COSEE NETWORK NEWS 2012
February 2012
 In This Issue CNN Vol. 5 No. 2 | February 2012 
Focus On...COSEE SouthEast Subscribe
National COSEE Office
Network Topics
Working Group Updates
COSEE at Conferences
Announcements
Center News
COSEE Network Calendar
COSEE Centers and Council Representatives
Focus On...COSEE SouthEast
 

COSEE SouthEast is the February Center of the Month. Find out what’s new here.
 National COSEE Office
Plans are underway for the National COSEE Network meeting to be held in San Diego in May 2012. The annual Evaluators Workshop and Best Practices Work Session will be held at the University of Rhode Island September 10-14 2012. The Best Practices Work Session will focus on broadening participation and diversity issues in ocean sciences with a subtopic of broadening participation through informal science education. Sue Cook of COSEE Florida will be leading a steering committee that will develop the agenda for the work session and prepare a paper based on the results.
 Network Topics
Best of COSEE Hand-On Activities CD Thanks to contributions from across the COSEE Network, an excellent selection of over 50 proven hands-on activities were collected. COSEE OCEAN team members then developed a user-friendly interface and formatted the activities according to subject, grade level, duration, and Ocean Literacy principle. The result is a CD packed with a wide range of hands-on activities that scientists can select from to enhance their classroom visits. The CD will be distributed to all registrants at the Ocean Sciences meeting this month in Salt Lake City, and a link will be coming soon. Special thanks to Francesco Peri, Kristin Uiterwyk and Kirsten Feifel.
 Working Group Updates
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Dr. Crystal Johnson
Scientist Engagement Working Group The case study for Dr. Crystal Johnson (Louisiana State University, COSEE Central Gulf of Mexico) is now undergoing approval. The case studies for Dr. Michael Castellini (University of Alaska, COSEE Alaska), Dr. Jude Apple (Western Washington University, COSEE Pacific Partnerships), and Dr. Joel Hoffman (Environmental Protection Agency, COSEE Great Lakes) are all undergoing final edits. Work on the case study for Dr. Mary Jane Perry (University of Maine, COSEE Ocean Systems) is nearing completion. Please visit the COSEE Scientists Making an Impact website and contact Jessie Kastler with any questions or comments.

Screenshot of the COSEE Florida home page
Web Working Group The WWG is currently considering the addition of an interactive element to the home page (such as a globe) that would allow users to locate scientists, review their research, and learn more about their collaborations with COSEE. For more information, contact Annette deCharon, WWG Chair.

ENTS Sub-Group ENTs members will be contributing to a monthly blog that can be read on cossee.net, beginning in March, that will focus on Center technology strategies for disseminating their work. Suggestions welcome! For more information, contact one of the ENTs co-chairs Catherine Cramer and Carla Companion.
 COSEE at Conferences
Ocean Sciences Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, February 20-24, 2012 The COSEE Network is planning a large presence during the upcoming Ocean Sciences Meeting. The NCO will host a booth in the exhibit area and several Centers are planning to host activities.

Pre-Conference Workshop: Professional Development for Early Career Scientists
Sunday, February 19, 8:00–17:00
Hotel Monaco

COSEE/ASLOMP Young Investigator Luncheon
Monday, February 19, 12:30–14:00

COSEE Ladder of Scientific Success Luncheon Series
Monday, February 19 – Deconstruct, 12:30–14:00
Tuesday, February 20 – Understand, 12:30–14:00
Wednesday, February 21 - Build, 12:30–14:00
Thursday, February 22 - Broaden, 12:30–14:00

COSEE-convened Sessions
COSEE: Using Evaluation to Measure the Impacts of Education/Outreach
Monday, February 20
Oral Session 10:30–12:30, Ballrooom F
Poster Session 16:00–18:00, Exhibition/Poster Hall

Improved Broader Impacts = Enhanced Scientific Impacts
Monday, February 20
Oral Session 14:00–16:00, Ballroom F
Poster Session 16:00–18:00, Exhibition/Poster Hall

Pathways To Ocean Sciences Broadening Participation In Summer Research For Undergraduate Programs
Monday, February 20
Poster Session 16:00–18:00, Exhibition/Poster Hall

Using data from autonomous vehicles and drifters to support education and outreach
Tuesday, February 21
Oral Session 8:00-10:00, Ballroom F
Poster Session 16:00–18:00, Exhibition/Poster Hall

International Education and Outreach Activities
Tuesday, February 21
Poster Session 16:00–18:00, Exhibtion/Poster Hall

