COSEE-NE and NEOSEC News
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COSEE at NSTA The COSEE presence at the NSTA meeting in Boston was a great success! We met and spoke with several hundred teachers in the exhibit floor booth, had a sold out short course, and a successful series of concurrent sessions on Saturday followed up by a small reception Saturday evening. Next up: continuing the COSEE presence at NSTA '09 in New Orleans! (see Conferences below)
Telling Your Story at UMaine The Census of Marine Life-Gulf of Maine Area Program at the University of Southern Maine and COSEE-NE invite K-12 teachers, scientists, researchers and graduate students in marine or aquatic sciences to a Telling Your Story workshop, Thursday, May 29, 2008, 10am-3pm, at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, 350 Commercial Street, Portland, Maine. This is a regional workshop designed to strengthen the ties between science and education in order to promote ocean literacy in the Gulf of Maine. A program developed by COSEE-NE, Telling Your Story workshops have been held throughout New England since 2004. This workshop is free but registration is required as space is limited. To RSVP by Thursday, May 15, or for more details, contact Suzy Ryan. |
Reports, Publications and Announcements
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Education Week Focuses on STEM The focus for Education Week's Technology Counts issue is on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Read detailed state-by-state reports and more on the Education Week website.
New Findings on Marine Microorganisms In two new studies by researchers at Stanford and the Carnegie Institution, a widespread species of ocean-dwelling microorganisms has been found to employ a never-before-seen alternative method of photosynthesis. The discovery has implications not only for scientists' basic understanding of photosynthesis but also for the amount of carbon dioxide that phytoplankton pull from the atmosphere. Read the story. In addition, attendees at the Society for General Microbiology's 162nd meeting heard research findings showing that some of the oxygen we breathe is being produced by viruses infecting marine microorganisms. Read the story.
NOAA Studies Effects of Ocean Noise on Marine Wildlife The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) dropped buoys into the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary waters off the coast of Massachusetts that will record sound for the next 30 months in an attempt to understand the effect of ocean noise on marine wildlife.
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Online Ocean Education Resources
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Encyclopedia of Life The first 30,000 pages of the online Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) are now available. Intended as a tool for scientists and policymakers and as a resource for anyone interested in the living world, the EOL is being developed by a collaboration between scientists and the general public. Drawing upon its collaboration with the Catalogue of Life and Tree of Life projects, EOL's infrastructure now includes placeholder pages for 1 million species.
Go Visit an Aquarium The Bridge can help you find an aquarium or ocean science-related museum for your spring field trip or summer vacation. In the Resource Center section you will find a listing of aquariums and ocean science museums. The Bridge also features information on field trips to research institutions and other outdoor education centers. Those aquariums, ocean science museums and education facilities that are not found in the Bridge's collection are encouraged to submit their site for inclusion.
National Environmental Education Week Resources National Environmental Education Week, April 13-19, promotes understanding and protection of the natural world by actively engaging K-12th grade students and educators of all subjects in a week of environmental learning and service before Earth Day. To date, over 650 schools, nature centers, zoos, museums, and aquariums from around the country have pledged to implement EE Week activities through the EE Week website. Register online to access a wide variety of free environmental education resources, including standards-based environmental education lessons and activities.
Scientific Data in the Classroom Data in the Classroom is a new online resource for teachers interested in using real scientific data in their teaching. The NOAA Ocean Data Education (NODE) Project is developing curriculum for grades 5-8 designed to help teachers and students use real scientific data to explore dynamic Earth processes and understand the impact of environmental events on a regional or global scale. Modules on El Nino and sea level are now available.
NASA Data Lesson Plans MY NASA DATA is a project that enables K-12 teachers and students, as well as citizen scientists, to explore the large volumes of data that NASA collects about the Earth from space. Students use scientific inquiry and math skills as they access and display microsets of the Earth system. Student science fair resources are also available.
NOAA Online Research Cruise Join NOAA online for the latest National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) research cruise, exploring conservation areas in Puerto Rico. Online visitors can watch video clips and access a wealth of supporting information and images, from cruises in 2004 through the recent 2008 seafloor characterization cruise. The website includes background information, video, data, and scientist profiles.
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Jobs in New England (and beyond)
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Several Openings at Maritime Aquarium, Connecticut The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut currently has several job openings: Program Coordinator, Educators, and Camp Counselors, among others. Read the full job descriptions online.
