This collaborative research project entitled "Place-based Geospatial Science Learning and Applications in Rural Alaska" is a youth-based ITEST Program addressing math, science and cultural content areas. With the support of ten partner organizations, program participants engage in the application of marketable geospatial information technology (IT) fluencies situated in culturally relevant contexts, resulting in more informed decision-making regarding the sustainable use of natural resources in rural Alaskan communities. In regions characterized by high dropout rates, poor standardized test scores and struggling cash economies, 160 secondary students -- mostly Native Alaskans -- and 16 teachers work closely with scientists for a total of 19,200 and 1,920 contact hours, respectively. By the project's end 3,319 students -- including 2,025 Native Alaskans and 243 teachers -- will have access to locally and culturally relevant IT curriculum facilitated by web-served imagery, geographic information systems (GIS) data and field kits available for loan. The program integrates geospatial IT and local traditional knowledge of landscape features into standards-based curriculum. Students synthesize concepts from Native American cartography, geomorphology, topographic and geologic map interpretation, remotely sensed data interpretation and GIS during a capstone field experience emphasizing landscape evaluation. The project incorporates the expertise of teachers, education researchers, remote sensing specialists, geoscience professionals, Native Elders and others with traditions-based knowledge into innovative pedagogical approaches meeting the needs of rural Alaskan communities. Analyses of these approaches and practices by researchers will provide new models for enhancing learning in meaningful contexts.
