MAPTEACH: LINKING GEOSCIENCE, GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND LOCAL LANDSCAPE KNOWLEDGE TO EXPLORE REAL-WORLD COMMUNITY ISSUES

MapTEACH (Mapping Technology Experiences with Alaska's Cultural Heritage) is an NSF-funded collaborative project between the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and the University of Wisconsin Environmental Remote Sensing Center to develop a field-geoscience outreach program for middle- and high-school students and teachers in rural Alaska. MapTEACH draws upon the combined expertise of teachers, education researchers, remote sensing specialists, geoscience professionals, local experts, and others with traditions-based knowledge. Students and teachers will build upon local expert knowledge regarding the landscape as they explore ways to integrate and document local and geologic knowledge through the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Students and teachers will learn to make maps through hands-on experience with geoscience and geospatial technology, including GPS, GIS, and remote sensing imagery. Since participants will work directly with DGGS geologists, they will be presented with a chance to authentically emulate scientific activities at a novice level, using real data in a real-world setting. Concurrently, DGGS is learning to incorporate culturally responsive education and outreach into its geological practices when working in rural Alaskan communities. MapTEACH seeks to provide curriculum that is directly applicable to community understanding of landscape processes and natural hazards in rural Alaska, relates modern science and information technology to traditional knowledge, and will foster an appreciation of state-of-the-art technology tools and data sets that can be applied to informed community planning and decision making. We are taking an inquiry-based approach that will allow students and teachers to use GIS technology and local landscape knowledge to explore local community problems relating to permafrost, coastal processes and/or river processes. We are currently recruiting students and teachers in rural northwestern Alaska to take part in the first curriculum pilot session, scheduled to be held in Nome, Alaska, in June 2006.