November 2002 ARM Climate Change Workshops

 
Published: 22 December 2002

Teacher measuring temperature as a part of the "Arctic Microclimates" Lesson.


Carrie Talus telling the participating teachers about the ARM Project and the ARM Education Program.

Laura Marsh and Carrie Talus of ARM Education recently presented teachers’ workshops in basic climate change science at three schools in the North Slope. Marsh’s presentations included a discussion of global climate change such as El Niño, sea level rise, global warming, ecology of climate change, and the greenhouse effect and the Bringing Climate Change into the Classroom handout. Talus and Marsh presented information on the ARM Program and the ARM Education Program. She also shared information about the Iñupiat traditional knowledge effort, which included inviting elders into the classroom to share what they know about climate and weather. During the workshop, the teachers also participated in hands-on activities on arctic microclimates, melting sea ice, insulating sea ice, and a computer lesson using real ARM data called “Comparing Temperature, Pressure, and Humidity.” A Pen Pal Program was also offerred to the teachers in an effort to start correspondence between students in the Arctic and the Tropical Western Pacific.

The North Slope Borough School District covers the top of Alaska and is entirely above the Arctic Circle. Its boundaries are the same as those of the North Slope Borough, covering 88,000 square miles. It is 650 miles from east to west, making it the largest school district in the U.S. The school district has eight widely spread villages and is primarily Iñupiat Eskimo. The November 2002 ARM Education workshops were held for Eben Hopson Middle School teachers in Barrow, science teachers at Alak School (K-12) in Wainwright, and all teachers at Meade River School (K-12) in Atqasuk. At the workshop, teachers received ARM Education curriculum books, science posters for their classrooms, an ARM Education totebag, and other education materials.