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Focus On ... The End of an Era
As COSEE enters a new chapter, we take a look back at what some of our Centers have accomplished, as well as their plans for the future:
COSEE OCEAN COSEE Ocean Communities in Education and social Networks (OCEAN) uses existing social and professional relationships to strategically engage ocean scientists in education and outreach activities [more]
COSEE Ocean Learning Communities COSEE-OLC moved into its 8th year flush with the success and growth achieved in years 6 and 7. We continued to emphasize three strategies for achieving our mission [more]
COSEE-West As we are winding down in the final year of the program, we are focused on institutionalizing the COSEE-West legacy so that educators, scientists and the public will have the ability to utilize the extensive Los Angeles network and resources that have accumulated over the years [more] |
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| National COSEE Office |
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| There will be a two-day Council meeting in early November, which will focus on next steps for the COSEE Network as well as plans for the Ocean Sciences Meeting in February 2014. |
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| COSEE at Conferences |
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COSEE at SACNAS COSEE will have a presence during the upcoming 2013 SACNAS National Conference, October 3 – 6, San Antonio, TX. COSEE will have a booth in the Exhibition Hall and has successfully coordinated the 3rd Annual Ocean Sciences Row on the Exhibition floor.
COSEE Session: Ocean Science: An interdisciplinary science addressing global to community issues.
Session Description: A panel of ocean scientists will present perspectives on higher education and careers in ocean sciences, particularly as they pertain to exploring, monitoring, and maintaining a healthy ocean. Attendees will gain insights on forging a career path in the ocean sciences. The workshop will include presentations and a question-and-answer session. Speakers include Dr. Corey Garza, Dr. Ernesto Munoz, and Dr. Claudia Benitez-Nelson.
Conversations with Scientists: COSEE will again host Marine/Ocean Science tables where students can have one-on-one discussions with practicing ocean scientists.
COSEE/SWMEA Partner Strand at CSTA 2013 The COSEE Network has the opportunity to create an Ocean Sciences partner strand at the 2013 California Science Teachers Association Conference, to be held in Palm Springs, October 25 - 27, 2013. For more information please contact Sarah Pedemonte.
Ocean Sciences 2014 Plans are well underway for an active presence by the COSEE Network at the Ocean Sciences meeting, being held in Honolulu in February 2014. Along with many COSEE sessions and integrated research and education sessions will be a GEARS full-day workshop (PDF, 199 KB), lunchtime workshops, Nerd Nite, ASLO Home Videos, and more. For details go here. For more information contact Bob Chen or Adrienne Sponberg. For more general information on the Ocean Sciences Meeting, visit here. |
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| Working Group Updates |
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Transition Working Group
From Judy Lemus and Billy Spitzer
At the May 2013 COSEE Council Meeting in Tampa, FL, the COSEE Council voted to form a new working group to help guide the successful transition of the existing NSF-funded COSEE Network into the “Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement”. The Council hopes to unveil the new Consortium at the 2014 Ocean Sciences meeting in Honolulu, HI. Made up of 13 members of the COSEE Council and NCO, the Transition Working Group (TWG) is charged with developing three important aspects of a new COSEE framework over the next several months:- Options for the consortium's organizational and financial models, based on researching relevant models for other consortia and networks.
- Scenarios for how the Consortium could operate at low, medium, optimal levels of funding.
- Governance documents and operating policies.
Preliminary recommendations from the TWG will be made to the Council at the upcoming Council meeting November 5-6, 2013 in Rhode Island. Following Council guidance, the TWG will work to finalize the Consortium plan by February 2014.
The Transition Working Group is producing several documents in support of the upcoming transition period, including:
THE COSEE STORY
Human activity is causing unprecedented change to Earth, our Ocean Planet. Sea level rise, more intense storms, ocean warming and acidification, and altered marine and Great Lakes ecosystems are all part of our future. Yet tomorrow’s ocean holds great promise for sustainable resources, renewable energy, new medicines, and healthy recreation. Meeting these challenges and opportunities will require an ocean literate society and a highly trained workforce.
COSEE (Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement), a national network of ocean scientists and educators, has a proven formula for linking cutting-edge ocean science with the outreach and education needed to increase ocean literacy among diverse audiences. Funding from the National Science Federation over the past 10 years has allowed the COSEE National Network to build strategic partnerships, disseminate effective education and outreach practices, promote ocean literacy, and assist scientists to broaden the impacts of their research.
COSEE is now poised to make ocean science accessible, relevant, and imperative to a widening range of audiences. Direct involvement of ocean scientists with state-of-the-art technology and evidence-based solutions allows COSEE to integrate cutting edge research into high impact programs and resources that can transform the learning and doing of ocean science.
By building bridges between the ocean science and education communities, COSEE is:- Redefining what it means to be an ocean scientist by integrating outreach, communication, and education skills into the development of the scientific workforce.
