COSEE California is dedicated to creating collaborations among scientists and educators that enhance the public's understanding and appreciation of the ocean. We focus on developing and widely disseminating models and approaches that engage scientists and educators in promoting ocean literacy.
Six pre-service middle school science teachers participated in COSEE Florida's Research Experience Pre-service Teachers (REPT) program. For six weeks, REPT interns conducted a variety of experiments alongside research scientists at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Ocean Research & Conservation Association, and the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce. As part of their research experience, they produced short videos addressing common misconceptions in science, including such topics as:
- Scientists are boring lab rats
- Science does not involve creativity
- Science experiments answer questions in clear, concrete ways
Florida Aquatic Science Heroes (FLASH) is a short video describing the work of a Florida-based ocean scientist, their research, and its relevance to a broader community.
In Making Water Pollution Visible, Dr. Edie Widder describes her passion to improve water quality in Florida's Indian River Lagoon and how the technology that she has developed can be applied to improve water quality throughout the world.
Tran, L.U. & Randol, S. (2008). Communicating Ocean Science to Informal Audiences: An evaluation of students’ activities. (Evaluation report). Berkeley, CA: Lawrence Hall of Science.
Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences (COSIA) is a National Science Foundation-funded project designed to teach university science students (undergraduate and graduate level) how to communicate science using research and theory from science education. The project supports partnerships between science faculty at universities and educators at nearby informal science educational institutions (ISEIs) to teach this course that was developed by science educators at the Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS). As a part of the original COSIA grant, there were six university and ISEI partnerships:
Hampton University (HU) and Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center (VAq)
Rutgers University (RU) and Liberty Science Center (LSC)
Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) and Birch Aquarium (BA)
Oregon State University (OSU) and Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC)
University of Southern California (USC) and Aquarium of the Pacific (AOP)
University of California Berkeley (UCB) and Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS)
This investigation was conducted during the second year of the grant, and evaluated the activities designed by COSIA students at all the sites. We documented how the students implemented the activities they designed for the course, how they interacted with the public, and how the public responded to their activities, the science they communicated, and their presence as “future” scientists. For this report, COSIA students will also be referred to as facilitators. It was necessary to keep in mind that while these facilitators were formally learning about teaching and communication skills, they were still novices. Nonetheless, findings could inform course developers and instructors on how facilitators applied what they were taught, and also offer recommendations for improvement to the course.
Tran, L. U., Randol, S., Halversen, C., & Strang, C. (2009). College science students learning to communicate science in informal settings. Poster presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting.
Increasingly scientists are urged to engage and communicate with the public about scientific issues more effectively. Some argue that science graduates need to know how to communicate their scientific knowledge with the public as science and technology advances arise at unprecedented rates (Leshner, 2007). Even though such a requirement adds “yet another element to overtaxed research training programs,” the knowledge and skills of communication are needed for future scientists (Leshner, 2007, p. 161). There are a limited number of university courses for science students that prepare them to communicate their research with the general public, media, and K-12 schoolchildren and teachers (Warren, Weiss, Wolfe, Friedlander, & Lewenstein, 2007; Lally, Brooks, Tax, & Dolan, 2007). We report on a course--Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences--that is taught at six universities in the US, and uses informal science education institutions (ISEIs) as a means to connect science students with the public. For this investigation, we seek to understand how university-level science students engage with the public in hands-on activities in ISEIs and how visitors respond to these students.
Cava, F., Schoedinger, S., Strang, C., & Tuddenham, P. (2005). Science Content and Standards for Ocean Literacy: A Report on Ocean Literacy. www.coexploration.org/oceanliteracy.
This report gives an overview of the progress to to promote ocean literacy in classrooms. It highlights previous ocean literacy projects and shows how they have merged to provide a community vision for ocean literacy.
Huntoon, J., Peach, C., & Hopkins, J. (2005). Geoscience Education and Diversity: Vision for the Future and Strategies for Success - Report of the 2nd Geoscience Education Working Group.
The second Geoscience Education Working Group's report that includes a discussion of the overall status of the of the geoscience education and diversity community, recommendations for how the community can best promote improvements in geoscience education, and a set of strategies for strengthening geoscience education and diversity programs.
Find hundreds of related links to continue your career exploration - explore over fifty ocean-related careers, find a college, university or training center that specializes in ocean-related education, find professional societies that can provide career guidance and scholarships, and find internships and jobs.
A whole-school interdisciplinary marine science program at the Lawrence Hall of Science offering year-round professional development opportunities, including events that immerse your whole school—faculty, students and families—in the study and celebration of the ocean.
Franks, S., McDonnell, J., Peach, C., Simms, E., & Thorrold, A. (2006).
This guide provides basic information for scientists who wish to engage in education and public outreach (EPO) activities. Engaging in EPO can be an excellent way to address funding agencies’ requirements that proponents articulate the broader societal value of their research.
Strang, C., Decharon, A., & Schoedinger, S. (2007). Can you be science literate without being ocean literate? Current: The Journal of Marine Education, 23(1), 7-9.
The Ocean Literacy Campaign is changing the way educators and the public think about ocean sciences education: teaching ocean sciences is not just enrichment, but is essential to science literacy. Read about how the Ocean Literacy Campaign is bringing about a paradigm shift in the way educators and the public think about Ocean Sciences Education.
Seaman, M., Dorph, R., Kwan, P., & Parsons, C. & (2007). COSEE network evaluation. Current: The Journal of Marine Education, 23(1), 21-23.
Read about how the COSEE Network evaluates its programs to understand the collective impact of the local Centers on ocean sciences education nationally.
Strang, C., Dorph, R., & Halversen, C. (2005). Communicating ocean sciences: a course that improves education & public outreach. Paper presented at the Marine Technology Society Conference.
Together educators and ocean scientists have developed and teach a university course entitled Communicating Ocean Sciences that is now being taught in several institutions of higher education nationwide. The course is designed for undergraduate and graduate science students interested in improving their ability to communicate about complex science concepts. This paper focuses on the content, outcomes, and potential of the Communicating Ocean Sciences course.
