Center For Ocean Sciences Education Excellence COSEE Island Earth
Follow this link to skip to the main content
HOME ABOUT ISLAND EARTH NEWS PROGRAMS DIRECTORY PARTNERS CONTACT US
SEARCH FOR EDUCATORS
PROGRAMS
 

COSEE Island Earth (IE) seeks to encourage the link between scientists and both formal and inform educators, to help make science more available for classrooms and communities.

COSEE Island Earth recognizes the importance of a science-informed population, and acknowledges the current gap between the scientific community and the general public, including informal and formal educators. Promoting open forums of communication between marine scientists’ and the education community pushes current and relevant research into the public realm by allowing educators direct access to the forefront of scientific inquiry.

Climate Science Teacher Institute The workshop is held at the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology on Moku o Lo‘e (Coconut Island) in Kaneohe, Oahu. It is is oriented towards high school science teachers who want to get a solid foundation in climate science and learn how to better communicate climate change to their students. The material is focused on how the Earth's climate functions, how scientists study and model climate change, and the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems, in particular coral reefs. Content will be aligned to Hawaii Content and Performance Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards.

Sea Harmony collaboration network: This collaboration network allows educators to get in touch with university and agency research scientists in Hawaii for the purpose of paired collaborations. Scientists looking to share their research, present to the public, or search for volunteers can be accessed through suggested pairing online based on algorithms of compatibility. This compatibility will be determined through requested criteria from teachers to best meet classroom and community needs.

All Things Marine-Science on the radio: COSEE IE has been conducting monthly marine science themed programing for the radio show Hawaii’s Tomorrow with Jeff Davis. Each month the radio station 760 AM broadcasts interviews with marine scientists and conservation leaders covering a wide range of topics such as marine protected areas, connectivity, and protected species. These shows can be used as education tools in the classroom and podcast from previous shows are available here.

Ocean Awareness Training: The Ocean Awareness Training (OAT) is a five week certification training program which provides multidisciplinary knowledge of Hawaii’s unique marine. The group meets once a week to educate interested community members and individuals who work with or near the ocean. Instructors include university scientists, government agency staff, environmental educators, and conservation practitioners. Participants are required to take part in all training sessions (~15 hours of instruction), and a three-hour field project in order to receive C.O.R.A.L. certification (Care of our Culture, Oceans, Reefs and Animal Life). Training topics include marine ecology of the Hawaiian Islands, protected species, threats to coastal and marine environments, marine life identification and more.

• Ocean Literacy Displays: In collaboration with Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) public and college libraries and hotels throughout the state will be selected to feature interactive display systems linked to active oceanographic research programs sharing live real-time data including water quality, ocean conditions such as currents and waves, and costal hazards.

• Education resources & community partnerships: A web-based network of resources hosted in collaboration with Hawaii Environmental Education Alliance will be available with an ocean search portal including a database of marine science and conservation links to education products and resources developed by partner institutions.

• Journalist at sea: COSEE IE is currently working to develop communications mentoring between media professionals, journalism students, and marine sciences using ocean research expeditions as a catalyst to foster science skills in reporters and journalist, and bettering communication technique for marine scientists.

OceanFEST