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University of North Dakota
  • Employee Resources
    • Job Openings
    • Benefits
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  • Joshua Hunter
Joshua Hunter

Joshua Hunter

PhD
  • Associate Professor, Education, Health & Behavior
    • Ethnography, Outdoor and Environmental Education, Outdoor Leadership, Place-based Education

Contact Info

  • Email: joshua.hunter@UND.edu
  • Office: 701.777.3582
  • Dept: 701.777.2171

Office Address

Education Building Room 372
231 Centennial Drive Stop 7189
Grand Forks, ND 58202-7189

Curriculum Vitae

  • Curriculum Vitae

Biography

I am a Qualitative Research methodologist, with extensive experience in ethnography, phenomenology and narrative inqury. I earned his PhD from Indiana University in History, Philosophy and Policy Studies with a focus on anthropology and international comparative education. Additionally I have worked in the field of Outdoor and Environmental Education for over twenty years, across multiple educational settings, both formal and nonformal, and with diverse populations and multigenerational groups. I taught environmental education in pre K-12 schools tailoring lessons to state standards, worked as a park interpretive naturalist, led wilderness experiences for young adults as a wilderness guide, and have worked with non-profit outdoor education organizations. Additionally, I spent several years in Cleveland developing and building learning gardens and outdoor natural areas for elementary schools to foster outdoor experiences for children. I hold certifications as an Interpretive Guide and Interpretive Guide Trainer with the National Association for Interpretation.

I am the program director for the immersive and experiential minor in Outdoor Leadership and Environmental Education. The minor provides a wide range of experiences in outdoor settings including study abroad opportunities and national certifications.

My research concerns place-based education, outdoor experiences and play for children and wilderness experiences for young adults in remote, wilderness settings. I am the co-director for the GroUND Learning Gardens Project. Located in the heart of UND's campus, GroUND Learning Gardens provide place-based, nature learning opportunities for our campus and the broader regional community to foster stewardship, sustainability and deep connections to the natural world. I continue to work with regional nonprofit organizations dedicated to outdoor education for children and adults and conservation oriented projects.

Qualitative Research Methods

Ethnographic Research Methods

Outdoor Leadership

Environmental Education 

Ecological Foundations of Education

Ethnography

Narrative

Place-Based Education

Outdoor, Environmental, and Expeditionary Education

Wilderness Experiences

Natural History Interpretation

Sense of Place

Selected Publications:

Butz, N., Hunter, J.E., Fisher, E. (2023). Beyond the Ice: Applying lessons from leadership in polar explorations to professional settings. The Journal of Values-Based Leadership, 16(2).

de Silva, R., Hunter, J.E. (2021) Unlocking the metaphor in Native and Indigenous Hawaiian storytelling: Puhi in the Tree and other stories. The Qualitative Report, 26(6), 1932-1961.

Hunter, J.E., Syversen, K., Graves, C., & Bodensteiner, A. (2020). Spontaneous teaching: Adult perspectives of educational practice and children’s play in outdoor environments. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education 7(2).

Felege, C., Romsdahl, R., Hunter, J.E., Hunter, C., & Ellis-Felege, S. (2019). Immersive field experiences lead to higher level learning and more translational impact on students. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 9(3), 286-296.

Felege, C., Hunter, C., Hunter, J.E., Felege, S. (2018). Pedagogy and practice in STEM field experiences: Intersections of student and mentor identity and impacts upon student outcomes. Journal of Education for Teaching44(4)DOI: 10.1080/02607476.1450818

Hunter, J.E., Graves, C., & Bodensteiner, A. (2017). Adult Perspectives on Structured vs. Unstructured Play in Early Childhood Environmental Education.  International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education. 5(1), 89-92.

Hunter, J. E. (2016). Naturalists and meaning making: An ethnographic report from the field. Journal of Interpretation Research, 21(1).

Hunter, J. E. (2015) Intersubjective sensibilities: memory, experience, and meaning in natural history interpretation. The Qualitative Report, 20(7), 1046-1061.

