While some teachers enjoy their summer vacations by spending time with family, playing tennis, and sleeping in, over 200 science, mathematics, and technology teachers have participated in real-world industry experiences through the Industry–Education Partnership (IEP) program at Mississippi State University.
This bibliography was compiled by the NSF-funded COSEE Diversity Working Group and provides an overview of resources (organizations, policy documents, research studies, intervention studies, etc.) that relate to broadening participation in the sciences.
This document recommends strategies for the National Science Foundation and other Federal agencies to use in a nationally coordinated effort to improve and promote Ocean Sciences education.
Demographic changes and the emergence of a more global society have challenged the field of environmental education (EE) to be more inclusive and to offer programming that is relevant to culturally diverse groups. But what do we mean by diversity, and where is the EE field going with it? “Still Developing the Toolbox: Making EE Relevant for Culturally Diverse Groups” by Joanne M. Lozar Glenn addresses this question and profiles five organizations working to connect their programming to the communities they serve.
Project Plymouth Schools Oceanographic Studies facilitator Carol 'Krill' Carson and participating researcher Kelly Rakow have developed a guide for making plankton sieves, a very handy tool for studying plankton in the classroom!
Download a poster on the Waves and Tsunamis Project, a collaboration between a marine seismologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and middle school teachers in Plymouth Massachusetts.
In Fairhaven public schools, the Ocean Sciences Education Institute (OSEI) team developed curriculum to introduce the carbon cycle to the 6th, 7th and 8th grades. By bringing cutting edge research into the middle school classroom, OSEI introduced students to the carbon cycle, its relationship to human activities, and its importance globally. Download the carbon cycle diagram here.
During this lesson, students will think about how the features of a scallop shell that are easily measured can be used to determine things about the live scallop that are difficult to measure. During the lab, students will collect data about each shell, including height, width, number of rings and any physical abnormalities. This information will allow the students to predict the area and age of the scallop. The area measurement will then be used to predict the weight of the meat (what we eat) of the scallop.
As part of her involvement in COSEE New England’s Ocean Sciences Education Institute II project, Dr. Juanita Urban-Rich researched and produced a hand-drawn poster identifying common species of marine plankton.
This unit from the Integrated Coordinated Science Unit Challanges explores how students can use their knowledge of chemistry to test the safety of rainwater that flows off our college campuses and streets into the ocean. The hands-on exercise uses the “5 E’s Learning Cycle: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate” and is correlated to California Science Content Standards, California Environmental Education Principles and Ocean Literacy Standards.
This guide to teaching climate change fundamental concepts to K-12 audiences is the product of a three-day workshop titled Climate and Weather Literacy: Using the AAAS Project 2061 Science Literacy Research to Develop Weather and Climate Literacy Framework held in April 2007.
COSEE Ocean Systems, with a team of researchers and other experts from the University of Maine, University of New Hampshire, and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, was established to implement several integrated activities, each designed to improve COSEE's impact on rural and inland communities. Since fall 2005, COSEE Ocean Systems has investigated issues in educational research that pertain to pedagogy, practice, and the learning process. User feedback has reinforced the desire for interactive products and processes that highlight fundamental concepts as well as their "big picture" connections. As a result, COSEE Ocean Systems is creating and evaluating tools that both highlight basic concepts and can be readily applied to other disciplines.
Evaluation Report from the July 17-21, 2006 Teaching Science by Ocean Inquiry Summer Workshop by Sheila Pendse, Center for Research and Evaluation, College of Education and Human Development, University of Maine.
This compilation of field trips and resources related to the ocean sciences was designed by COSEE West for student, teacher and parent use. The guide includes field trip sites between San Diego and Santa Cruz and appendices on California environmental organizations, programs, and wetlands.
In December 2004, President Bush submitted the "U.S. Ocean Action Plan" to Congress in response to the recommendation made by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. The activities outlined in the Administration’s response will help assure that the benefits we currently derive from our oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes, will be available to future generations.
Chapter 8 of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy (2004), "An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century: Final Report," Washington DC recommends: "Strengthening the nation’s awareness of the importance of the oceans requires a heightened focus on the marine environment, through both formal and informal education efforts. School curricula, starting in kindergarten, should expose students to ocean issues, preparing the next generation of ocean scientists, managers,educators, and leaders through diverse educational opportunities. In addition, because formal curricula only reach students for a limited time, informal education aimed at the entire population is needed to foster lifelong learning."
In the first thorough review of ocean policy in 34 years, the Pew Oceans Commission released a host of recommendations in 2003 to guide the way in which the federal government will successfully manage America’s marine environment. The report found that more than 60 percent of America’s coastal rivers and bays are degraded by nutrient runoff. Crucial species like groundfish and salmon are under assault from overfishing. Invasive species are establishing themselves in the nation’s coastal waters. The Final Report of the Pew Oceans Commission finds that proven, workable solutions to the crisis in our oceans exist, but such successes will remain the exception rather than the rule until we chart a new course for ocean management.
