Education Materials
Professional Development
Resources
The NOAA Ocean Exploration program strives to engage broad audiences to enhance America’s environmental literacy through the excitement of ocean discovery. Increasing this literacy requires high-quality, effective collaborations between ocean explorers and America’s teachers. NOAA regularly forms such collaborations to reach out in new ways to the public to improve the literacy of learners with respect to ocean issues.
The following educational offerings provide innovative ways for students of all ages to learn about the oceans. Here you will find near real-time access to a series of multidisciplinary ocean explorations, teacher professional development opportunities, compelling lessons, imagery, videos, topical essays related to ocean science, an online learning community and much more. Come explore along with us!
Education Materials
Lesson Plans
Hands-on and standards-based lesson plans have been developed that bring entire classrooms "on board" for exploration and discovery. Using new technological "eyes" to see, sense, measure, image, and describe a little known ocean world, scientists and educators are bringing the excitement of late-breaking ocean discoveries into classrooms through the over 300 lesson plans presented here.
Expedition Education Modules
Expedition Education Modules are designed as an education unit to share the excitement of daily at-sea discoveries and the science behind NOAA’s major ocean exploration expedition. Each module contains an Expedition Purpose, Lessons, Multimedia Learning Objects, OceanAGE Career Connections, and Other Resources and Links.
Multimedia Discovery Missions
The Multimedia Discovery Missions are a series of 15 interactive multimedia presentations and learning activities that address topics ranging from Chemosynthesis, and Hydrothermal Vent Life, and Deep-sea Benthos to Food, Water and Medicine from the Sea.
Curriculum
Learning Ocean Science through Ocean Exploration is an updated curriculum for teachers of Grades 6-12 that takes lesson plans that were developed for NOAA ocean explorations and the Ocean Explorer Web Site and presents them in a comprehensive scope and sequence through subject area categories that cut across individual expeditions. Each lesson focuses on an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning and is correlated to the National Science Education Standards.
Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection
In conjunction with the commissioning of the Okeanos Explorer, the Okeanos Explorer Education Materials Collection is being developed to encourage educators, students, and citizen scientists to become personally involved with the voyages and discoveries of America’s first Federal ship dedicated to Ocean Exploration. The Collection includes Leader’s Guides for Classroom Explorers, as well as inquiry-based lessons to guide student investigations that explore key topics. In the future, additional guides will be to the Education Materials Collection to support the involvement of citizen scientists.
Professional Development
Education Alliances
NOAA's Ocean Exploration Program has developed alliances with aquariums and science centers across the country. Via a group of trained Ocean Exploration program facilitators, these locations currently provide on-site professional development to teachers in the use of the Ocean Exploration Web site and the Learning Ocean Science through Ocean Exploration curriculum.
Professional Development
The professional development offerings provide opportunities for teachers and other educators to engage in learning more about ocean exploration. They are designed to introduce participants to premiere ocean scientists/explorers and their research and explorations, and at the same time, provide exemplary tools and resources to enhance the teaching and learning of ocean science and NOAA endeavors in ocean exploration.
Onsite Teacher PD
Onsite teacher professional development workshops are offered at NOAA's Ocean Exploration Program Alliance partners nationwide. Currently these workshops focus on the Ocean Exploration Web site and train teachers in the use of the Learning Ocean Science through Ocean Exploration curriculum. These one-day long professional development offerings and associated follow-ups help build regional cadres of ocean exploration teacher leaders. Look for new workshops coming in the future.Online Teacher PD
In 2009, NOAA's Ocean Exploration Program developed a new series of online teacher workshops in conjunction with the commissioning of the Okeanos Explorer, the nation’s first ship solely dedicated to ocean exploration. Through workshops on why we explore, how we explore and specific expected (or unexpected) exploration findings, participants will join NOAA as we begin a new era in ocean exploration and education.
Additional Resources
Here you will find links to useful teaching resources, many of which are covered during our Learning Ocean Science through Ocean Exploration teacher professional development workshops and on-line courses.
Resources
OceanAGE Careers
Interact with some of the talented explorers who study the ocean world. From underwater pilots to research scientists, these marine mentors will provide students with first-hand knowledge of exciting careers through their video interviews, profiles, and mission logs. Join us for live webchats, interactive video webcasts, and text-based forums with several ocean explorers.
NOAA Ocean Explorer Field Season CD
Download the 2005 Field Season CD, which contains information posted on the Ocean Explorer Web site during each field season, including essays, daily logs, photos, videos, educational resources and lesson plans. Look for new filed season CDs coming in the future.
Ocean Challenge Puzzle
Team up with other players around the globe or your classroom to solve the puzzle. Help the group by revealing one more piece of the hidden picture.
CoRIS Glossary
This glossary contains nearly 3,000 technical terms, with their definitions, explanations, and illustrative materials where appropriate. The aim of the Coral Reef Information System (CoRIS) glossary is to help the student or layperson, as well as the professional scientist and manager, to understand the complex language and terminology of coral reef ecosystem science.
