School of Education faculty at ICASS IX
September 22, 2017
Five School of Education faculty presented their research at the ninth International
Congress of Arctic Social Sciences at Sweden's Umeå University in June. More than
800 scientists, researchers and stakeholders representing 24 nations attended the
event.
Ute Kaden presented “Preparing GeoStem Teachers for the Arctic Region,” the results
of a three-year NSF project to increase the number and diversity of STEM teachers
in Alaska. Kaden and Joanne Healy also presented results from their NSF teacher-retention
grant. Teacher retention rates (2009-2013) vary widely over time, showing no significant
trends in Arctic Alaska Native communities. Results confirm that teacher turnover
in rural districts is higher than in urban school districts. Teacher retention and
attrition are multidimensional issues requiring better communication patterns and
shared responsibilities between rural school districts, local administrators, teachers,
community members and university-based teacher preparation programs.
Jerry Lipka chaired a session and presented “The Center and the Beginning of Everything:
Mathematics Emerging from Indigenous Knowledge,” which connected Yupiaq epistemology
and spatial-locomotive systems with standards-based mathematics instruction.
Sean Topkok presented a plenary session titled, “What Is the Role of Education and Education Research in Advancing Understandings of the Arctic?” Topkok also presented on cultural atlases as a pedagogical tool.
Douglas Cost presented on a research project called “Arctic Futures Makers,” which engaged Northwest Arctic Borough high school students in thinking about their and their communities’ health, resilience and futures to 2040.
ICASS X will take place at Northern (Arctic) Federal University in Archangelsk, Russia.
For more information, contact Douglas Cost at 907-474-1556 or dscost@alaska.edu.