VIRTUAL INVESTIGATIONS IN ALASKA’S CHANGING CLIMATE, LANDSCAPE, AND CULTURE

Native Alaskan lifestyles are closely tied to subsistence hunting and gathering. As the effects of global warming increase, the impacts on local plants and animals that are harvested for food becomes a great concern. Students who practice subsistence lifestyles have access to traditional ecological knowledge about their environment, but often lack the skills to communicate how both western science and traditional knowledge can be used to support claims regarding the impacts of continued global warming on their lifestyles. The Real Earth Inquiry Project provides a set of tools and strategies that help teachers design Virtual Field Experiences. Students throughout western Alaska using these tools to connect with scientists and students to deepen their skills in developing evidence based claims on climate change.

PRI’s Real Earth Inquiry Project provides a set of tools and strategies that help teachers design Virtual Field Experiences. Students throughout western Alaska using these tools to connect with scientists and students to deepen their skills in developing evidence based claims on climate change. By developing and sharing VFE’s, these students immerse themselves in the study of the local environment and create a way of sharing that knowledge with others across the state and, potentially, around the world. The VFE itself serves as a standalone resources that others can learn from. Plans are underway to connect students around the state and perhaps with others beyond the state via live video link, where the participants will teach one another about their local environments. Educator partners will likely include other participants in the ReaL Earth Inquiry Project, and perhaps drawn from educators attending the session.