NPRB Co-Sponsors Arctic Ocean Workshop

By Jamal Moss from the Northwest Explorer

Fun photos from Barrow May 18-23.

NPRB co-sponsored a recent workshop that brought together Arctic scientists and educators from the North Slope and elsewhere in the United States to develop lessons about the Arctic Ocean. The workshop was organized in collaboration with the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS), the Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE) Alaska, and the Alaska Ocean Observing System (AOOS).NPRB Arctic Program Manager, Danielle Dickson, participated in the workshop May 18 – 23 in Barrow, Alaska.

Among the participants were several scientists who are actively engaged in Arctic research, educators from the North Slope Borough School District representing a variety of grade levels, and teachers from outside of Alaska who have participated in the PolarTREC (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) program. Researcher-teacher pairs who formed lasting relationships through PolarTREC shared their experiences and inspired North Slope teachers to reach out to the scientists who frequent the Alaska Arctic to bring Arctic science into their classrooms. Local Barrow community members including elders and whaling captains also shared their wisdom.

The incorporation of traditional knowledge and the importance of putting lessons into context using local examples figured prominently in the workshop. The teachers from the North Slope Borough School District developed lessons based on the Iñupiaq Learning Framework that is currently being implemented. Lessons were developed for many different grade levels from kindergarten to high school and their focus ranged from basic Arctic Ocean food webs to the potential effects of changing environmental conditions on the balance of ecosystems. The finished products will be made available on the ARCUS website in early July.