Arctic Connections: An Interactive CD-ROM Program for Secondary Science Education

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9818837ELIASThis proposal will produce a CD-ROM that incorporates an inquiry-based approach designed to stimulate interest in science among Alaskan native middle school students. Alaskan natives are under-represented in the scientific community; many avoid science, and some drop out of high school in part because content is delivered with a Eurocentric, rather than native, emphasis. Typically, scientists from the lower US collect data in the arctic during the summer (when children are out of school), and the resulting interpretation is not shared with the people of the arctic. The CD-ROM to be developed uses an innovative approach to "hook" the students' interest by showing the intersection and interaction of native environmental knowledge with the "modern" approach to scientific understanding. Many examples in mainstream texts and lab manuals are not relevant to students living in Alaska, thereby creating disinterest in science. This proposal will remedy that situation by making the content not only relevant, but also familiar and exciting at the same time. The CD-ROM will contain 1) story modules which discuss both scientific and native ways of understanding (with an option to choose among multiple storytellers), 2) twelve teaching modules with classroom lessons followed by adventure stories with scientific content and problem solving relevant to arctic communities, and 3) laboratory activities which include protocols for hands-on experiments and interpretation of existing data. The modules will be linked to a web site maintained by the University of Colorado as well as other web sites. The scientific content will be broad, including geology, biology, astronomy, climatology, earth science, etc. The production of the CD-ROM will take four years, using an iterative evaluation and revision process. 500 copies of the CD-ROM will be distributed to classrooms in Alaska at a nominal cost, and the product will be advertised at national and regional meetings of NSTA and other educational organizations.