COSEE Evening Workshop: Communicating the Broader Impacts of your Research using Visual Tools - A Workshop for Graduate Students
Wednesday, February 22
Location: Room 251 A, B, D, E
18:00–22:00 (light snacks will be provided)

COSEE/ASLO Exhibit Hall Booth
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! ASLO and COSEE have arranged three contiguous exhibit spaces. Our plan is to have a triage desk where researchers can begin a conversation with EPO professionals. The EPO professionals will work with the researcher to brainstorm ways they can expand their broader impact statements and activities and direct the researcher to resources (people, websites, etc.) they can consult. We believe this will be a great way to connect researchers who are not at a COSEE-affiliated institution to learn what COSEE has to offer. We will also have space for some demos of hands-on activities.

New COSEE Products for Dissemination
Best of COSEE Hands-On CD featuring activities collected from the COSEE Network for distribution to all attendees at the registration desk and from the COSEE/ASLO Booth

Ocean Gazing, featuring 52 episodes of the Ocean Gazing podcast series with accompanying classroom lesson plans and activities for distribution at the COSEE/ASLO Booth

2012 National Science Teachers Association National Conference, Indianapolis, IN March 29 – April 1, 2012
  • Strand One: Mapping Our Way to Success Through the New Core Standards
  • Strand Two: Pathways to a Sustainable Planet
  • Strand Three: Merging Inquiry, Creativity, and Innovation Through STEM
  • Strand Four: Traveling New Instructional Roads Through Technology
Although NSTA has not completed the selection process, the COSEE Network submitted 10 proposals for concurrent sessions and one proposal for a short course. Determination of sessions should be complete Winter 2012.

National Marine Educators Association Conference, Anchorage, Alaska, June 24-28, 2012 The Call for Proposals for the 2012 National Marine Educators Conference, North to Alaska's Seas: a confluence of science and culture, is now open until February 17, 2012. The conference, which will take place in Anchorage, Alaska, during June 24-28, 2012, will bring together formal and informal educators, scientists, students, and resource managers to share ideas about the world of water. Conference sponsors this year are the Northwest Aquatic and Marine Educators (NAME) and COSEE Alaska. Conference themes include Science and Art, Science and Culture (to include the integration of traditional knowledge and western science), Science and Technology, and Large Marine Ecosystem Science and Education. Click here for conference information or to download the Call for Proposals.

2013 National Science Teachers Association National Conference, San Antonio, TX, April 11- 14, 2013
  • Strand 1: Next Generation Assessments: Effectively Measuring Student Learning
  • Strand 2: Next Generation Elementary Science: Building the Foundation
  • Strand 3: Next Generation Special Populations: Improving Science Instruction to Meet the Needs of Diverse Learners
  • Strand 4: Next Generation Technology: Putting the “T” in STEM
Proposals are due April 15, 2012. Follow this link to submit a proposal.
 Announcements
National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan The National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan has been released for public comment. Education actions are on pages 23-25. Action 6 on page 24 directly addresses Increasing Ocean Literacy. The first Milestone is: "Include ocean concepts in the Next Generation Science Standards." The deadline for comments is February 27, 2012. Download the Plan or submit a comment.
 Center News
 Poster session
From left to right: Sean Topkok, China Kantner, Ember Eck, Molly Adams, Ray Barnhardt. Click image to enlarge.
COSEE Alaska Each January, the Alaska Marine Science Symposium comes to Anchorage with over 1,000 participants, including researchers, educators, commercial and non-commercial users and other community members from across the state. COSEE Alaska was well represented as an event sponsor, and we also offered the Communicating Ocean Science Workshop to over 100 participants.

We were able to bring three rural high school students to the conference - China Kanter and Ember Eck, from Kotzebue, and Molly Brown from Barrow – who collaborated on a poster presentation with COSEE Alaska Executive Director Robin Dublin, Center for Cross-Cultural Studies Director Ray Barnhardt, and Alaska Native Knowledge Network Manager Sean Topkok. There were over 250 poster presentations, the majority of which were from university and agency researchers. All three girls described their projects in detail, answering hard questions from over 30 interested scientists during the 90-minute evening poster session. Much to their surprise, they won the combined high school and undergraduate award, and received certificates before an audience of approximately 750 scientists!

The students attended much of the conference and were interviewed for videos to encourage other students to participate in the ocean science fairs. By the end of the conference, Molly was beginning to think she might become a marine biologist. The ocean science fair program and travel for the three students and two chaperones was sponsored by COSEE Alaska.