Coalition for Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts The Coalition for Buzzards Bay, a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection, restoration, and sustainable use of Buzzards Bay and its watershed, is seeking candidates for three positions: Citizens Water Quality Monitoring Program Assistant Coordinator, Advocacy Specialist, and Development and Finance Assistant. For full job descriptions, including application instructions, see the Coalition's website or contact Tony Williams.
Science Educator and Project Manager, Vermont The Montshire Museum of Science seeks an enthusiastic and creative science teacher to join the Museum's Education Department for a one-year, full-time position.
NOAA Opportunities, Maryland NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management has openings for a Communications Specialist and a Coastal Management and Coastal Hazards Specialist. Contact Joshua Lott for details.
Science Educator, Georgia Driftwood Education Center on Saint Simons Island, Georgia, seeks science educators, from August 2008 until May 2009. For more information visit online.
Marine Science Instructor, California The Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect the ocean environment beyond the Golden Gate, in partnership with the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, through education, outreach and stewardship. The Sanctuary is seeking a Marine Science Instructor for the 2008 summer Sanctuary Explorers Camp. For more information contact Sara Heintzelman.
Marine Ecosystems Exhibit Education Intern, Florida The Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit in Fort Pierce, Florida has an opening for a Marine Ecosystems Exhibit Education Intern. This is a 12-week (May 19 - August 8, 2008), full-time, paid position. The Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit is located on the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), the most diverse estuary in the U.S., and less than one mile from the Atlantic Ocean. For more information contact Laura Diederick. |
Grants, Fellowships and Awards
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NOAA Environmental Education Funding Availability NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) is an environmental education program that promotes locally relevant, experiential learning in the K-12 environment. B-WET is currently seeking proposals for new projects to support regional education and environmental priorities in New England. Funded projects provide meaningful watershed educational experiences for students and related professional development for teachers. Proposals must be received by 5 p.m. on April 16, 2008. For additional information, visit the grants management website.
NSTA New Science Teacher Academy On April 1, NSTA announced a call for entries for
the 2008-2009 NSTA New Science Teacher Academy. Co-founded by the Amgen
Foundation, the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy is a fellowship
program created to help promote quality science teaching, enhance
teacher confidence and classroom excellence and improve teacher content
knowledge. Visit the NSTA New Science Teacher Academy website. Applications must be submitted no later than May 23, 2008.
NSF GK-12 Program
NSF's Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) program
provides funding for graduate students. Through interactions with
teachers and students in K-12 schools and with other graduate fellows
and faculty from STEM disciplines, graduate students can improve
communication, teaching, collaboration, and team-building skills while
enriching STEM learning and instruction in K-12 schools. Details available online.
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Seminars, Workshops, Online Courses
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NOAA ROV Seminar NOAA Seminars presents HROV: Exploring the ocean's deepest depths, Tuesday April 15, 11am-noon. Speakers: Andy Bowen, Brendan Foley and Chris German of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The Nereus vehicle will enable scientists to explore the most remote regions of the oceans, such as under the polar ice caps and deep trenches up to depths of 10,972 meters (36,000 feet). The presentation will discuss some of the unanswered scientific questions motivating development of the vehicle, a brief description of the HROV concept and how it works, followed by a view forward of how such vehicles can be used for a range of innovative applications. Webcast access available. For more infrmation on this and other NOAA Seminars visit online.
MITS Summer Institute The Museum Institute for Teaching Science (MITS) in Boston is holding its annual Summer Institute July 7-18. The program offers K-8 teachers professional development opportunities to learn inquiry-based, hands-on methods of teaching science, technology, engineering, and math. This year's theme is Headline Science: Science, Math, and Literacy Behind the Headlines, and will allow teachers the ability to explore and learn about the science processes that go into developing what the public reads in the news. More information is available through the MITS website.
Ocean Observing Institute for Educators at UNH The University of New Hampshire Coastal Observing Center, the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System (GoMOOS) and Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence-Ocean Systems (COSEE-OS), present: Linking the Ocean to the Classroom, Understanding Seasonal Change in the Ocean Using Ocean Observing Data. The workshop will be held at the University of New Hampshire July 7-11, 2008 and offered to 20 teachers who teach grades 7-12. For more information visit online. The application deadline is April 25, 2008.
Boat Camp for Teachers BOAT CAMP Inc. is offering three new professional development opportunities for teachers aboard the Erica Lee, departing from downtown Newburyport, MA this spring and summer. Held both aboard the Erica Lee and inside the waterfront boathouse, these professional development workshops are for K-12 educators and offer PDPs or graduate credit from Salem State College.
