Session Descriptions
Communicating Ocean Science in K-8 Classrooms
Session 1: Teaching Ocean Science
This session begins with students sharing and discussing their ideas about what is ocean science and what should be included in teaching ocean science. The goals of the course and the rationale for teaching ocean science, including its interdisciplinary nature are discussed. The students then engage in three different grade-level appropriate inquiry-based, hands-on activities: "Seashore Sleuthing" representing an earth and physical science activity appropriate for K-1, "Oyster Beds" a nature of science activity for grades 2-3, and "Red Fish Roundup" a physical science activity for grades 4-5. Students then discuss how the exemplar activities differ by grade level and how the activities differ from the way they experienced science in elementary school.
Session 1 Power Point Presentation (Power Point, 5.7 MB)
Session 2: The Process of Science
The session begins with students in small groups, sharing and discussing their ideas about Science. They then analyze a variety of statements to generate a discussion about what makes a statement scientific. The whole class together develops the understanding that science is based on testable evidence. They then take part in the "Ice Cubes" activity from the GEMS unit, Ocean Currents. This activity demonstrates the meticulous nature of scientific exploration and debate, and the use of evidence and explanation to make hypotheses. Students also reflect on the principles they discovered by doing the investigation and the importance of these principles to ocean sciences. The session ends with a discussion of the scientific method as an iterative process, which adds to the body of scientific knowledge built by the scientific community.
Session 2 Power Point Presentation (Power Point, 671 KB)
Session 3: Comparing Teaching Approaches
The session begins with students accessing prior information about teaching and learning by thinking back on how different teaching approaches affected them as learners. They are challenged to think about a model for how people learn which can be used to structure learning in the classroom. They then rotate through four activity stations focused on salinity, which illustrate different teaching approaches. The presenter then leads a discussion about the stations eliciting their ideas about the four teaching approaches and how each affected their interest and conceptual understanding. Participants then do an activity from the MARE/GEMS On Sandy Shores unit called "Sand on Stage" as an exemplar of how these teaching approaches can be used effectively to increase conceptual understanding. The instructional model known as a learning cycle is then introduced and tied in to the participants’ experience with the station activities and "Sand on Stage".
Session 3 Power Point Presentation (Power Point, 785 KB)
Session 4: Building Towards Inquiry
This session starts with an overview of the essential features of inquiry–what it looks like in an elementary classroom, how it is reflected in science standards, and the educational advantage of student-driven learning incorporating subtle shifts towards inquiry. Much of the session is focused on a kit carousel. The goal is to allow students to explore the kits and materials associated with the outreach portion of the course.
Session 4 Power Point Presentation (Power Point, 814 KB)
Session 5: Blank Slates or Clever Minds
The session begins with a discussion that encourages students to think about how people learn and change their ideas. Activities from the GEMS guide Earth, Moon and Stars are used to illustrate several ideas and concepts about astronomy-related topics. They then watch and discuss a 20-minute video, A Private Universe, which features interviews of university graduates and faculty, as well as high school students who are asked to explain the phases of the moon and the seasons. After discussing the video, students brainstorm methods and strategies for dealing with student misconceptions and are offered further ideas about how to set-up effective learning situations. They discuss how these ideas fit in with the Learning Cycle model highlighted in the previous session. Students are then given various props to use to describe and illustrate their understanding of what causes the tides. Students are challenged to create a model they can present to the rest of the class that illustrates how tides are formed.
Session 5 Power Point Presentation (Power Point, 416 KB)
Session 6: Questioning Strategies
The session starts off with an activity in which the students are asked to notice the different effects of broad and focused questions with regard to their own thinking and participation in the discussion. Two brief role-plays are then acted out, depicting the interactions between a professor and a student who has come for help during office hours. One illustrates the "sage on the stage" approach to teaching, while the second illustrates, the "guide on the side" approach. During a follow up discussion, students learn how a teacher’s approach can influence the types of question s/he asks students. The class is then introduced to the idea of using a questions "map" to lead successful discussions. Next the students explore buoyancy and density concepts through hands-on experiences in "Water, Water Everywhere" and are then challenged to create 3-dimensional plankton in "The Great Plankton Race" that will drift as slowly as possible through the water column. They then refine their plankton based on observations of actual plankton. Finally, they use what they’ve learned about questioning strategies to plan a series of questions they will ask elementary students visiting during the next session as they lead them through the same activity.
