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Course Description: This course is a pilot for the Teachers on the Estuary program, a research and field-based teacher training initiative of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The goal of TOTE is to improve teachers’ and students’ understanding of the environment using local examples and to provide resources and experience to support the incorporation of estuary and watershed topics into classroom teaching. The course is also designed to promote stewardship of watersheds and estuaries.
The course will introduce teachers to information, research, and classroom activities about watersheds, estuaries, and coastal systems. The course incorporates investigations in the field and using on-line data. Course content and activities will be aligned with Massachusetts state science and math frameworks.
Grade Levels: The course is designed for science and math teachers in grades 9 through 12. Others are welcome to apply.
Cost: Thanks to support from a NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training grant, the course is offered without charge.
Course Ojectives: Participants will be able to:
- Access and use the on-line Estuaries 101 curriculum and other NERRS/NOAA educational products with students.
- Describe major physical, biological, chemical and geochemical estuarine processes as well as impacts of human activities on coastal systems.
- Locate, download, and use data relevant to lessons about estuaries.
- Teach basic estuarine concepts by guiding students in using field and laboratory research techniques analogous to those used at Research Reserves.
- Explain the six Estuarine Principles and Concepts listed below.
- Lead students in learning activities that improve the students’ abilities to become stewards of the environment.
Estuarine Principles and Concepts
- Principle 1. Estuaries are interconnected with the world ocean and with major systems and cycles on Earth.
- Principle 2. Estuaries are dynamic ecosystems with tremendous variability within and between them in physical, chemical, and biological components.
- Principle 3. Estuaries support an abundance of life, and a diversity of habitat types.
- Principle 4. Ongoing research and monitoring is needed to increase our understanding of estuaries and to improve our ability to protect and sustain them.
- Principle 5. Humans, even those living far from the coast, rely on goods and services supplied by estuaries
- Principle 6. Human activities can impact estuaries by degrading water quality or altering habitats; therefore, we are responsible for making decisions to protect and maintain the health of estuaries.
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