Bahamas Studies for Educators Wild Studies is offering a week-long eco-education adventure for educators and their adult friends (18 years or older) on Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas May 29-June 4, 2008. Activities include snorkeling over coral reefs, participating in reef fish surveys, tropical ocean ecology, and more. For more information visit online.
Coral Reef Course for Teachers in West Indies Buccoo Reef USA is offering a professional development opportunity for grade 7-12 science teachers this summer as part of the REEF TEACH program schedule. The course runs from June 22-29, and will take place in the West Indies, on the island of Tobago. The course, Global Environmental Change: Buccoo Reef and Beyond, will explore the coral reef ecosystems and will incorporate hands-on research strategies and field work, plus an introduction to the Ocean Literacy principles. For more information contact info@buccooreefusa.org.
Coral Reef SCUBA Workshop The Gulf of Mexico Foundation invites educators to participate in the 13th annual Down Under, Out Yonder (DUOY) coral reef workshop and SCUBA field experience to the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, July 19-23, 2008. DUOY 2008 information and application details are available online. DUOY 2008 is available nationwide to all professional educators. Contact Franklin Viola for more information.
Seminars on Hawaii The Edge of Kaui Investigations
presents two summer 2008 seminars in Hawaii:
Geoscience on the Big Island, a week-long accredited professional development seminar that provides science educators the opportunity to upgrade their skills in earth science instruction. Dates available:June 8-14, July 6-12, August 7-13.
And:
The Science of Ecosystems, a week-long accredited professional development seminar for science educators. Dates available: June 21-28 and July 19-26. For more information email teok@aloha.net or visit online.
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Conferences
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Massachusetts Marine Educators Annual Meeting The Massachusetts Marine Educators (MME) are holding their Woods Hole Conference and Annual Meeting on Saturday, May 3, 2008 8:30am-4:30pm at Redfield Auditorium, WHOI, in Woods Hole. This year's theme is International Polar Year: Distant Events That Hit Close to Home. Teacher-led
workshops and tours of local facilities will wrap up a full day of
marine science and collegial interaction. More registration information
online.
NSTA 2009 Proposals Proposals are now being accepted online for the NSTA 2009 New Orleans National Conference on Science Education, March 19-22, 2009. NMEA will again be organizing a strand of marine science sessions and would like to include as many NMEA proposals as possible. If you are an NMEA member and submit a proposal, contact Beth Jewell with the following information: the proposal number, your name, proposal title and abstract. The NSTA liaison committee will review those submitted for diversity, interest, engaging activities, and connections to the Ocean Literacy Essentials Principles and Fundamental Concepts. More NSTA information and session proposal forms is available. Visit the online submission page to submit your proposal for the New Orleans conference. The deadline is April 15, 2008.
International Marine Conservation Congress Call for Papers The Marine Section of the Society for Conservation Biology will be hosting its first stand-alone meeting, the International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC), May 20-24, 2009, at George Mason University. This interdisciplinary meeting, Making Marine Science Matter, will engage natural and social scientists, managers, policy-makers, and the public, to put conservation science into practice, developing outreach products (e.g., policy briefs and position papers) to drive policy change and implementation. The major conference themes are: Global Climate Change, the Land-Sea Interface, Ecosystem Based Management, and Poverty and Globalization. Cross-cutting issues encompass topics of global relevance and importance to marine conservation that relate to the major themes. For more information visit online or email IMCCprogram@conbio.org
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Student Opportunities
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EPA Summer Opportunities for Students Website
The EPA Summer Opportunities website is available through May 28, 2008. It provides a central website through which students may learn about EPA offices and summer employment opportunities.
Hog Island Summer Camps, Maine Maine Audubon's residential programs on Hog Island educate adults, children, and families about coastal wildlife in Maine and beyond. Programs offered include both adult camps and sessions for youth and teens. Some financial aid is available.
Coastal Zone Management Internships The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management has several internships available. For more information visit the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs website. |
Requests
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Teachers Wanted to Pilot Curriculum Guide
The NOAA Ocean Data Education (NODE) Project's Investigating El Niņo Using Real Data curriculum guide contains five activities designed for grades 6-8 that incorporate real data from NOAA. If you would like to help test and evaluate this curriculum guide, register on the new
Data in the Classroom website.
Gulf of Maine Awards The Gulf of Maine Council is seeking nominations for its Susan Snow-Cotter Leadership, Longard Volunteer, and Visionary Awards. Nominations for all awards are due by April 25.
