Module III

Glacier Bay National Park

Essential Question Redux: How are landscapes formed and how, in turn, are cultures shaped by their landscapes?


Explain:
One landscape that has awed me from the first time I learned about the effects of the landscape on the culture of this region is Glacier Bay, Alaska. This landmass lies on continental plates that are converging which causes erosion from movement of the glaciers that once covered the land. This erosion and receding of the glacier ice is leaving behind erratic geological features and carving out valleys that are forming the beautiful landscapes that we see today.
My first exposure to how this landscape formation directly affects the culture of an area was during my undergraduate program at UAS. I was working on a summer research program with Cathy Connor. She required that we kayak around the islands in Glacier Bay and take tree core, invertebrate, and sediment samples, as well as GPS points of each sample and physical markers that we felt had scientific significance. The purpose of this study was not to simply provide more data to researchers about the regression of the glaciers in Glacier Bay (numerous studies about that exist and are on-going), but to find scientific evidence to support the rate of regression that had been orally expressed by the indigenous people of this region. Put another way, we were to provide scientific evidence for the human history of this region with our study, The Neoglacial Landscape and Human History of Glacier Bay, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Southeast Alaska, USA.

Glacier, Glacier Bay AK

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I remember thinking how amazing it was that I was earning college credit to kayak around this beautiful and pristine area that I knew very little about. The research that I was taking part in had no true meaning to me at the time, and

I did not realize the significance of our work until I spoke to some elders about this experience later on in my life. It was through this discussion that I realized what an impact this study had on bringing the scientific and indigenous communities together to work side by side. This data provided the scientific community with culturally and scientifically relevant insights and a more well represented oral history than what they had available before. It validated the indigenous peoples stories with scientific data to support their oral history. I now recognize the importance of providing these two very important modes of shared information with a connection. On their own, the science of how and why the glaciers are receding and the oral history of the changes that have occurred in Glacier Bay are intriguing. Yet if we can combine these two ways of knowing to offer support and validity to one another, then we are only strengthening the knowledge that we can share with the next generations.

Evaluate:
While getting lost in the exploration of Google Earth I recognized the expanded knowledge that this resource can bring to my classroom. The use of Google Earth encompasses not only the availability of exploring different parts of the earth in great detail, but introducing my students to a new and ever-changing technology while providing them with the confidence to explore and play with an amazing program. I very much like the idea of giving my students a scavenger hunt that would allow them to explore all that Google Earth has to offer while exposing them to new places around the globe! What an exciting and worthwhile tool that I can use with my students, or as an extension for many projects.

Image: Glacier Bay National Park from https://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.glacier-bay.html
Image: Glacier from http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org/photos/GlacierBay3.jpg

Module VI

Sunrise Akiak, AK

Essential Question:
How are the Earth, atmosphere and cultures all connected?

Explain:
While traveling on an exchange to Akiak, Alaska last year I was lucky enough to experience these connections first hand. I remember walking to the school early in the morning with my students and wanting to get a picture of the sunrise. My five students and I bundled up and walked out to the front of the school to see the sunrise and we were awed by its beauty. It had such beautiful vibrant colors, and although we were all very cold we stood outside together and watched the sun rise above the trees. As I was working through this module it struck me that at the time I did not recognize the significance of this experience. I now understand how something that I considered so beautiful then is a significantly different importance to me as an educator.
This experience is something that I can bring back to my students not just as an image, but with a story. With this story I can teach not only the scientific significance of this experience, but how something so beautiful can be such an important indicator to the indigenous people of that region. I can explain how this sunrise is created by the particles of pollution trapped within the atmosphere (transported here from various regions such as North America, Europe and China). I can teach about the atmospheric process that pushes the equatorial or lower latitude warm air towards the poles which creates a belt of subtropical high pressure system which ultimately comes in contact with the Polar Front (creating very complex wind patterns). These wind patterns that are drawing air from other regions of the world end up bringing that air, and any pollutants in it, to the Arctic regions.

Global Circulation


This phenomena indicates how important it is to have an understanding of how the Earth’s processes work because they are directly connected to the atmospheric processes that influence the changes occurring in all regions of the world. Whether it be a change in the seasonal weather patterns, the migratory patterns of animals due to these changes, or the direction of the surface winds that will in-turn alter Earth’s weather patterns, we must recognize that every natural process can alter the process somewhere else. It is essential that we understand that by increasing our influence on these natural processes with our activities, we will impact the natural flow of the Earth in ways that we may not understand until much later. The beautiful sunrise in Akiak, for example, should not have been so beautiful.

Evaluate:
While taking in the vast amount of information through this module, I found myself being excited by the quality and number of its great resources - and even more excited by the array of resources I found while exploring “teachers domain” and the NASA website. Amidst my excitement, I was taken aback by the realization that although I knew much of this information I lacked the “stuff” that makes the passing of information and knowledge exciting and engaging… until now! Being a new teacher I know that I will build a mecca of resources throughout the years, but for me it is not about quantity – it’s all about quality. This class has introduced me to a pool of resources that will allow me to diversify my teaching and provide me with updated data and information. This will allow me to quit spending my time “recreating the wheel” and spend more time differentiating my instruction. This also made me reconsider how I classify resources. As I explained above, I need to remember that a simple photo or recollection of an experience is enough to get our brains processing. We do not always have to have bells and whistles to engage learners.

Module V

Essential Question: How are climate, cultures and oceans all connected?

