5 February 2012 "No Teacher Left Inside!"

En Route!

Good weather in the winter is such a nice treat for the window-seated passenger, and I was not disappointed in my journey from Portland, OR to Fairbanks, AK for PolarTREC’s Teacher Orientation Week. Miles and miles of rumply mountains were spread out below with the moon blazing above after leaving Anchorage, and I can’t wait to see the transformation of the landscape come summer when I head up to Raven’s Bluff at the archaeology camp with Dr. Jeff Rasik. I arrived at the Westmark Hotel and then promptly braved the cold for Thai food, I walked about 10 minutes in the -5 weather and couldn’t believe our good fortune of just missing the -50 degree temperature experience, but the -5 even felt chilly over a 7-minute walk! Clothing is everything.

Meeting the Team

The next morning, I walked into a conference room full of enthusiastic, eager teachers from around the country ready to jump headlong into PolarTREC! I finally got to meet the amazing staff of ARCUS-- “It’s like Christmas!,” I told Janet Warburton, as I picked up my binder and information for the week-- who had prepared a great week of experiences for us. I thrive in research experiences for teachers, so to hear the history behind PolarTREC, as the program went “bi-polar” --going both poles!-- was fascinating to hear, as well as their charge, which is, ”Changing how science and educators do business!” Janet left our introduction with a great idea that’s really resonating with me; an apprenticeship with a subject matter expert during your credentialing process! Later, over ginormous lunch sandwiches, I really enjoyed the banter between two Einstein Fellows about work that is occurring (or not) in on Capitol Hill towards research experiences for teachers and science education outreach.

“No Teacher Left Inside!” Deanna Wheeler shared with us after lunch as a handful of PolarTREC alumni joined us for this week, and they shared all about their experiences-- bi-polar, of course-- with the new PolarTREC teachers at the orientation. After plenty of introduction games and sharing, each of the teachers (and Heidi Roop, one of our Researchers), shared their individual PolarTREC experiences with us, tips, and absolute inspirations, like outreach programs like “Polar Week” at your school. The best question from teachers: “So, how much underwear should I bring?” I believe Lindsey Knippenberg answered it best with, “It’s a strategy!” It’s only Day 2 in Alaska, and I’m already brimming with ideas for outreach, logistics, and for networking with such an amazing group of educators.