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Events
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We are happy to include events from around New England. If you would like your organization's event published here, please send the information to the editor, Catherine Cramer. Thanks!
Woods Hole Sea Grant Lectures The annual series of lectures, Oceans Alive: Plain Talk on Current Topics in Marine Science Presented for the General Public, are free of charge and are designed to inform and involve the general public in relevant and timely marine science issues. This year's series will feature the following presentations:
Tuesday, April 15, 7:00 p.m., Right Whale Auto Detection Buoy Network in Cape Cod Bay
Tuesday, April 22, 7:00 p.m., Achilles' Jaw? The Biomechanics of Fatal Jaw Fractures in Right Whales
Presentations are held in Redfield Auditorium, Water Street, Woods Hole. For more information, contact Sheri DeRosa.
Northeastern University Marine Science Center Lecture Dr. William M Fowler will present Tell It Goodbye Kiddo: A History of the North Atlantic Fishery, at the Nahant Town Hall, 334 Nahant Road, Nahant MA, Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at 7:00pm. Contact Tracy Hajduk for more information.
Cape Cod Museum of Natural History Lecture Cindy Milburn, Senior Advisor, International Fund for Animal Welfare, will present a lecture, On Thin Ice: Climate Change and Marine Mammals, April 16, 2008, 7:30 pm, at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster, MA. For more information visit online.
Seabird and Whale Tale Cruise New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance (NECWA) and OceanQuest Hands-on Marine Education offer an all-day marine wildlife cruise on Sunday, June 8, departing at 7:30 am from the Plymouth (MA) Town Pier. Wayne Petersen of Massachusetts Audubon Society, David Clapp of Natural History Services and Dr. John C. Jahoda of Bridgewater State College will lead the excursion to view coastal marine wildlife. For more information or to download the registration form, visit OceanQuest or NECWA online.
Seal Watch and Prudence Island Tour, Rhode Island Explore Prudence Island, see seals at one of the best haul-out spots in Narragansett Bay, and learn about ecological research in the bay. Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve offers these outreach opportunities in April for groups of six to ten participants; registration is required. |
NEwswave Schedule
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The next issue of NEwswave will be sent April 24, 2008. Please send announcements and news to the editor, Catherine Cramer.
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Include Your News in NEwswave!
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Send news and announcements of interest to the New England Ocean Science Education community to the editor, Catherine Cramer.
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New Data Tool
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New Gulf of Maine Regional Data Tool
The Gulf of Maine Council's Ecosystem Indicator Partnership (ESIP) has launched the first version of the Indicator Reporting Tool, which uses geospatial data publishing standards to bring together data from Gulfwatch, the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System, Mussel Watch, and other data sets. Access the new tool and ESIP's current Monitoring Map tool on the ESIP website.
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Sea Talk Radio
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As a public service in conjunction with more than 35 area radio stations, Delaware Sea Grant produces SeaTalk, a bimonthly series of 30- and 60-second radio announcements on subjects ranging from sharks to sand dunes to current marine science research. The series has been in production at the University of Delaware for more than 30 years. Visit online to download audio clips, read the scripts, and subscribe to podcasts.
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Key to Ocean Life?
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Mysterious Compound Seen as Key to Ocean Life
Scientists study chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) to gain a better understanding of life in the oceans. Read the NSF summary.
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Marine Ecosystem Newsletter
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The latest issue of
the newsletter of Marine Ecosystems and Management
is now available.
Marine Ecosystems and Management (MEAM) is a quarterly information service focused on marine ecosystem-based management.
Subscribe to MEAM.
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Gulf of Maine Times
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The Spring issue of the Gulf of Maine Times
is available online. New in this issue: voice clips and extra online-only coverage.
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SeaWeb Publications
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SeaWeb's Ocean Update
is published monthly. Subscribe online.
The latest issue of SeaWeb's Marine Photobank Bulletin is also available.
Other recent SeaWeb Marine Science Reviews include information on coral reefs, marine and coastal birds, human health, habitats and ecosystems, fish and fisheries, pollution, climate change, and marine mammals. Visit online
to register for SeaWeb publications. |
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Massachusetts Marine Educators Newsletter
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The Spring issue of MME's newsletter Flotsam and Jetsam is now available on the MME website.
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Include Your News in NEwswave
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| Send your news and announcements of interest to the New England ocean science education community to the editor, Catherine Cramer. |
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