Explain:
It is intriguing to me how those of us that grew up on the coast often times forget that there is a very large population of people that have no concept of how the oceans are directly related to our climate patterns and how dependent our region’s culture is on the interaction of both. This is knowledge that I take for granted. Through this module, I have become aware of how this cultural and scientific knowledge is ingrained in my way of life. I often forget that not all people have this understanding. I have learned about this interconnectedness through my formal studies at the university, through my life experience while growing up here in Southeast Alaska, and lastly through my experiences as an educator in Alaska.
Through all of my experiences I have learned that the ocean dictates the success and survival of the indigenous ways of life. Whether it be the people that depend on the “red fish”, the people that provide for their families with the seal meat, the people that wait to harvest the seaweed, or the people that depend on the white fish to help them through the winter. All of these resources are used to help families have enough throughout the year, and all of these resources are dependent on the temperature, density and flow of the oceans.
The climate has a direct correlation to altering these important components of the ocean (temperature, density, flow). Any changes in climate can be directly measured through changes within the ocean. Without consistency within our regional climates we will see changes that can effect the oceans and in turn will cause changes within the dependency that the indigenous people have on the their surroundings. Whether or not these changes will adversely effect the ecosystem depends on the viewpoint of the people being affected. In the video, “A Subsistence Culture Impacted by Climate Change” by Arctic Athabascan Council, the connection between climate, ocean and culture is very clear that impacts due to changes in climate are causing the Athabaskan people to struggle and adapt to their ever-changing environment. This is just one example of the interconnectedness of the climate, oceans and different cultures around the globe and how these changes can alter the success and survival of a people.

Extend:
After watching the video, “A Subsistence Culture Impacted by Climate Change” by Arctic Athabaskan Council, I began to think about some of the changes that have been recognized and documented by my regional indigenous people: the Tlingit and Haida.. After searching online for any hint of documentation of indigenous stories or any mention of documentation about climate change, it became very obvious that no stories have been written down. Although, I have personally heard stories from Elders in Southeast about the changes they have seen: how the red fish don’t swim up the warm rivers, or how the salmonberry patches have become less dense and the berries themselves have become small. Even though I know these observations have happened and the knowledge has been shared orally, I find myself disappointed to find no documentation of these changes. I feel grateful that this documentation is becoming more prevalent, and I look forward to the Southeast culture being represented within this array of knowledge.

Evaluate:
With the use of the videos from Teachers Domain it was refreshing to have the information represented by an assortment of points-of-view. I appreciated the video on Dolly Garza and her research. It is important to recognize the connections between the climate, oceans, and culture and their impacts on particular species. Yet, the video, “Warmer Oceans Affect Food Web” by WGBH Educational Foundation, provides us with a perspective that makes us consider the effects of human impacts and how this may amplify the effects of naturally occurring changes. This ties in the idea that although we have to consider all the connections, it is imperative that we recognize why these changes are occurring. Ultimately, we must consider our choices and how immediate or long term the effects of our current decisions may be. I believe this is best summarized by the Native American Proverb, “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”


Image by: Alaska in pictures

Module II: Part IV

Essential Question: How is everything connected from the perspectives of indigenous peoples and Western scientists? What are the advantages to knowing both ways?

Engage:

“How strange that Nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude!” ~ Emily Dickinson

Engage:
I believe that the ability of the indigenous Peoples and Western scientists to coexist is well-represented within this quote by Emily Dickinson. It is very important that we find the usefulness of both traditional knowledge of the indigenous and the analytical knowledge of science. While finding ways to represent these two different views of science, it is imperative that we respect and maintain an open mind about the two different methods of understanding and explaining the processes of the natural world.

Explain:
The idea of interconnectedness that is represented in the indigenous peoples lives was very well depicted in the video “The Spirit of Subsistence Living.” The video was the recognition of Alaska Native cultural ways and how these methods of survival are truly an appreciation of their surroundings and the spirits that provide them with life. The indigenous people take what they need, but are sure to give back to these resources and provide their giver with a spiritual appreciation. It is humbling to recognize that what we “Westerners” view as “survival” is looked at as a way of being - a culture - that is desired and respected by those that live it.

This same interconnectedness in Western science is shown within the video “String Theory: A Strange New World.” Through this video we see how closely the relationships between two complex units of science, such as gravity and electromagnetism, can be analyzed. Although they can be looked at separately, they are better understood by looking at them in conjunction with each other. It is important that we recognize the relationship between these two studies of science in-order to be aware of the multi-disciplined world of physics. If we study these sciences as individual units we, as scientists, will miss the bigger picture of science as a whole.

Extend:
While currently teaching middle school science I constantly struggle with the fact that I have to cover so many different units of science from all different disciplines. I do not struggle because it is difficult to teach the different units but because I feel that I fall short when trying to find some “connectedness” between the units. I do not want it to seem as though I am ending “Weather and Climate” and beginning “Forces and Motion”, but the reality is that is exactly what I do. I close that unit folder, I put the textbooks in the storage closet and I move on to new concepts. How do I create a connection between the individual disciplines of science that engages higher levels of thinking yet solidifies the traditional science idea that all sciences are connected?


Evaluate:
As I work on this blog I realize that I need to incorporate more indigenous methods of knowing into my science curriculum, and that this transition can be used to truly push my students to recognize some of their own cultural ways of knowing. I think this is the first step towards exposing my students to alternative methods of knowing and learning.