With the emergence of big data and the Open Data Movement, and the wide availability to the public of large databases, Data Literacy is a necessary learning goal for students. Understanding the data process in its entirety is now a vital skillset required across industry, government, and scientific disciplines. The...
Today’s technology-based society makes information more accessible than ever, in turn creating a growing demand for a workforce that has the skills necessary to utilize data. Contributing to this influx of data is Oregon State University (OSU), who was selected to guide the design and construction process of three Regional...
Ocean acidification (OA), the change in ocean chemistry due to increasing concentrations of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, is an environmental problem that is an active area of scientific research yet remains largely outside of the public’s awareness. It is often assumed that if we raise OA awareness, then...
This five-lesson curriculum seeks to increase students' understanding of ocean acidification (OA) and help them understand that it is an issue they can address. There are five lessons in the unit and a final Call to Action project.
Lesson 1 explores a real-life story about the near collapse of the...
The high school module outlined in this article builds on the strengths of existing resources by incorporating many of their approaches. However, lesson designers intentionally avoided the most common ocean acidification lab (placing shells in vinegar and watching them dissolve) because they found evidence that this experiment reinforces misconceptions about...
Declines or extinctions of the native intertidal estuary blue mud shrimp, Upogebia pugettensis, have been observed or are suspected in all of its populations over the species’ range. These declines are associated with the introduced Asian bopyrid isopod parasite, Orthione griffenis, which effectively castrates females. Baseline estimates of population abundances...
This report summarizes the StreamWebs program, curriculum development and testing. The StreamWebs program provides students, teachers and project partners with hands-on field and classroom training; access to field sampling equipment; curriculum materials and open-source, web-based tools for watershed data analysis. The program launched a number of new partnerships and added...
Microplastics, plastic marine debris less than 5 mm in size, is a threat to the health of our oceans. One important way to reduce microplastics in our oceans is to educate people about the issue, particularly future decision-makers. In this study, a middle school curriculum was developed using current scientific...
A number of groups in the United States have expressed concern regarding the state of public ocean literacy and the capabilities of the future marine STEM workforce. This pilot study explores some of the requirements for workforce development and the expansion of ocean literacy by introduction of fundamental ocean properties...
In 2013, NSF selected OSU as the lead institution to oversee the design and construction of three new Regional Class Research Vessels (RCRVs), a new class of research ship designed with advanced capabilities for next generation, interdisciplinary, oceanographic operations. The new RCRVs will increase efficiency and the ability to address...