This week, the Læra Institute took an active part in Arctic Congress Bodø 2024, a blockbuster event combining IASSA's 11th International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences, UArctic Congress 2024 and High North Dialogue 2024.
Over two days on 29th and 30th May, we convened our third faculty workshop, a side-meeting on UArctic Circumpolar Studies programme delivery, and a double session of presentations on 'Educational innovation for the Circumpolar North'. We also took part in a workshop on 'Circumpolar Education for Environmental Change and Resilience'.
Our Managing Director Anthony Speca opened our third faculty workshop with an overview presentation introducing the work of the Læra Institute. We were especially delighted to announce our two recently published Circumpolar Studies exemplar courses, which are freely available to faculty teaching about the Circumpolar North. These courses serve as examples of undergraduate curriclum designed according to our Circumpolar Studies curriculum development guidelines, and they serve to supplement the UArctic Circumpolar Studies core curriculum. Our workshop was then given over to a discussion of future plans and projects for the Læra Institute, and we're grateful for the many helpful suggestions from participating faculty.
Directly following our third faculty workshop, our Academic Co-Director Heather Nicol convened a side-meeting on the UArctic Circumpolar Studies programme. We're grateful to the UArctic member institutions who expressed interest in contributing to this programme. Circumpolar Studies education for undergraduates is a core part of the UArctic mission, and it's vital to have a wide variety of UArctic member institutions involved in its delivery.
At the same time as Heather was leading the UArctic Circumpolar Studies side-meeting, Anthony took part in a workshop on 'Circumpolar Education for Environmental Change and Resilience', moderated by Maeva Gauthier of the University of Victoria. The workshop was the first step in a project, led by Jeff Birchall of the University of Alberta, to design a locally-centered and student-focused education programme on environmental change and resilience. The Læra Institute was pleased to be able support an application for funding for this project, and we're grateful for the invitation to take part in the workshop alongside distinguished educators and scholars. We're looking forward to hearing more from Maeva and Jeff and the project develops.
The next day, the Læra Institute held a double session on 'Educational innovation for the Circumpolar North'. Part of the Læra Institute's mission is to bring together educational scholars and practitioners to discuss pedagogy and educational innovation in and for the Circumpolar North, and we were delighted to receive a large number of abstracts for our Arctic Congress 2024 sessions. Indeed, we received so many submissions that we divided our session into two: one focused on primary and secondary education, and the other on tertiary and postgraduate education.
Our session on educational innovation for the Circumpolar North in primary and secondary contexts included five presentations (links to slides where made available by presenters):
- 'Sámi in the Norwegian school curriculum: Meeting the goals through teaching literature' — from Anne-Mette Bjøru of the University of Tromsø/Arctic University of Norway
- 'Teno's astronomer: A new-genre Arctic art-education project in the Sápmi area, Utsjoki, Finland' — from Mirja Hiltunen of the University of Lapland
- 'Hunting and dogsledding in school: Interdisciplinary and culturally-responsive education outside the classroom in Kallaalit Nunaat (Greenland)' — from Kirsten Føns of Ilisimatusarfik/University of Greeland
- 'Organising teaching over distance: Three approaches based on experiences from primary schools in Greenland' — from Rikke Ørngreen of Aalborg University (on behalf of co-authors)
- 'Working through didactic infrastructure through distance teaching' — from Anders Øgaard of Ilisimatusarfik/University of Greenland (on behalf of co-authors)
Our session on educational innovation for the Circumpolar North in tertiary and postgraduate contexts included six presentations (links to slides or presentation notes where made available by presenters)
- 'Arctic-2030 Barents Network on Higher Education and Research/Calotte Academy: Joint Nordic-Canadian-US cooperation in higher education' — from Peter Haugseth of the University of Tromsø/Arctic University of Norway (on behalf of co-authors)
- 'Representations of the Circumpolar North in literature, film and popular culture: A UArctic exemplar course' — from Drew Lyness of Yukon University
- 'Indigenous consultancy and collaborative online international learning' — from Izzy Crawford of Robert Gordon University (on behalf of co-authors)
- 'Social work education in northern rural Sweden: Pedagogical challenges and opportunities' — from Lennart Sauer of Umeå University (on behalf of co-authors)
- 'New masters' degree education for future environmental experts at the higher latitudes' — from Katja Lauri of the University of Helsinki (on behalf of co-authors)
- 'Understanding students' sense of belonging in an innovative joint master's programme on environmental changes in high latitudes' — from Joula Siponen of the University of Helsinki (on behalf of co-authors)
We're grateful to Nord University and the Nordland Research Institute for organising and hosting Arctic Congress Bodø 2024, and for the opportunity to convene our workshops and sessions.
