by editor | Jul 27, 2010 | Marine/Aquatic Education
by Gene Williamson
Forty years ago, when I first decided that I wanted to teach about the oceans in my 8th grade classroom in Corvallis, I was faced with a daunting task. Not only were there only the sketchiest of materials available, the prevailing wisdom was that students were not capable of dealing with sea floor geology, tides, and similar topics. There was no course of study or a common understanding of what we wanted to teach and how. Several other Oregon teachers were having similar problems. We met to discuss our mutual conundrum and, as a result, NAME was born. (more…)
by editor | Jul 27, 2010 | Marine/Aquatic Education
How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science
Authors: Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer and Eric Scigliano
Publisher: Smithsonian Books/Harper Collins
ISBN 13:9780061558412
Reviewed by Orlay Johnson
If you would enjoy learning about the life and times of Dr. Curtis Ebbesmeyer, a UW graduate and Seattle oceanographer best known for tracking ocean currents using sneakers and bath toys lost, then sit back and enjoy. Flotsametrics, is co-written by Dr. Ebbesmeyer and Eric Scigliano, a local science writer.
It is a fun read, with plenty of oceanographic insights, some very personal experiences and a glimpse into the very “way out” thinking that allowed Ebbesmeyer to champion some bizarre ideas, like using Nike sneakers and bathtub toys lost off of freighters to study massive oceanic gyres. (more…)
by editor | May 24, 2010 | Marine/Aquatic Education
by Bill Hanshumaker
Hatfield Marine Science Center
The Southern Ocean surrounds Antarctica and serves as a conduit between the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Yet because of severe climatic conditions, much of this ocean basin remains unexplored. Polar regions play key roles in the global environment and one goal of our project is to document linkages between changes to the Antarctic ice sheet and the volcano-tectonic seafloor processes in the region. To meet the challenge for continuous monitoring in this extreme environment, researchers from the Hatfield Marine Science Center utilized the Russian icebreaker Yuzhmorgeologiya to deploy an array of Autonomous Underwater Hydrophones (AUH). This new ocean-sensor technology uses cold-water capable, deep-ocean hydrophones to record sounds generated by moving ice sheets, undersea earthquakes and volcanoes; even vocalizations from large baleen whales. When the AUH array is recovered in 2006, sounds that it has captured will enable accurate monitoring of global climate change, as well as identifying previously unknown volcanically active regions on the polar seafloor. (more…)
by editor | May 19, 2010 | Marine/Aquatic Education, Place-based Education, Schoolyard Classroom
Forest Grove Community School student taking a closer look at macroinvertebrates living in a stream near the school.
Innovative tools allow a teacher to extend class activities on stream ecology and forest history
by Charles Graham
I have made an interesting observation about teaching recently. Some of the best lessons are not necessarily the carefully planned and orchestrated units, but rather the ones that grew and took shape as the project progressed. I have found that some of my best teaching has been when I didn’t know the exact outcome in advance and learned something new right along with my students. This has been my experience with environmental exploration into stream ecology and the “Leaf Pack” program. (more…)
by editor | May 14, 2010 | K-12 Classroom Resources, Marine/Aquatic Education
Investigating the Secrets of the Underwater World
By Cindy A. Littlefield
Illustrations by Sarah Rakitin
Published by Williamson Publishing, 2003, 120 p.
Reviewed by Sharon A. Hollander
I review children’s books, and I read through plenty on science and nature. I can honestly say that I felt a wave of relief when I came upon Awesome Ocean Science! Investigating the Secrets of the Underwater World, a Williamson Kids Can! Book.
I recently took home a big stack of books on the environment, and I was disappointed, not to mention bored by most of them. Perhaps appropriate as sources for school reports, I can’t imagine a child spontaneously picking one up for leisure reading. In fact, some of these books would test even an adult without bulletproof interest in the topic. Well-written and visually appealing, Awesome Ocean Science! stood out in the crowd. (more…)
by editor | Feb 24, 2010 | Marine/Aquatic Education, Place-based Education
Connecting Students and Salmon in Their Watershed
How rearing salmon in an elementary classroom can foster powerful teaching and learning in the content areas, environmental awareness, and good stewardship of the Earth
By Daniel S. King, PhD
My transition in January of last year to a new position teaching science, math, and technology to 5th graders at STARBASE ATLANTIS on Navy Base Kitsap has caused me to reflect on my 11 years as an elementary school teacher.
