Based on questionnaire data showing of 64% (114 respondents) return from all teachers in small village schools operated by the State of Alaska and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, this paper describes instructional strategies for new teachers entering the Alaskan cross-cultural community classroom. The paper also suggests how the instructional…

As a component of the University of Alaska's Cross-Cultural Orientation Program (X-COP), this journal provides a forum for rural Alaska teachers to share ideas and insights. Articles in this issue discuss: (1) the inadequacies of educational research for defining the essence of effective teaching; (2) making the classroom culturally compatible…

In this collection, eight master teachers with extensive experience in small, rural Alaska schools describe some of the ways they have adapted instruction to rural Alaskan circumstances. These papers discuss: (1) the characteristics of effective rural teachers; (2) adapting the "Coping!" curriculum for affective education to the cultural…

This ERIC digest discusses the theoretical basis of case teaching and examines its strengths and limitations as a tool for teacher education. Case teaching presents authentic, concrete teaching problems for students to analyze. The study of a classroom fight, for example, might draw discussion of racial, ethical, political, and other community…

A review of the innovative and comprehensive educational programs in Alaska, funded under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, is featured in this document. A brief sketch of the State of Alaska provides a basis of understanding of the rural education problems encountered in this large state. Each program instituted is discussed…

This collection contains 15 essays by teachers who participated in the First Annual Rural Alaska Instructional Improvement Academy in Fairbanks in May 1987. The essays were written as a follow-up to the academy, based on the teachers' reflections on their own experiences in rural schools as well as on the academy workshops they attended and on the…

This monograph examines the effectiveness of university-level audioconference courses and distance education in Alaska. It discusses some of the problems of distance education and examines different perspectives on audioconferences. Teachers and students, both Native American and non-Native, offer their opinions on audioconferencing as an…

Descriptions of students projects raising chickens and studying salmon illustrate how project-based learning engages high-risk Alaska Native students. Projects make learning relevant, involve the community, increase student self-esteem, and help students and teachers bond with each other. A 4-day workshop for teachers emphasized how projects must…

Because rural Alaska educators were skeptical of the applicability to their teaching situations of various educational research results, researchers randomly surveyed rural Alaskan teachers to provide background information for the Rural Effective Schools Project and for educators who want to help rural schools increase their effectiveness. Three…

The paper discusses dilemmas in doing research on the kinds of teachers who are effective with Eskimo and Indian children in isolated, rural Alaska communities. Issues discussed are identification of effective cross-cultural teachers by a "multiple hurdle" technique; criteria that 228 teachers, 29 administrators, and 40 community members…

This guide suggests teaching topics, activities, and resources for rural home economics teachers in Alaska. It is divided into seven chapters. Six are devoted to each of the main teaching areas in consumer and homemaking education: personal/family relationships, foods/nutrition, housing/home management, consumer education/resource management,…