COSEE California presents An Interactive Online Workshop Series about Communicating Science for Science Faculty, Post-docs & Graduate Students, a free interactive online workshop series designed specifically for science faculty, post-docs and graduate students to help develop effective ways to share science content with students and research and expertise with the public (all times Pacific Standard):

March 6 10:00-11:15 Nature and Practices of Science. Take a critical look at what is and is not an accurate view of science, including its strengths and limitations, and discuss the public’s widespread misinterpretations about science. If you’re going to be teaching and sharing science, it’s extremely worthwhile to spend time thinking about the nature of science and how it can be communicated.

March 20 10:00-11:15 Teaching and Learning. What does research from the learning sciences say about how people learn, and what can that tell us about effective ways to teach our students and communicate with the public?

April 3 10:00-11:15 Constructing Knowledge, Building Understanding. Learners build an understanding of the world around them through their experiences, motivation, and social interactions. This workshop focuses on how people make sense of the world around them and the implications for how you can effectively share science with your students and the public.

April 17 10:00-11:15 Engaging Students in Learning Conversations. Conversations and questions play a key role in facilitating learning and helping people make meaning of ideas and concepts. Science faculty can influence the kinds of learning conversations they have with their students, and the public through the teaching strategies they use, the questions they ask and how they follow up on those questions.

We strongly encourage you to invite your colleagues and grad students to join in! The workshops are free and just require completion of an online registration form.

To join an online community for scientists and educators committed to improving their knowledge about and ability to communicate science with the public, visit http://www.COS-RoP.net.

COSEE NOW Co-PI Jim Yoder has been named a 2012 TOS Fellow for his innovative and visionary application of satellite ocean color technologies to interdisciplinary oceanography and his extraordinary service to oceanography. Details here.

COSEE NOW will be hosting the 3rd annual Rutgers Ocean Days for MARE educators on April 2-3. More here.

COSEE OCEAN The Ocean Sciences Sequence continues to be taught in the Milton and Boston Public Schools. Milton Science Director Marilyn Decker stopped by to observe a Milton classroom and reports: “The kids are doing absolutely great work. Their reflections make use of the evidence that they have collected and they seem to have gotten the idea that there is indeed only one ocean. They also can write in detail about how the ocean is different from place to place. Words like salinity, pressure, currents, etc. are part of their vocabulary. [The teacher] is having her students do the lab notebooks as provided by the curriculum and they are also keeping a science notebook ala the FOSS format. I'm very impressed by the quality of the writing in both and the completeness of their answers. The students also did a bulletin board showing the layers of the oceans. It too looks terrific.”

At Ocean Sciences, COSEE OCEAN will be presenting The 3-Minute Solution: Communicating Your Research in Short, Effective Videos.

COSEE-Ocean Systems announces a new web resource for multicultural training and seeks contributions. Did you miss out on the multicultural training session presented by COSEE-OS partner, the Institute for Broadening Participation (IBP) at the 2011 COSEE Network meeting? Would you like to review speaker videos, and have access to resources focused on increasing diversity in the ocean sciences? COSEE-OS announces a new web resource highlighting the four expert panelists in the field who provided the COSEE Network with up-to-date information, practical tools, and strategies for broadening participation in ocean sciences. Speaker videos and powerpoint presentations are available along with related resources for further inquiry and investigation into these topics. Summaries from breakout sessions facilitated by each speaker are also provided:

Multicultural Training Web Resource
  • Allyson Fauver (A Brief Diversity Briefing)
  • Sara Xayarath Hernandez (Recruitment is about creating an inclusive vision)
  • DiOnetta Jones (Recruitment is important - retention is critical)
  • Renetta Tull (Retention involves skill-building, support structures, and communication)
We welcome your input! COSEE-OS and IBP invite the COSEE Network to contribute to this web resource. If you have a resource you would like to suggest, or an update on your Center's Broadening Participation activities - perhaps stemming from interactions during the multicultural training session, please contact Christy Herren.

COSEE-OS and its partners in the New England Ocean Science Education Collaborative (NEOSEC) are working to increase involvement of scientists in NEOSEC programs. Through a new mini-grant program, they will fund three projects that involve scientists in advancing ocean literacy, achieve broader impacts of their research, and expand scientist-educator partnerships.