- Building coherence in K-16 ocean science education by providing a unified voice that represents both ocean scientists and educators.
- Ensuring that ocean research reaches students, citizens, and decision-makers through coordinated, effective outreach and education initiatives.
Over the next three years, COSEE will strengthen its consortium by building:- A diverse portfolio of funded projects and programs.
- An expanded cadre of members, partners, and leaders.
- A strategic set of tested, high impact programs.
Web Working Group With the end of an era approaching, the WWG has: completed the design of templates for uploading and archiving high-level COSEE accomplishments on the COSEE.net website; redesigned the home page to display information relevant to a post-COSEE era; developed procedures for archiving the websites of those Centers whose funding ends in 2013/2014; and completed training in broad-based CMS maintenance in preparation for running the websites without RWS oversight. For more information, contact Annette deCharon, WWG Chair. |
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| Resources |
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| Shedd Aquarium's Digital Learning Shedd Aquarium is piloting an online professional development badging program. The program will explore topics surrounding Great Lakes science along with ideas for classroom connections and opportunities to share with other teachers. Participants complete a series of mini-lessons and activities in environmental literacy, science literacy, and 21st century skills. Find out more. |
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| Center News |
COSEE Florida is pleased to announce a nationwide video contest for ocean scientists. Starting October 15, 2013, the Ocean 180 Video Challenge will be accepting video abstracts detailing recent peer-reviewed ocean science publications. Ocean scientists, including undergraduate and graduate students, affiliated with US-based institutions are eligible to participate.
COSEE Great Lakes is now the Center for Great Lakes Literacy. Check out their new website here.
COSEE Island Earth (IE) is proud to announce the first Student Ocean Film Contest with the Waimea Ocean Film Festival on Jan 2-5, 2014. This contest is open to all schools in the State of Hawaii, Grades 7-12. Two films will be selected for screening at the festival. Films should be 10 minutes maximum and explore Ocean Experience, Ocean Environment &/or Island Culture. Submission Deadline is November 30, 2013. Flyer (PDF, 3.21 MB) | Application (DOCX, 236 KB)
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2013 Hawaii Environmental Education Alliance Symposium: The Hawaii Environmental Education Alliance (HEEA) annually sponsors a symposium dedicated to bringing together environmental educators to encourage sharing and collaboration. This year’s HEEA Symposium was held on July 24 at the Hawaii Conference Center, during the week of the Hawaii Conservation Conference. The symposium included a morning session hosted by COSEE Island Earth (IE) entitled “Mauka to Makai: from Mountain to Ocean”. COSEE IE Director, Judy Lemus, began the morning with an introduction to the new Next Generation Science Standards, emphasizing the marine science related components. Other presentations highlighted various marine science education projects, and hands-on science demonstrations designed for middle and high school students. Programs such as Digital Bus and Hoomaka Hou shared their success of getting students in Hana, Maui, involved in water quality monitoring and marine debris pick-up along the coasts. Other contributors included the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, the Coral Reef Alliance, C-MORE, SeaGrant Hanauma Bay Education Program, Na Kama Kai, and the University of Hawaii Curriculum Research & Development Group (CRDG). The Mauka to Makai session successfully brought together over 60 formal and informal educators to share and collaborate on their unique methods and philosophies for achieving marine environmental education in Hawaii.
New Communicating Ocean Sciences Course: COSEE Island Earth is pleased to announce that they will be offering two Communicating Ocean Sciences courses this fall. These courses emphasize hands-on teaching experience while students learn the principals behind learning sciences and about local marine science issues. One course will be held at Kapiolani Community College, and will be taught on Thursday evenings through the Fall Semester. The other course will be offered through the Hawaii Community College Office of Continuing Education and Training in Kona, Hawaii. This course differs from previous courses, as it has been condensed to ten weeks, and modified to better suit the needs and target working professionals, including educators and marine operators. Both courses have been revised to include traditional knowledge, emphasizing the unique learning styles of Hawaii and include specialized guest speakers who can share about local knowledge and endemic marine species.
COSEE Island Earth Presents at the 7th World Environmental Education Congress: The 7th WEEC (World Environmental Education Congress) was recently held from June 9-14, 2013 in Marrakech, Morocco. COSEE Island Earth was fortunate enough to present on their recent project entitled, Exploring Public Attitudes and Information Needs for Marine Conservation Outreach in Hawaii. This presentation summarized a survey that was developed for the 2012 Hawaii Ocean Expo in order to gather information on marine conservation topics that were of most interest to Hawaii ocean users. Island residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards ocean-use and ocean science were analyzed to better understand and design marine conservation and education programs for local audiences. The survey focused on the relevance of ocean-related issues such as climate change, coral health, and participant’s interest in learning or becoming involved in these subject areas. The presentation shared the survey responses and compared them across gender, age, and Native Hawaiian status groups. COSEE Island Earth is now working on publishing these results in a peer-reviewed academic journal.
