K12 Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Workshop Series

A professional learning community of K12 teacher leaders from northwest Washington school districts, and private and Tribal schools, in partnership with University of Washington (UW), School of Oceanography scientists, will engage in a K12 Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) workshop centered on learning marine science through the use of data from the OOI Regional Cabled Array (RCA). Participants will include a cohort of up to fifteen secondary teachers selected from a network of seventeen school districts and nine other regional STEM Networks.

STEM lessons will include topics such as ocean acidification, seismic activity at Axial Seamount and along the Cascadia Subduction Zone, and climate change. The workshop will provide professional development/training on RCA science and how to use the relevant data and technology to support STEM learning in the classroom.

The workshops will provide professional development (PD)/training on RCA science and how to use the relevant data for inclusion in the classroom. Specific workshop goals include: 1) Developing teacher and student core knowledge about OOI science that aligns with state standards; 2) Training participants to use a cloud-based platform for access to OOI data and visualizations that can be used in the classroom for inquiry-based learning; and 3) Co-creating 3-5 complete educational packages that can be used nationwide to build teacher capacity.

The training provided will improve K12 teacher instructional practice and student achievement in STEM instruction through the real-life deep and meaningful integration of OOI data into STEM coursework and field experiences. The lessons described will be made available to teachers, students, and principals nationwide via publication on a variety of websites.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.