Silent Spring Revisited: Rachel Carson’s Legacy and Ocean Health Today. The Marine Environmental Research Institute (MERI) and Cornerstones of Science (CoS) will bring a rich, multidisciplinary, place-based program to audiences throughout Maine in recognition of the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s seminal work, Silent Spring. The program will: connect ocean scientists, informal educators and audiences; increase understanding of the critical link between science, science literacy, and public policy; and develop a new collaborative model between local community libraries and centers for ocean science research. MERI will host a lecture series to discuss the impact of Rachel Carson's book and current issues facing the Gulf of Maine and beyond. In Fall 2012, the Portland Public Library will host a Rachel Carson Legacy Event that includes a multidisciplinary panel discussion. A Resource Guide on Rachel Carson, to be developed by CoS, will also be made available to local libraries and the larger network of ocean educators.

Right Whales and Ocean Observing: An Exhibit that Connects People to Research. Purpose The principal goal of this project is to inform the public about the effects of shipping on the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale population based on research by Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) scientists. A prototype exhibit – featuring acoustic studies and real-time data – will be created by the Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems with support from the Seacoast Science Center (SSC) and SBNMS. The exhibit’s main message will be the impacts of ship noise and strikes on Right Whales, and how SBNMS research is helping to better understand and reduce threats. The project will incorporate an interactive touch-screen panel into the SSC’s permanent exhibit Tofu: The Journey of a Humpback Whale. This panel will include COSEE-OS concept maps based on Gulf of Maine Right Whale research. The project will also develop a visitor program highlighting the exhibit’s message points for dissemination to SSC visitors (over 75,000 annually).

Paths to Dissertation: Encountering Graduate Student Experiences and Research. A Northeastern University Marine Science Center (NUMSC) pilot study will be conducted to: i) Improve ability of graduate students and outreach/communications staff (OCS) to connect with various audiences; ii) Increase awareness of prospective university students and the public about marine science and its study; and iii) Facilitate collaboration between OCS and ocean scientists. Through a series of meetings, graduate students will employ concept mapping to practice and improve their communication skills. They will produce interactive maps about their research and personal experiences in graduate school. Each participant will also design at least one classroom activity that can be used in NUMSC outreach efforts. A culminating concept map poster session and program overview event will be held for participants, faculty advisors and peers. At least one graduate student will also be supported to share her/his results with the wider marine education and/or university community. Lastly, NUMSC outreach staff will develop an overarching concept map about the program’s rocky shore curriculum and its ties to current research projects.

COSEE-Pacific Partnerships COSEE-PP is co-sponsoring the following workshop as part of a new NSF-funded project, Supporting and Advancing Geoscience Education in the Two-Year Colleges. Preparing Students in Two-year Colleges for Geoscience Degrees and Careers, University of Washington-Tacoma, July 18–21, 2012. Application deadline: March 19, 2012. This workshop will develop resources, strategies, and recommendations for preparing students in two-year colleges for geoscience careers, either as geotechnical graduates or as geoscience majors at four-year colleges and universities. In addition, the workshop will explore the scope and potential for geoscience technical training (e.g., earth resources, environmental management, marine technology). For more information visit the workshop webpage.

COSEE-Pacific Partnerships is offering a workshop for graduate students at the Ocean Sciences Meeting. The workshop introduces techniques and online tools for identifying and communicating the big ideas behind their work in ways that make it relevant and interesting without over simplifying it. Communicating the Broader Impacts of Your Research Using Visual Tools - A Workshop for Graduate Students, Wednesday, February 22, 6:00–9:00 PM (snacks provided)

COSEE-West COSEE-West along with the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI) and the College of Exploration present an online workshop for educators: Ocean X-Factor: life beneath the deep!, February 27-March 16, 2012. To register and for more information go to College of Exploration.
 COSEE Network Calendar
For the up-to-the-minute list of upcoming COSEE events, visit the COSEE.net Events page.
Contribute to CNN! Send news and announcements of interest to the COSEE Network community to the editor, Catherine Cramer.

 COSEE Centers and Council Representatives
COSEE Alaska (Robin Dublin, COSEE Alaska)
COSEE California (Craig Strang, UC Berkeley)
COSEE Florida (Edwin Massey, Indian River State College)
COSEE Networked Ocean World World (Janice McDonnell, Rutgers University)
COSEE OCEAN (Bob Chen, University of Massachusetts)
COSEE-Ocean Learning Communities (Phil Bell, University of Washington)
COSEE-Ocean Systems (Annette deCharon, Darling Marine Center, University of Maine)
COSEE-Pacific Partnerships (Jan Hodder, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology)
COSEE SouthEast (Lundie Spence, South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium)
COSEE-TEK (Ivar Babb, University of Connecticut)
COSEE-West (Linda Duguay, University of Southern California)