Communicating Ocean Sciences Course
Course overview
This innovative course is designed to introduce undergraduates
and graduate students in ocean science related majors to
inquiry-based instructional strategies for communicating
their passion for their subject area. These strategies,
combined with college students’ content knowledge
and enthusiasm for sharing it, equip them to introduce ocean
science to K-8 students and teachers in local schools. The
course addresses three critical needs:
- helping scientists
to more effectively communicate their subject;
- steering
some science majors into teaching professions; and
- creating a greater awareness among scientists about
the need for
outreach.
The course is based on the highly successful Communicating
Chemistry/Physics/Astronomy series co-developed and co-taught
by the University of California’s Lawrence Hall of
Science and College of Chemistry. A brand new course, Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences (COSIA) taught at UC Berkeley and six other universities starting Spring 07, provides students with experience in informal science education instructional strategies. Communicating Ocean Sciences
can be used to fulfill requirements in both undergraduate science majors and the university-wide requirement for graduate students to have a course in teaching methods.
Communicating Ocean Sciences provides experience with exemplary
instructional materials which illuminate current best practices
in science teaching through eleven, 2.5 hour long, inquiry-based
sessions. The college students are immersed in several weeks
of hands-on ocean science activities designed to illustrate
key elements of K–12 pedagogy. Then pairs of students
select an ocean science unit (and
kit) that
they will teach in a local K-8 classroom where they spend
the next six weeks
(1-2 hours/week), working side-by-side with a teacher, exploring
inquiry-based ocean science content with children. The last
few sessions are spent discussing and reflecting on their
experiences, and applying them to their future careers.
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Instructor's Workshop
Scientist? How to broaden your impact...
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