Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence Coastal Trends hosts researcher, educators, and students

A student and teacher taking water quality samples. From June 16 to 19, Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE) Coastal Trends welcomed two scientist-educator teams to Horn Point Laboratory in Cambridge, Maryland for an orientation program. Each team includes a scientist, educator, graduate student, and undergraduate student committed to developing effective educational materials for K-12 classrooms. Through lectures, activities, and field trips, the orientation program introduced the teams to research trends in seagrass and dead zones and educational trends in inquiry and critical thinking. During the program, the teams discussed how to incorporate current scientific knowledge into the 5E lesson plan format, adapted from the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. Over the course of the summer, these teams will conduct research and create educational materials on coastal trends that will be field-tested by teachers. IAN staff will provide science communication and web support to the teams as they develop their materials and assist in the evaluation of the final products.