COSEE NOW's Those interested in using ocean data in the classroom, or data visualization in general, should check out the community blog Visual Ocean, started by COSEE NOW. Visual Ocean explores how educators and scientists can use real-time data and data visualization. Topics include streamflow and flooding, buoy data, coastal population, and more. Subscribe to keep up-to-date with new postings.
COSEE-Ocean Systems The Salinity Processes in the Upper Ocean Regional Study (SPURS) represents the collaborative efforts between a diverse group of scientists spanning national and international borders, from multiple organizations. These include, but are not limited to, physical oceanography experts and climate scientists from NASA, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and research professors from The University of North Carolina, Wilmington, to name a few.
During the month of September 2013, COSEE-OS staff engaged with three scientists in a webinar series entitled Ocean Thinking: Inside and Outside the Box. Through the use of an innovative concept-mapping tool, these research scientists and COSEE-OS were able to disseminate three ocean salinity projects to a wide audience, reaching 84 participants from 22 states and 3 countries. Participants heard from Julius Busecke, a PhD candidate at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; Dr. Steve Riser, a professor at the University of Washington; and finally, Dr. Tom Farrar, a research scientist based out of WHOI. COSEE-OS worked closely with these scientists to create presentations that were both informative and interesting to the public, while keeping the science understandable to a general audience. Topics ranged from the observation of water movement into and out of the SPURS region; what an Argo profiling float is and what it’s measuring; as well as a discussion about “salt budgets” in the ocean and how a stationary mooring can help us calculate that budget. Engagement for this series was high, with a lively Q&A session following each webinar and a 32% retention rate (participants who attended 2 or more of the webinars in the series).
COSEE SouthEast Scientists participating in COSEE SE's 2013 Research Educator Exchange Forum (REEF) are conducting the final outreach events to practice new communication strategies with varied audiences through regional informal facility partnerships. COSEE SE conducted 3 REEF workshops this year; Athens, GA, Georgetown, SC, and Raleigh, NC reaching over 40 scientists and graduate students, 7 media specialists, 9 informal facilities, 5 formal educators, and the COSEE SE team. Built around the community of practice framework, scientists worked with their local REEF partners to plan and implement an outreach event focused on their research.
ROVes (Remotely Operated Vehicles for elementary students) are ramping back up for this fall as COSEE SE works with 3rd-5th grade students and educators in South Carolina and Georgia. Part of the South Carolina Amazing Coast efforts, EV Bell and Angela Bliss are working with teachers on strategies for implementing STEM based lessons and ROV construction into the elementary classroom.
COSEE SE's work with eBOB (elementary Basic Observation Buoy) will be published in the October issue of NSTA's Science and Children- LOOK FOR IT!! |
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| Announcements |
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White House Memo on Science Priorities for FY2015 The White House recently issued a memo to the heads of federal agencies outlining the science and technology priorities they expect agencies to champion in fiscal year 2015, beginning on October 1, 2014. Science agencies are already preparing their FY2015 budget "wish lists" for the White House, and this memo identifies the topic areas they will be expected to direct much of their attention and resources. The science priorities are largely unchanged from years past, with focus on areas such as STEM education, advanced manufacturing, big data, bioengineering, neuroscience, and climate change. You can read the full memorandum here.
SEES Fellowship Opportunities at NOAA This Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for interdisciplinary research collaboration between National Science Foundation’s Social, Behavioral and Economic (SBE) scientists and NOAA scientists and decision makers. Details here.
Joint Ocean Commission Initiative Report The Joint Ocean Commission Initiative (JOCI) newly released report, Charting the Course: Securing the Future of America’s Oceans, is available. To read the full JOCI report, click here. |
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Contribute to CNN! Send news and announcements of interest to the COSEE Network community to the editor, Catherine Cramer.
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| COSEE Centers and Council Representatives |
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| COSEE Alaska (Robin Dublin, COSEE Alaska) |
| COSEE California (Craig Strang, UC Berkeley) |
| COSEE Florida (Edwin Massey, Indian River State College) |
| COSEE Island Earth (Judy Lemus, Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology) |
| COSEE Networked Ocean World (Janice McDonnell, Rutgers University) |
| COSEE OCEAN (Bob Chen, University of Massachusetts) |
| COSEE-Ocean Learning Communities (Phil Bell, University of Washington) |
| COSEE-Ocean Systems (Annette deCharon, Darling Marine Center, University of Maine) |
| COSEE-Pacific Partnerships (Jan Hodder, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology) |
| COSEE SouthEast (Carrie Thomas, North Carolina State University) |
| COSEE-TEK (Ivar Babb, University of Connecticut) |
| COSEE-West (Linda Duguay, University of Southern California) |
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