Using Multimedia With Navajo Children: An Effort to Alleviate Problems of Cultural Learning Style, Background of Experience, and Motivation

Native American students have performed far below national norms on tests of reading ability. Researchers' explanations have included a lack of schema for the kinds of materials (and tests) that the children are asked to read, lack of immediate purpose for academic learning, and cultural differences in learning styles. To address these difficulties, we developed multimedia programs in the Tuba City Boarding School on the Navajo Reservation. Using IBM's Link Way, reading improvement programs were developed with familiar content. Further, students were taught to use Link Way to develop their own productions. Thus an attempt is being made to address (1) the problem of unfamiliar content, (2) the cooperative, noncompetitive nature of the Navajo learning style, and (3) the problem of lack of immediate purpose.