MODULE EIGHT

Explain

It was interesting to me to see earth’s systems related to the human body. I was able to visualize the white-hat/arctic icecap analogy, but I have to admit I did get stuck trying to figure out the Antarctic analogy. I tried to make it click when I saw the video of the polar bear boots with sealskin bottom that a man’s mother had made for him: big white hat, big white snowboots…but the boots are to keep his feet warm, while the hat is to reflect the heat of the sun. Clearly, I still have a way to go before I’m able to teach it to anyone—luckily, when I offer Alaska Studies, we’re not quite so detailed in the science. But information about the importance of sea ice was not difficult to understand. 

I appreciated being able to concentrate on the Bering Straits region. Some years ago, I visited Savoonga for a couple of days in February. Doing a bit of research on the village of Shishmaref reminded me of that visit.  

People who live in the region of study are most often the best authorities, whether the subject is sea ice, climate change, history, cultural practices, weather…any subject. When preparing lessons, I often have to remind myself of the difference between theory and practice, and allow myself to remember the many times that practical knowledge has illuminated, completed, and occasionally even trumped theory. But for the topics at hand, everyone seems to agree. Here's a link to the testimony of the Shishmaref Erosion and Relocation Coalition given to the U.S. Senate in 2004:

http://www.kawerak.org/tribalHomePages/shiscoal/testimony.pdf

I have to say that I very much enjoyed the Steven Maclean video, especial his comment that we must “never separate the people from the natural systems.” Brilliant and profound. That concept alone can fill my thoughts for days.

Extend

 

I found a Noaa report card with a short video that illustrates the great cause for concern. This report could be helpful to lessons about sea ice, especially with its plain format and relatable title.

But many times, it’s all about fun: I clicked the “for beginners” button on the "Great Graph Match" and got first one wrong. This activity asks the participant to match the data to the correct biome.

 

But I got the first two correct for the second activity (“To Plant or Not to Plant”), which asks participants to match the plant with the climate, giving me a 2-1 record and the chance to take a break while I was ahead.

And I found this video not only fun, but proud and meaningful as well: The First Dance. Someone might wonder what relation these sites have to sea ice and the rest of the cryosphere. But since our first lessons emphasized that everything is connected, I feel pretty good about including them here this week. Finally, this site on outreach and education was very helpful to increasing my ability to develop lessons, especially the “other resources” at the bottom of the page.

Extend (extended)

As I was studying these concepts, it occurred to me that I learn more easily when I study the process first and am told the label for it after I understand how it works. I realized that I sometimes do that in my own courses, where I offer students information on technique but sometimes don’t worry about telling them if it’s called a predicate or a nominative.

Of course, many times the name of the concept or process is helpful—coordinating conjunction and thesis statement jump to mind—but not in every case. I wondered if sometimes it’s more natural to learn how something works and then to learn its label, much like when we give children a taste of something and then tell them what it’s called. Halibut cheeks! Pumpkin pie! Albedo!

http://on.yakimablogs.com

Evaluate

While I was researching the Bering Strait communities and school district, I was struck by my own memories of Savoonga and by some of the research on the consequences of recruiting authority figures from outside the cultural area to be served. Sometimes it seems that there’s a practice of assuming and actively expecting that village teachers will be moving to Alaska--from somewhere outside Alaska. How, I wondered, does that assumption impact the teacher turnover rate, and how does that turnover rate impact the education that village students receive? Yet there's lots of information available on how best to serve village students and to honor local cultures, e.g., on the website for the Alaska Native Knowledge Network. My hope is to see information such as this on cultural standards included in info-sheets for prospective teachers who are not from the local area.

Blogs

Konrad provides helpful explanations, especially for someone who finds the subjects challenging. I really liked the virtual tunnel pic!

Janet raises interesting question about Alaska snowfall & vegetation that sent me on a very interesting, long web journey. She also includes lots of information on helpful projects & student activities.

Alicia had me at her title, and the rest of her blog is just as good. Creative, helpful, and interesting!