Keynote & Plenary Sessions

Keynote address

Saturday night
7:00pm to 9:30pm
Elementary School Gym

Dr. Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley

Alaska Native Knowledge Network
Fairbanks, AK

Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley was born at Mamterilleq, now known as Bethel, Alaska, where he was raised by a grandmother who encouraged his obtaining a western education, along with the education he received as a Yupiaq child in the camps along the rivers of Southwest Alaska. Although this created conflicting values and caused confusion for him for many years, he feels he has come full circle and is now researching to find ways in which his Yupiaq peoples' language and culture can be used in the classroom to meld the modern ways to the Yupiaq thought world. Along the way, he has completed four university degrees, including a Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia. He recently retired as an associate professor of education at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Dr. Ray Barnhardt

Alaska Native Knowledge Network
Fairbanks, AK

Ray Barnhardt is a professor of cross-cultural studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he has been involved in teaching and research related to Native education issues since 1970. Over the past 35 years, he has served as the director of the Cross-Cultural Education Development (X-CED) Program, the Small High Schools Project, the Center for Cross-Cultural Studies, the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative and the Alaska Native Knowledge Network. His research interests include Indigenous knowledge systems, Native teacher education, distance/distributed/higher education, small school curriculum, and institutional adaptations to rural and cross-cultural settings. His experiences in education beyond Alaska range from teaching mathematics in Baltimore, Maryland to research in Canada, Iceland, India, Malawi, Zimbabwe and New Zealand.

Plenary Sessions

Ecosystem Services: Tools to Quantify Economic Value

Dr. Ken Belcher
Associate Professor
Department of Bioresource Policy, Business and Economics
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Abstract

The process of developing appropriate policy or the evaluation of a range of development alternatives usually requires an analysis of the associated benefits and costs. To enable a complete and fair comparison of these alternatives, the benefits and costs need to be quantified using some common measure. For many policy or development projects most or all of the costs and benefits can be effectively quantified using economic measures (e.g. prices). However, when the policy or development project has an impact on natural ecosystems and ecosystem function economic measures are often not apparent. Many of the goods and services provided by natural ecosystems are not commonly traded in economic markets and as a result economic measures such as prices are not readily available to quantify their value. Economics has developed a range of tools that can be used to estimate the value of these non-market goods and services. This workshop will focus on introducing the most common non-market valuation techniques to help participants understand the mechanics as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the approaches. Specifically the workshop will address the following issues:

Biography

Ken Belcher is an associate professor in the department of Bioresource Policy, Business and Economics at the University of Saskatchewan.  He received his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Saskatchewan and also holds a Masters of Natural Resource Management from the University of Manitoba and an undergraduate degree in agriculture with a minor in wildlife management also from the University of Manitoba.  He has a strongly interdisciplinary work and education background with experience in waterfowl and waterfowl habitat conservation, environmental and agriculture policy and agricultural sustainability.  His research falls within the broad categories of renewable resource economics and ecological economics.  More specifically he is interested in environmental concerns within agricultural and northern landscapes and has done research on climate change, environmental and agri-environmental policy and agricultural sustainability.  Currently he is involved in research projects examining the role of wetlands and wetland policy in climate change mitigation, policy tools to provide ecological goods and services and the targeting of environmental policy.

Using Best Practice to Enhance Science Literacy among Students

Dr. James Barufaldi
Distinguished Teaching Professor
Director, Center for Science and Mathematics Education
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX

Abstract

The focus of the presentation is science literacy and the role of guided inquiry in achieving it. Three levels of literacy will be described and a guided discovery model, reflecting best practice, will be discussed. The presentation will culminate in an audience participation activity TitleL demonstrating "best practice".

Biography

James P. Barufaldi, Ruben E. Hinojosa Regents Professor in Education and director of the Center for Science and Mathematics Education Center at The University of Texas at Austin, earned a bachelor's degree in the biological sciences, Marietta College (Ohio), a master's degree in biology and education, Kent State University (Ohio), and a Ph. D. degree in science education, the University of Maryland, College Park, MD.  He has directed numerous federally funded projects such as the U. S. Department of Education Project-General Science Content and Inquiry Skills Improvement Program, the Title II funded Coordinated Thematic Science Inservice Program, the Science Content Improvement Program, and the Texas Elementary Science Inservice Program.  Barufaldi currently serves as Principal Investigator for the Texas Regional Collaboratives for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching, the NSF Chautauqua-Type Short Courses for College Science Teachers, and Co-PI for the NSF funded project, Instrument Development for Exploring Professional Growth Continuum. He served as co-director of the UTeach Secondary Science and Mathematics Teacher Preparation Program andhas supervised more than 50 dissertations and theses in science education.

