Small, sometimes multi-cultural, rural schools need specialized preservice teacher education programs to prepare teachers. After outlining the classroom, school, and sociocultural characteristics affecting a teacher's success and survival in a rural community, this paper discusses the apparent lack of rural content in teacher preparation programs…

This is the Teacher's Guide for six video programs: "Introduction to Ecosystems"; "Tundra"; "Coastal Forest"; "Oceans"; "Impact of Human Habitation"; and "Taiga". The programs are designed to fit into courses for students from grades five through high school in which ecology is taught.…

An overview is provided of the University of Alaska's Rural Education Division, which was created in 1975 in the wake of the discovery of oil on the North Slope, the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and the recognition of the need for more access to higher education by native and other rural residents. Introductory material…

The Alaska Science Pilot was a one-semester pilot study, undertaken from January to June of 1989 and funded largely by federal Migrant Funds. Students used the high school level general science course called "Alaska Science," which is comparised of ten 3-week text workbook units of study which deal primarily in Alaskan applications of…

Describes the process for curriculum development effectively used in a rural Alaskan school district and currently being applied in another recently created rural school district. Suggests its potential for adoption in other rural school districts is great. (AH)

Described is a program which includes a toolkit of user-friendly ideas for teachers and hands-on activities for elementary school children the purpose of which is to prepare students to make informed decisions about Alaska's mineral and energy resources. Discussed are the development, contents, and implementation of the program. (CW)

Designed to celebrate rural teachers' inventiveness and stimulate teacher thinking about opportunities that small schools offer, this booklet is a collection of ideas and resources that have worked in specific Alaska school settings. An introductory chapter challenges teachers to use small size to advantage. Chapter 2 shows what rural teachers are…

Key points of presentations are captured in this report of a conference which addressed issues of concern to educators in Alaska's small schools. A total of 119 presentations are briefly summarized. Contents are organized under five headings: effective leadership strategies, curriculum and instruction, computers and telecommunication, assessment,…

Award-winning economic education projects devised by Alaska teachers included three elementary (K-6) projects and three second level (7-12) ones. Faith Greenough's students (Chinook Elementary School, Anchorage) compared Tlingit traditional and market economies in Alaska, so economics became an integrated part of elementary instruction. Marie…