symmetry of a basket rather than simply being relegated to an art class.

Critical Thinking

Lifeways programming requires students to make informed decisions about processing information.

SHUMLA staff members give students room to explore their subjects, make decisions and reflect on the results of their actions.

Self Efficacy

SHUMLA programming emphasizes goal-directed learning, and concrete results.

Students are given the means to achieve these results and challenged to define responsible goals for themselves and for their communities.

Connectivity

SHUMLA programming encourages students to see how academic subjects are both interconnected and relevant.

SHUMLA instructors can imbed course materials into lifeways lesson plans to give visiting students flexible learning options specific to their academic contexts.

Content-Driven Education

SHUMLA programs are fun, but focus on serious learning.

SHUMLA staff members offer authentic learning experiences.

SHUMLA staff members take students seriously. We assume that students are capable thinkers with important ideas.

SHUMLA’s pedagogy is defined by guiding and questioning rather than lecturing.

Outcomes

Assessments of participants show that SHUMLA programming dramatically shapes students’ attitudes and perceptions.While programming reinforces core academic content, students learn within a framework of relevancy that addresses higher-order thinking skills.