Relevant Education for Local Alaska TEaching

A community of teachers, community members, students, and researchers working to integrate local Alaskan culture into rural Alaskan classrooms.

What is RELATE?

A collaborative team of teachers, community members, students, and researchers working together to develop activities for math and science rural Alaskan classrooms. Drawing on principles of Culturally Relevant Education (CRE), the team will integrate local culture and values into inquiry activities that relate to everyday life in Arctic Alaska.

Culturally Relevant Education

A pedagogical framework that recognizes, respects, and uses students' culture and backgrounds as resources for developing inclusive learning environments (Aronson and Laughter, 2016). Culturally Relevant Education seeks to 1) develop connections between cultural references and academic skills and concepts; 2) engage students in critical reflection about the world around them; 3) facilitate cultural competence; and 4) identify and dismantle oppressive systems through critique of discourses of power.

Community-based Design

Stakeholders in education, including teachers, students, and community members, work together to create curricula that serve local youth and community.



Information for teachers

We are recruiting teachers to participate in collaborative community based design. We invite teachers from any discipline teaching at a rural Alaskan school.


Reach out if you are interested in:

  1. Partnering to develop science and math inquiry activities that honor local traditions and Indigenous ways of knowing

  2. Connecting with scientists to bring examples of how science is conducted in their community

  3. Talking to our team about your experience teaching in rural Alaska

  4. Participating in a community of teachers, community members, students, and researchers from the North Slope working to modify and develop inquiry activities for your classroom


Information for community members

We are looking for community members who are interested in working with teachers and scientists to integrate Alaskan culture and values into classroom activities.


Please reach out if you are interested in:

  1. Partnering to develop science and math inquiry activities that honor local traditions and Indigenous ways of knowing

  2. Participating in a community of teachers, community members, students, and researchers from the North Slope working to modify and develop inquiry activities for your classroom

Questions?

Go to the contact page to submit questions.

Funded by the National Science Foundation
DRL CAREER grant #2045505