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Educator Trainings

We offered a range of professional development and training opportunities for informal and formal educators. To find other events and trainings offered by COSEE NOW, click on the Events link in the Site Content Sidebar on the Right.

Formal Educators (K-12)

  • RU Science 2U – At the New Jersey Science Convention in October 2014 two Rutgers PhD students co-presented their work in an interactive workshop that explored NGSS Science Practices and discussed tools to bring practices and real data into the classrooms for students in grades 3-12.
  • East Coast MARE Program – The MARE program began as a full school, interdisciplinary, marine science curriculum for K-8 teachers, with a week-long teacher training session each summer, and morphed into ocean-focused data and science grounded lessons for teachers in K-12 with summer 1-day  and school-year evening training opportunities.
  • “The oceans, they are a’ changin’….. how will they change you?“: National Science Teachers Association National Conference, New Orleans, LA, Friday, March 20, 2009 – Examining the role of the ocean in climate change offers a unique and compelling approach to integrate marine science, technology, mathematics and engineering with history and culture into classroom educational materials. Participants interacted with experts from NASA, NOAA, and other researchers to gain knowledge of methods employed to study climate change, and use materials designed for grades 6 – 12, developed by the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) Network. Materials include links to real time data, relevant scientific resources, lesson plans, and connections to a nation-wide network of scientists and educators focused on improving ocean literacy.
  • LSC Earth Science Teacher Working Group – Through a grant from NASA, the Liberty Science Center offered a Summer Institute in 2011 for Earth Science teachers who have experience using real-time or near-real time (RTD) data in their instruction. Teachers in the working group helped COSEE NOW partners establish how RTD are being used in the classroom and determine what support teachers need to more fully integrate RTD lessons in their instruction.
  • Curriculum Developed in the ITEST and COSEE programs – In this webinar, the ITEST Learning Resource Center and COSEE (Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence) showcased curriculum materials on topics ranging from computer game development to engineering design to ecology to ocean sciences. These curricula – designed for middle/high school teachers and students and available online at no charge – encourage and support innovative STEM learning and teaching and have been adapted through collaboration with partners, educators and students across the ITEST and COSEE education programs.
  • Using Ocean Data in Education – This webinar series on Using Ocean Data in Education was held in 2010. In this series, effective strategies for incorporating real ocean data in formal and informal education products and programs were explored as a way to connect students to scientific concepts and real-time science. This session was especially designed for scientists and educators who are involved in Ocean Observing Systems.
  • NOW at NMEA – At the 2009 National Marine Educators Association conference, COSEE NOW team members presented a number of presentations spanning the range from ocean literacy activities in the K-12 classroom to an extensive review of scientists opinions on education and outreach.
  • Bridge Online Webinars – These two webinars from 2009 introduced educators and scientists to web resources that help incorporate ocean observing system (OOS) science into instruction and started a discussion on developing OOS based educational materials.
  • National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Annual Conference – The ocean is a driver in global climate, it fuels extreme weather, and it provides half of the oxygen on Earth. It is also changing- from the depletion of global fisheries, receding sea ice, changing sea level, and altered biogeochemistry. These changes have brought with them a resurgence of ocean science research and technology and have underscored the importance of a scientifically literate public that understands the ocean and its impact on our planet. The goals of this symposium held at the 2009 NARST Annual Conference were twofold: (1) to introduce the COSEE centers to the NARST community, and (2) to present cases of partnerships among scientists and science educators and discuss their affordances and constrains in terms of the research and products generated.
  • 2009 Strategic Communications Training – In this professional development opportunity led by Andy Goodman, a nationally recognized expert in storytelling and strategic communications, educators and scientists discussed how we can connect with our audiences and improve our ability to deliver our OOS educational messages.

Informal Educators

  • Using Ocean Data in Education– This webinar series on Using Ocean Data in Education was held in 2010. In this series, effective strategies for incorporating real ocean data in formal and informal education products and programs were explored as a way to connect students to scientific concepts and real-time science. This session was especially designed for scientists and educators who are involved in Ocean Observing Systems.
  • Climate & Environmental Change Education – This COSEE NOW supported webinar series from 2009 and was designed primarily for Agents and Program Associates in the New Jersey 4-H program interested in building climate and environmental change curriculum. Information was delivered by science education professionals at the University of California-Berkeley, Lawrence Hall of Science.
  • Exhibit Design for an Integrated Ocean Observing Systems (IOOS) – This webinar series held in 2009 focused on sharing ideas and resources on the development of interactive exhibits or kiosks for use in informal learning institutions. The series highlighted ways in which archived and real-time data resources from the Integrated Ocean Observing Systems (IOOS) network can be integrated into exhibits. It also discussed how these datasets might be used in exhibits to communicate the science of climate change.
  • 2009 Strategic Communications Training – In this professional development opportunity led by Andy Goodman, a nationally recognized expert in storytelling and strategic communications, educators and scientists discussed how we can connect with our audiences and improve our ability to deliver our OOS educational messages.
  • Storytelling Workshop for Ocean Observatory Systems (OOS) Professionals – This 1.5 day retreat experience in January 2009 was designed to explore, share, and learn how to connect with public audiences about the ocean and ocean observing systems (OOS). Participants learned from experts about using storytelling as a powerful communication tool. This retreat was an important professional development opportunity and chance to link with others in the OOS communication and education field.
  • Informal Educators & Practice – The program was created in 2011 to assist informal educators in reflecting on and enhancing their teaching by discussing practice with other informal educators, and examining current research and theory on learning and teaching science. The program was a training of the “Reflecting on Practice” program from the Lawrence Hall of Science at University of California – Berkeley. The program included three webinars and multiple resources.

    Webinars & Resources:

    • Webinar #1: Nature of Science August 26, 2011
      As professionals tasked with teaching science and fostering a love and understanding of science to our guests, it’s extremely worthwhile to spend time thinking about the nature of science and how it can be communicated. In this webinar, we took a critical look at what is and is not an accurate view of science, including its strengths and limitations, and discuss the public’s widespread misinterpretations about science. We discussed how we can show our learners the excitement of the science that surrounds us.
    • Webinar #2: Talking Science September 9, 2011
      We took a closer look at how we facilitate conversations with our learners. What types of questions do you ask? How do you ask questions? What do you do with the information (answers, explanation, and thoughts) you get form learners after you’ve asked a question? We explored not only which of these strategies we found effective in different informal learning settings, but also discussed what we mean by effective.
      (To prepare for this webinar you should watch a video of yourself teaching (or have a colleague observe you) and write down 2-3 questions you asked your learners. Please be sure to record the specific wording you used. Along with each question record how the learners responded to that question. In addition, a homework assignment was assigned.)
    • Webinar #3: Science for Everyone September 16, 2011
      According to our National Science Education Standards, all students, regardless of age, sex, cultural or ethnic background, disabilities, aspirations, or interest and motivation in science, should have the opportunity to attain high levels of scientific literacy. In practice, is that true in our Informal Science Institutions? Is science truly accessible and inclusive to everyone? To explore this, we discussed the following questions/topics: What are your expectations for how visitors will interact with you? Do you have the same expectations for every visitor? What do you think influences your expectations about a visitor? With respect to your conversations and interactions with people, how can you make your activity more inclusive?