1998 Year of the Ocean Marine Education U.S.A.: An Overview 



organizations such as the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the U.S. 

 Department of Education. 



The Hawaii Marine Science Studies program was developed by the Curriculum Research 

 and Development Group at the University of Hawaii. It is designed as a one or two year 

 integrated science program for grades 9-14. It is a hands-on, multidisciplinary program with a 

 marine theme that integrates science, technology, and environmental studies. The Fluid Earth 

 portion has units on waves and beaches, physical oceanography, chemical oceanography, and 

 transportation. The Living Ocean portion deals with fish, invertebrates, plants, and ecology. This 

 is not a Hawaiian-only program. The program has been reviewed by at least 50 marine scientists 

 and tested in the classroom by over 400 teachers to date. Clearly, this is a high quality program 

 that fits a new niche in grades 9-12, namely, a two-year "integrated science" course for all 

 students. This type of course is especially applicable in California where the State Science 

 Framework calls for some physical, life, and earth sciences in each science course. 



At the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley, the Marine 

 Activities Resources and Education program is a comprehensive ocean exploration program 

 developed for K-8 (elementary and middle schools) . This program devotes the attention of an 

 entire student body of a school to the ocean for a week. Students read books and stories about the 

 ocean, create ocean-related art, listen to music about the sea, and study ocean-related topics in 

 mathematics, science, and social science. There are special programs for teachers, parents, and 

 even the community. This program provides a short but intense and comprehensive approach to 

 marine education, not just to marine science education. 



A new international environmental curriculum is underway that has the endorsement of 

 the Clinton/Gore Administration. Called "Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the 

 Environment (GLOBE),", its focus was on making measurements and observations related to 

 lakes, rivers, and weather. Recently, GLOBE is expanding to include coastal waters. Students 

 make measurements and observations based on a GLOBE protocol and share data via the 

 Internet. To date, more than 3,000 schools in 50 countries are participating. 



Under an NSF grant, three curriculum projects spanning K-12 have been refined and 

 enhanced. They will become available soon on two multimedia compact discs. The discs will 

 contain all the text and graphics from the three projects. The three are the Marine Activities 

 Resources and Education program, FOR SEA (developed by the Marine Science Center at 

 Poulsbo, WA), and "Living in Water," an aquatic science curriculum for grades 5-7 developed at 

 the National Aquarium, Baltimore. 



"Oceanic Education Activities for Great Lake Schools " was developed at Ohio State 

 University under the leadership of Dr. Rosanne Fortner. These are activities that are designed to 

 take a concept or idea from the existing school curriculum and develop it into an oceanic and 

 Great Lakes context using teaching approaches and materials appropriate for grades 5-9. Dr. 

 Fortner has also developed "Great Lakes Instructional Materials for the Changing Earth System." 



K-12 