There is no doubt that my work as a public school teacher was rewarding in countless ways; however, the most profound, meaningful, and enjoyable experience for me during my years as an elementary school teacher was participating in a Salmon in the Classroom Project. Likewise, I believe the project has had a positive and enduring impact on the hundreds of students that participated along with me.
For 10 years my students and I raised salmon in the classroom and then released them into Clear Creek in Silverdale, Washington which is located on the Kitsap Peninsula.
As an elementary school teacher I had taught every level from kindergarten through 6th grade. My experience teaching at each of these grade levels enabled me to become familiar with the broad K-6 curriculum as well as the developmental continuum of K-6 learners. One of the most important things I learned from my wide-ranging teaching experience is that a vast majority of children at every elementary grade level are passionate about protecting animals and animal habitats in the world in which they live. Furthermore, Iíve learned that through real-world inquiry-based learning activities even the least motivated students become exceptionally engaged in the learning process. It is true that over the course of 10 years I took over 900 children in kindergarten through 6th grade on salmon release field trips without experiencing any serious behavior issues! Clearly, outdoor education provides opportunities for powerful teaching and learning events for all types of learners. Indeed, the outdoors provides a positive context for learning in a way that cannot be duplicated within the confines of a classroom.
Salmon in the Classroom
Each January, shortly after my students returned from winter break, they would arrive at school one morning surprised to see a new addition to the classroom–a specially designed salmon tank set up and ready to receive salmon eggs. Within a few days of discovering the salmon tank, a volunteer from the Kitsap Kiwanis Club would arrive unannounced with a small burlap bag full of salmon eggs. He would then dump about 200 pinkish pearl-like Chum Salmon eggs into the egg tray in front of an audience of curious on-lookers. Once all the eggs were deposited the students looked closely and discovered that the eggs were translucent and that you could see the eyes of the tiny fish inside them. “These are eyed-eggs and soon to hatch,” the Kiwanis volunteer would explain. So began the process of discovery and learning about the salmon life cycle.
For the week or so after the salmon eggs arrived, eager learners would flock to the tank each day to marvel and wonder at the sight of salmon fry hatching. The eggs bounced and jiggled until finally the alevin (also know as sac fry) emerged complete with their fatty bulge (a yolk sac for nourishment) in their abdomens. The alevin would then wriggle and squeeze through the wire mesh of the egg tray and swim downward into the rocks and gravel where they remained hidden for approximately six weeks. “Where did they all go?” the students would wonder upon discovering no more eggs on the egg tray and no baby salmon to be seen anywhere in the tank. “What do you suppose happened to them?” I would respond.
Day after day the children would peer curiously into the window of the tank. At first, the tank would be frequented by almost every student in the class. Then, over the ensuing weeks with no activity to be seen, curiosity would begin to wane and the tank would be visited by fewer and fewer students. Approximately six weeks later, usually when a student strayed to the tank on a trip to the water fountain or pencil sharpener, the class would become startled by the cry, “I saw one! I saw a baby salmon!” With this, the entire class would race to the tank to have a look. Sure enough, several salmon fry would be swimming about the tank. Indeed, as their fatty deposits diminish, the fry “button up” and emerge from their rocky hiding places in search of food. “It’s time to begin feeding our fish,” I would say. It was also time to begin the next phase of discovery and learning.
Using Children’s Inquiry as a Catalyst for Learning
Children of all ages are naturally curious about ambiguous and novel phenomena and experiences. Teachers can take advantage of children’s curiosity and wonder to foster inquiry-based learning events. Learning fueled by inquiry is powerful and engaging. Inquiry sparks motivation, desire, and purpose for learning because children naturally seek to make meaning of ambiguous and novel information. Things in nature, particularly live animals, seem to appeal to most children fostering in them a desire to use their keen observation skills. This is what makes the salmon in the classroom project such a powerful catalyst for teaching and learning new concepts and skills. Through the salmon in the classroom project using a variety of cooperative and exploratory learning activities I was able to teach students in grades K-6 core concepts in both science and social studies and integrate lesson in language arts, math, and visual arts thereby creating a multi-disciplinary salmon education curriculum.
For example, in the process of raising the salmon fry, students learned not only about the salmon life cycle, but that all animals (including humans) have a life cycle. One way this was accomplished was by having students cut out pictures from kid-friendly magazines of people in various stages of life (infant, toddler, child, pre-teen, teen-ager, young adult, and so on) for use in making their own human life-cycle posters. In the process, students were able to compare and contrast the salmon life cycle and the human life cycle. (more…)