Session 6 Power Point Presentation (Power Point, 231 KB)
Session 7: Questions Lab
In this session the course participants practice their questioning skills with actual elementary student volunteers who are invited to attend the class. The session begins with a "tape recorder" to initiate the interaction between the course participants and the volunteer students. The participants then use the question plans crafted during the previous session, to lead the students through the buoyancy/density/plankton activity. As the participants observe, the presenter gathers the elementary students and leads a debrief of the activity, in order to demonstrate effective discussion-leading techniques. The presenter then introduces an open-ended, exploration activity using live rocky seashore organisms with the whole group. The course participants again use questions to guide the students’ investigations. The presenter asks the elementary students to share phenomena they witnessed during their live animal investigations, and to share their explanations to model discussion techniques, which lead to increased student understanding.
Session 7 Power Point Presentation (*.ppt, 264KB)
Session 8: Promoting Discussion
This session is focused on how to respond to students’ answers to questions, and introduces a variety of practical discussion leading strategies. Through a series of role plays, strategies are modeled and background information supporting their use are provided. The session closes with a science lesson "Oil on the Beach" focusing on human interaction with the environment, which includes exemplars of good questioning techniques. The students experience the activity as their students would, while also trying to analyze the various strategies used by the instructor.
Session 8 Power Point Presentation (Power Point, 1.2 MB)
Session 9: Assessment
In this session, the instructor provides participants with information about testing and assessment. The session begins with the students themselves taking part in a group assessment activity. The discussion following this "carousel of concepts learned" activity brings out the instructional goals behind its design. Next they participate in a discussion about the value of the two kinds of driving tests given at the Department of Motor Vehicles–a multiple choice test about the laws related to driving and a performance test in which a person must actually drive. The discussion leads to the conclusion that different kinds of tests test for different kinds of knowledge–and both kinds are important. Students learn that current educational practice strives for a balance of a variety of testing methods. After this experience, they are given a collection of actual student papers to see what they can learn about students’ knowledge by examining the student work. The whole group then discusses their experience with being assessed in college.
Session 9 Power Point Presentation (Power Point, 1.26 MB)
Session 10: Designing a Lesson
In this session, the class focuses on the "Application" phase of the overall learning cycle of the course, as they practice planning lessons incorporating the many concepts addressed. They view one of the Minds of Their Own videos, in which Harvard graduates and middle school students demonstrate a commonly held misconception regarding photosynthesis. The interviewer in the video asks question to find out why they hold these ideas, and provides opportunities for students to re-examine their thinking. After a discussion about the strategies used in the video, the class meets in expert groups to review one aspect of teaching that has been presented in the course. They are then given a list of ocean science concepts to review and discuss. They are challenged to choose one of the concepts and to come up with a hands-on activity designed to get students to question these misconceptions about the concept. The session ends with a discussion about ocean misconceptions they have encountered or that they think others have.
Session 10 Power Point Presentation (Power Point, 339 KB)
Session 11: Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment
This session delves into the realm of diversity in the classroom and how to address the needs of all students. The emphasis in this session is on language acquisition and developmental issues. The MARE/GEMS activity "Apples and Oceans" is presented entirely in Spanish to illustrate techniques designed to increase all students’ comprehension of high–level science concepts. (There are two versions of this session–the language acquisition session and an alternate session focusing on cultural differences.)
Session 11 Power Point Presentation (Power Point, 4 MB)
Session 12-14: Students Present Their Designed Lessons
Session 15: Wrap up–Rocky Seashore Field Trip (optional)
Additional Content Information:
Here are some topics we have addressed through adult learning activities and activity exemplars that students may use in their outreach activities.
- Physical oceanography:
- Water density, stratification, and global ocean circulation
- Earth, Moon, Sun and tides
- Light in the ocean
- Geological oceanography:
- Plate Tectonics
- Continental margins and ocean basins
- Topography of ocean floors
- Coasts: estuaries, marshes, and sandy beaches
- Chemical oceanography:
- Seawater chemistry and salinity
- Biological oceanography:
- Structure and function of planktonic invertebrates
- Structure and function of benthic invertebrates (survey of organismal diversity)*
- Structure, function and evolution of fishes
- Ecology of rocky intertidal environments
- Ecology of sandy beach environments
- Ecology of open ocean environments
- Ecology of kelp forest environments
- Interdisciplinary:
- Human impacts on marine environment
