National Ocean Partnership Program Meeting

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National Ocean Partnership Program
Meeting AGU/ASLO Ocean Science 2000 Janice
McDonnell, Institute of Marine Coastal Sciences
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Outline of Todays Presentation I. Brief
overview of Summer Research Experience at
LEO-15 II. What is working and what would work
better III.Lessons Learned from NOPP
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Program Objective To develop an integrated set
of educational programs that capitalize on the
research and technological assets of an
underwater observatory as the nucleus for
interdisciplinary learning across grade levels.
Field Research Experience
Research at LEO-15
Classroom Applications
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• PARTNERS
• Institute of Marine Coastal Sciences
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• MAB National Undersea Research Center
• Bell Atlantic
• Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research
• Reserve

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• Summary Statistics (2 Year Project)
• 56 educators trained directly
• 1,680 educators through extended workshops
• 7 Learning Modules on-line-30 hands-on lessons
• 10,000 school children exposed to LEO
• 300 students (5-12 grade) have completed pilot
  of at least
• two LEO Internet modules
• Estimate the Web site receives 300-400 access
  per month

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• Program Outline
• 1. Preparatory Skills WorkshopAn Introduction to
  the Internet
• Virtual Field Trips
• Real-time Data in the Classroom
• Collaborative Projects

• 2. Looking at the Ocean from the Top Down
• Geographic Information Systems
• Effects of Human Disturbance on Watershed
  Resources
• Ground-truth imagery with field measurements

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• Program Outline (Continued)
• 3. Exploring the Ocean from the Bottom Up at
  LEO-15
• Immersion in current research at LEO-15
• Phytoplankton community dynamics
• Supplementary MARE lessons

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Program Outline (Continued)

• 4. Habitat Studies
• Exposure to diverse habitats
• Habitat mapping
• Critter census
• 5. Development of Internet Modules and Hands-on
  Lessons
• Video Conferences
• Follow-up Workshops

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• Evaluation Tools
• Goal Measure the change in participant
  knowledge, perception
• and behavior over the course of the program
• Evaluation tools were designed by WordCraft Inc.
• Pre-Institute and post-Institute Survey
• Formative Interviews
• Teaching Unit Description
• Follow-up Phone Interviews

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1998 Evaluation Results
Successful in providing access to new and
useful scientific information. Successful in
improving confidence in using the Internet and
demonstrating that the Internet is more than
just a passive research tool utilized to
retrieve facts. Less successful in
significantly increasing the participant's
confidence in using real-time (less
predictable) data sets from the LEO.
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1999 Evaluation Results
91 of the participants indicated that their
personal confidence in marine science content
increased overall. 100 of the participants
responded feeling confident to very confident
in presenting the LEO modules 45 of the
participants used the Internet in their
classroom for student research, collaborative
projects, posting and sharing student work and
for science labs with on line scientific data.
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What Works. There is a growing emphasis in
education on inquiry-based learning but not a
concomitant effort within the public school
systems budget for professional development
and classroom resources to support this goal.
NOPP provides assistance in building
partnerships and financial support. What Could
Work Better Longer grant periods Improved
Contact with ONR - year long dialogue
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Lessons Learned from NOPP Select Teams of
Educators from schools verses individual
educators. This improves viability of the
project and the commitment of the
participant(s). Provide a learning environment
that allows time for reflection, and
assimilation. Provide a program that is
sensitive to grade level appropriateness and
performance standards (Core Standards). Anticipat
e the challenges faced (administratively, and
technologically)by the classroom educator Form
long-term partnerships with the participants.
The scientist-educator partnership enriches both
communities.

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I really liked meeting all of the people who
make LEO tick. Ill never be an important
person in the field of science but I may be able
to stimulate some young child to love science
and he/she may become an important
scientist. Elizabeth Schenck, Stafford
Township Schools