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Oregon Design Library / Blackfeet Community College
Practical learning for Blackfeet communities.
ODL can help BFCC turn local ideas into projects students can build, test, and share. We bring support for community activities, engineering lessons, and everyday project planning.
01 / What ODL can bring
Build skills.
Bring people together.
Community building
Bring students, families, teachers, and local mentors together. Plan useful projects, family learning days, and events where students show their work.
We can prepare: event plans, mentor roles, and ways to hear community ideas.
Engineering + learning
Help teachers turn math and science into things students can see and try. Students draw an idea, build a model, test it, and improve it.
We can prepare: step-by-step lessons, design challenges, teacher guides, and project journals.
Project organization
Help the team agree who does each job and when. Track supplies, dates, student work, and next steps so everyone knows the plan.
We can prepare: schedules, task lists, meeting notes, and short progress reports.
The community sets the direction. BFCC teachers and leaders guide courses and teaching. Blackfeet representatives guide cultural content, language, stories, and permission to share them. ODL develops the support agreed with the team.
02 / Ideas to choose together
Real questions.
Hands-on answers.
These are project ideas to shape with BFCC teachers and community members.
Build a small bridge.
Draw a bridge, make a model, and test how much weight it holds. Measure the results and change the design. Students learn about shapes, forces, and materials.
Learn about water.
Use a simple model to see how water moves through land. Make a map, record measurements, and explain what the group found. Local questions guide the project.
Explore heat + motion.
Use teacher-led models to learn how heat moves and how parts work together. Compare designs and test ways to make them work better.
Tell the project’s story.
Use photos, drawings, or a short video to show the work. Practice explaining an idea clearly. Share people’s voices and knowledge with their permission.
BFCC chooses how projects fit its courses, student needs, and learning goals.
03 / A simple work plan
One project.
Clear jobs. Shared progress.
1. Listen + choose.
Ask what the community needs and what students want to learn. Choose one useful project and name a college lead and an ODL lead.
2. Make the plan.
Agree on the lessons, materials, dates, and each person’s job. Plan for safety and make it easy for students to take part.
3. Build + improve.
Try the project. Look at student work and hear feedback. Keep a short record of what worked and what to improve next time.
Learn about BFCC
Connect with the college.
BFCC brings Blackfeet culture and language together with learning for further study, work, and community life.
This ODL page describes support we can develop with the college. BFCC’s own website is the source for official college information.
Take the next step
Let’s choose something
useful to build.
Talk with Marc William Schaffer, Director of ODL, about a first project for BFCC students and the Blackfeet community.