Oceanography Undergraduate Education

1
Oceanography Undergraduate Education
GES Interdisciplinary Rigorous Research
focused B.S. degree
Educating Hawaiis people through OCN 201 and 19
other undergraduate courses
2
UH and UHM Strategic Plans

• Increase in degrees in STEM fields by 3 per year
  through 2015
• Increase native Hawaiians in STEM fields
• Involve undergraduates in research
• Focus on needs of State

3
Service to UH and Hawaii

• Science of the Sea (OCN 201 and 201L)
• 500-550 students/yr
• Global Environmental Change (OCN 310)
• 40-60 students/semester
• Aquatic Pollution (OCN 320)
• 50-55 students/yr
• Living Resources of the Sea (OCN 331)
• 25 students/semester
• Energy Mineral Resources (OCN 330)
• 25 students/semester
• Enrollment dominated by nonmajors

4
New Directions

• Educational pedagogy moving away from pure
  lecture courses
• Discussion groups
• Class projects
• Student writing
• Field work/trips
• Use of clickers
• Distance learning
• HITS e.g. OCN 331

5
What We Want/Need

• Increased enrollments
• Agreement with AS on credit requirement
• HITS support
• Increased faculty participation
• TAs
• Loss of a TA means loss of a 201 lab section
• New teaching techniques require more
  instructor/student interaction and supervision

6
GES Program A Great Success

• Started in 1998
• Rigorous BS unique combination of breadth and
  focus
• 63 graduates
• 30 to graduate school
• 24 to environmentally related jobs
• 9 to military, other, or unknown

7
GES Current Students

• 55 majors
• 30 local, 40 mainland, 30 international
• Research experience is key rewarding, but
  challenging
• Connecting students and mentors
• Funding projects
• Guidance through process
• Time to completion

8
GES Plans - Recruitment

• Top students everywhere
• Improved website
• Mailings/advertising
• Increase numbers of Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders
• Working with CMORE
• Tutoring/mentoring/financial support are key

9
GES Plans - Curriculum

• Evaluation of current courses
• Coord. of 310, 310L, 401
• More rigorous version of 310
• More rigorous version of 201?
• Need more biology in curriculum
• Ecosystem-scale biology
• Support for new hire in coral reefs/climate change

10
GES Plans - Curriculum

• Course development
• Research oriented course coord. w/ HIOOS
• To shepherd students into thesis topics
• Students would work up data sets from HIOOS
  projects such as Kilo Nalu, CRIMP, HOTS, etc.
• Project would continue in a second semester OCN
  499 with faculty mentor
• OCN 363 provides prerequisites skills in Matlab
  and data handling
• Field trips/field work
• Would need a TA

11
Summary

• Service courses and GES degree are in good shape
• To move forward with enrollments and program
  development
• Scholarships Research Fellowships
• Website upgrade/advertising support
• TAs
• Addition of coral reefs/climate change expertise
• Agreement with AS