Student-PARTNERS: A Pan-Arctic Science and Education Collaboration

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Rivers are a key component linking land and ocean in the arctic system. The STUDENT-PARTNERS Project unites students, teachers, and scientists to study the role of rivers in the Arctic System and creates an innovative and effective education and outreach program. By partnering with K-12 grade students and teachers living beside the largest arctic rivers in Russia, Canada, and Alaska, researchers are able to obtain high frequency river water samples that are needed to understand hydrologic and biogeochemical fluxes in the river systems. In the process, a multinational arctic river observing network will be developed involving Russia, Canada and the U.S. Frequent and ongoing measurements of material flux in major arctic rivers are critical for investigating land-ocean linkage in the Arctic and for understanding the impact of climate change on the Arctic System; yet, no long-term project is investigating the major arctic rivers in a coordinated fashion. The six arctic rivers included in the Student PARTNERS project (Yenisey, Lena, Ob' in Russia,Mackenzie in Canada, Yukon and Colville in Alaska) together account for more than half of riverine freshwater entering the Arctic Ocean and their combined watershed area is greater than 11 million square kilometers. Therefore, data collected will provide an integrated view of biogeochemical and hydrological processes occurring over a huge area. Furthermore, the Student PARTNERS project is designed such that the multinational community-based arctic river observing network will be sustainable for the long-term. This is important because long-term observations will be needed to determine how arctic rivers are responding to climate change. Through involvement in sampling, sample analysis, and data interpretation, students and teachers at the study sites will come to appreciate the pivotal role "their" rivers play in the Arctic System. They will have frequent and ongoing interactions with project scientists and educators, thus becoming active participants in an international scientific endeavor. Inquiry will be stressed, and project content/concepts will be linked to the National Science Education Standards. At the same time, project scientists and educators will be responsive to needs of the local communities. Project assessment activities will define characteristics and approaches that lead to successful student-teacher-scientist partnerships. In this way, the project will add to the educational research base and provide a model that can be applied elsewhere.A great diversity of students and teachers will be involved in the Student PARTNERS project. Minority participants will include Nganasan, Nenet, Entsy, Evenki, Dolgan, Sakha, Khanty, and Komi students in Russia, Inuvialuit and Gwich'en students in Canada, Yupik and Inupiat students in Alaska, and Black and Latino students through a collaboration with the Roxbury Preparatory School in Massachusettes. By facilitating communication and collaboration among students and teachers at the different study sites, the project will foster an appreciation of the cultural links among students throughout the Arctic. An indigenous curriculum developer will translate the science into culturally relevant science education materials that meet national standards. Through community presentations, media contacts, and the project web site, students and adults who live outside of the Arctic will also be exposed to the unique importance of the Arctic. An additional collaborator will develop an online teacher enhancement module that presents the research on arctic rivers as a current, globally relevant unit on geoscience education with hands-on curriculum materials for use in the classroom. This project truly integrates research with education where the students become the scientists collecting an unprecedented data set on the freshwater inputs of the Arctic Ocean.