In 2003, Barufaldi was selected as a member of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at The University of Texas at Austin. He was named a Minnie Stevens Piper Professor, 2002, for "dedication to the teaching profession" as well as "outstanding academic, scientific, and scholarly achievement”. He also received the 2002 Outstanding Scholar in Education Award presented by the Alumni Association, College of Education, at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and served as chair of Section Q, Education.

Barufaldi was named the 1988 Outstanding Science Educator of the Year, by the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science (AETS) for his dedication to teaching and his exemplary work in science curriculum development and research, and for his leadership in the education community. Barufaldi received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Marietta College and the Texas Excellence Teaching Award in the College of Education at The University of Texas. He was also a recipient of the YWCA Mentors and Allies Award in recognition of extraordinary support of Women, Austin, Texas, and received the Outstanding Service Award of the Science Teachers Association of Texas (STAT).  He received the Honorary Membership Award, the highest honor given by STAT and was awarded the Rebecca Sparks Elementary Science Award by the Texas Council of Elementary Science.

Barufaldi served on the boards of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) and the National Science Teachers Association.  He also served as president of NARST, AETS and the Texas Association of Biology Teachers.

Barufaldi has served as a consultant for the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) and writer for BSCS programs such as the Elementary School Sciences Program and the Me in the Future Program.  He served on the BSCS advisory board for Science for Life and Living: Integrating Science, Technology, and Health.  He was also major writer for the NSF funded high school biology program, Biology: A Community Context.

Barufaldi authored or co-authored more than 60 articles, books, chapters, and book reviews and has presented more than 300 workshops, papers, and seminars throughout the U. S., and in countries such as Portugal, Russia, Japan, Israel, Bermuda, Iran, Barbados, Bahamas, Costa Rica, Mexico, Australia, Belize, Canada, Iceland, Finland, Korea, Panama, Honduras, Taiwan, Guatemala, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and Trinidad.  He has served as editors of monographs and yearbooks published by AETS and the School Science and Mathematics Association.  He served as senior author of Science, an elementary school textbook series published by D. C. Heath & Co. and Teaching Elementary School Science: A Perspective for Teachers published by Longman, Inc.  Barufaldi's special areas of interests include professional development, curriculum design, instructional strategies, implementation, evaluation, and science teacher education.  He is currently investigating the process of building successful collaboratives in the science education community and variables, which may contribute to high intensity, sustained collaboration. JB 2007.

Energy: we need more choices in Bristol Bay now

Dr. Todd Radenbaugh
Assistant Professor
UAF BBC Environmental Science
Dillingham, AK

Abstract

Biography

Todd is an interdisciplinary scientist and Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Science at University of Alaska Fairbanks Bristol Bay Campus. He earned his BSc at University of North Carolina in Wilmington in marine biology, MSc in biology/paleontology from Appalachian State University, and PhD in Earth and Environmental Science at University of Regina (Canada). He has had the privilege of living, studying and working in diverse locations including Alaska, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Saskatchewan, Bermuda, Germany, Jamaica, Kosovo, Sweden, and Turkey in the fields of geography, ecology, geology, and resource management. Todd has published over 10 research articles and edited two books on the links between society, ecology, energy, and resource management. His main research focus is human interactions and he has worked promoting sustainable development. In addition to his academic career other noteworthy experience includes third world development work (US Peace Corps), marine fisheries (commercial fishing and NMFS observer), and environmental consulting

The Future of Bristol Bays Salmon Runs

Dr. Milo Adkison
Associate Professor
UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Science
Fairbanks, AK

Abstract

Biography

Milo Adkison is an Associate Professor at the Juneau Center, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks. He earned a doctorate in fisheries from the University of Washington in 1994. He's also worked for the Biological Resources Division of USGS and as crew on a Bristol Bay gillnetter. He specializes in the quantitative aspects of management of Pacific salmon fisheries.