Hunter, J. E. (2014). A walk in the woods: Re-membering a place to teach preservation. Ethnography and Education. 10(2), 154-169.

Hunter, J.E. (2012). Towards a cultural analysis: The need for ethnography in interpretation research. Journal of Interpretation Research. 17(2), 47-58.

Selected Presentations:

Hunter, C.A., Hunter, J.E., Anderson, L., Moroney-Fernandez, M. Provocative pedagogy: What interpretive methods offer in traditional education spaces. STEM Conference, Pages and Pathways. College of Education and Human Development, UND. Grand Forks, ND. August 1, 2024.

Robinson, J., Hunter, J.E. ISK RIG Administrative Symposium: Embedding Indigenous science knowledge and ways of knowing to promote biocultural diversity and sustainability. National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Annual Conference. Denver, CO. March 17-20, 2024.

Robinson, J., Hunter, J.E. ISK RIG Administrative Session: Science education, a public good for the good of the public? Contributing Indigenous Methodologies to Teaching, Learning and Research. Exploring the Potential of Locally- and Globally-Valued Knowledges. National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Annual Conference. Chicago, Il. April 18-21, 2023.

Hunter, J.E., Robinson, J., Bladow, J., Schlenker, J. (2021) Collaborative learning gardens: Establishing community connections between UND’s College of Education and Human Development and Valley Middle School (Poster Presentation). Place-Based Symposium, Hosted by Teton Science Schools. Virtual, April 19-23, 2021.

Robinson, J., Hunter, J.E., Gourneau, B., Bonson, A. (2021) Developing Indigenous students’ STEM identities through a phenomenon-based approach: Integrating STREAM curriculum in the elementary classroom. National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST). Virtual, April 7-10, 2021.

Felege, Christopher, Hunter, C.A., Hunter, J.E., Felege, Susan. Immersive Field Experiences as Part of the Curriculum. Wildlife Society and American Fisheries Society. Reno, NV. September 29-October 3, 2019.

de Silva, R., & Hunter, J.E. Unlocking the metaphor in Native (K?naka ‘?iwi) and Indigenous (K?naka Maoli) Hawaiian women’s storytelling. Qualitative Research Study (Paper). Roundtable Session, Setting the Record Straight in the Post-Truth Era: The Importance of Indigenous Research and Praxis, American Educational Research Association (AERA), Annual Meeting. Toronto, Ontario. April 5-9, 2019.

Graves, C., Syversen, K., Hunter, J.E. Engagement and risk: A study of one Outdoor classroom and early childhood experiences learning in nature. Ethnographic and Qualitative Research Conference. Las Vegas, NV. February 25-28, 2018.

de Silva, R., Hunter, J.E. How narrative research resounds with Native and Indigenous ways of knowing to de-colonize education. Ethnographic and Qualitative Research Conference. Las Vegas, NV. February 25-28, 2018.

Butz, N. T., & Hunter, J.E. Microhistories, knowledge acquisition, and experience upon the ice: Lessons from polar expeditions for outdoor education. Paper presented at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point Annual Teaching Conference, Stevens Point, WI. January 18, 2017.

Hunter, J.E. Interpretation in the Heart of the Wilderness: Ethnographic research and wilderness education on Isle Royale National Park. National Association for Interpretation, International Conference, Los Cabos, Mexico. March 17-23, 2017.

Hunter, J.E. Intersubjective sensibilities: Memory, experience, and meaning in natural history interpretation. American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, Denver, CO. November 19-22.    

Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG), National Association for Interpretation

Certified Interpretive Trainer (CIT), National Association for Interpretation

Ph.D. History, Philosophy, and Policy Studies (2012)

Dept: Education Leadership and Policy Studies, School of Education, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

Concentration: International and Comparative Education

Minor: Anthropology

Dissertation Title: A Pedagogy of emplacement: Experiential storytelling and sense of place education in park interpretive programs

M.P.A. Environmental Policy and Studies (2001)

School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

B.A. History (with Honors) (1994)

Butler University, Indianapolis, IN

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