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The National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) is currently developing new curriculum for K-12 students and teachers as part of its K-12 Estuarine Education Program (KEEP). This curriculum, called Estuaries 101, will teach key principles and concepts of estuarine ecology and illustrate how estuaries relate to other human and ecological systems, all while teaching to science standards! Place-based activities using the NERRS’ System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP) and the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS) will allow teachers to bring relevant, real-time scientific data into the classroom. This webpage will allow you to track the progress of Estuaries 101 curriculum development, to find opportunities to provide feedback on educational products related to Estuaries 101, and to learn how to test these educational products.
How can teachers participate? Join the team!
There are several ways in which teachers can join as advisors or reviewers in the development of the Estuaries 101 Curriculum:
1. Join a team of teacher advisors! Send us an e-mail at estuariesweb@noaa.gov and you will:
- Be included as part of a community of teachers interested in estuarine science,
- Receive the NERRS electronic Education Bulletin on a monthly basis, and
- Receive a certificate of recognition for your contributions to the design and development of the curriculum.
Role of teacher advisors:
- Assist in piloting new lesson plans and activities in the classroom
- Complete on-line evaluation forms to provide feedback on the new set of materials developed
- Be available for one-on-one periodic consultations, if necessary.
2. Stay informed - There are two ways for you to become fully informed of the progress we make:
3. Keep yourself informed - There are two ways for you to become fully informed of the progress we make:
- Subscribe to receive the NERRS Education Bulletin: Send an e-mail to estuariesweb@noaa.gov. Use subject line: NERRS Teacher Listserve. In the body of your e-mail message type your name and email address and request to subscribe.
- Visit the estuaries.gov site to stay informed of the progress of KEEP initiatives, including the national teacher needs assessment and the development of Estuaries 101, the NERRS will post regular updates on www.estuaries.gov. So visit the site often!
Why teach about estuaries?
Estuaries offer a wonderfully rich context for science education and inter-disciplinary learning. Estuaries are dynamic environments with a daily flux of ocean flows mingling with river water creating a remarkably diverse range of life and ecosystems. As a result, they offer learners a convergence of such fields as Earth systems science, biology, chemistry, geography, geology and marine science. For example, students develop math skills through detailed measurements, modeling phenomena such as growth and cyclical variation, and analyzing data to make comparisons across multiple estuaries. They develop language skills as they read and write about estuary-related topics and communicate their explorations and findings with other students and scientists. Since estuaries have also played a remarkably important role in human settlement, exploration and development, students gain new eyes on human history, geography and culture.
Most estuarine concepts and skills are part of the national and state science standards. Although "estuaries" per se may not appear prominently in many state standards, the underlying science concepts embodied in estuaries have broad connections throughout the standards. For example, most state science education standards refer to understanding "Earth as a system," with interwoven cycles and processes relating to land, air and water. Estuaries provide engaging and accessible examples of these processes at work. Estuaries also integrate key concepts in biology (e.g. habitat adaptations), chemistry (e.g. salinity analysis) and physics (e.g. wave motions). Furthermore, most state standards call for inquiry-based learning through hands-on experiments, direct observations and active use of data—all of which occur as students engage with estuaries.
In addition, while teaching interdisciplinary skills using estuaries, students gain an appreciation for the importance of estuaries in their lives and learn how their behavior impacts coastal ecosystems. We believe that it is of utmost importance to prepare tomorrow's leaders to make sound decisions about the environment and the nation’s oceans and coasts. Students must understand the crucial connection between estuaries, coastal and upland areas and the effects of a growing population.
What is KEEP?
The K-12 Estuarine Education Program (abbreviated KEEP) provides teachers and students with the knowledge, appreciation and skills to act as stewards of estuarine environments. KEEP will be offered through NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRS). KEEP will:
- Teach elementary, middle and high school students essential coastal and estuarine concepts, while building critical thinking, teamwork, problem solving and decision making skills.
- Train and support teachers to integrate estuarine topics into their classroom.
- Enable students to understand and use archived and real-time estuarine data to make informed decisions.
- Provide K-12 teachers and students resources for learning about estuaries.
KEEP, when completed, will provide teachers and students with:
Web-based learning activities including:
- An enhanced Estuaries.gov Website: A interactive website that will provide background information about estuaries, host the Estuaries 101 curriculum, list professional teacher development programs offered at Reserve sites, and provide links to an online interface to real-time and archived estuarine monitoring data.
- Estuaries 101 curriculum: An online, inquiry-based curriculum for K-12th grade students that is correlated to the National Science Education Standards.
- EstuaryLive archives and broadcasts: Live and archived broadcasts of EstuaryLive, a free, live, Internet field trip in estuaries across the nation.
Teacher training: Professional teacher development programs, offered at individual Reserves and at national and regional education conferences, will emphasize the Ocean Literacy Principles and Concepts while introducing teachers to the Estuaries 101 curriculum and the web-interface. The trainings will provide meaningful use of regional estuarine data in the classroom.
Guidance for field-based activities: Activities which take students into the field are exciting, engaging, and effective ways to teach. Whether it is school yard project or a trip to a nearby estuary, guidance is provided for bringing the curriculum to life by using hands on experiments.
What is Estuaries 101?
Estuaries 101, a primary component of KEEP, is a curriculum which will be used by NERRS education staff and teachers throughout the nation to help students become more oceans literate by increasing their knowledge of coastal and estuarine science and their awareness of how coasts and oceans affect their daily lives. Estuaries 101 will be organized and developed in four parts: K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12 grades.
In the first phase of Estuaries 101 curriculum development (2007-2008) we will create modules with inquiry- and experience-based activities for high-school science courses). Three modules will focus on Earth Science, Physical Science and Life Science, and will easily integrate into teachers’ existing curriculum because they are based on science standards many teachers are required to teach to. Through the use of these curriculum modules, the NERRS expects to use estuaries as a vehicle for teaching about bigger ideas such as "habitats and evolutionary adaptations" (for biology) or "coastal processes" (for Earth science). Estuaries 101 will introduce estuarine concepts and lessons to help students use and apply data, such as the NERRS' System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP) data, and engage them in authentic science investigations. A fourth module will provide place-based learning about the Chesapeake Bay as the largest estuary in North America. This module will demonstrate how broad estuarine concepts can be applied to understanding processes and conditions in the Chesapeake Bay area and will highlight real-time data from the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System and the Chesapeake Bay Observing System.
Estuaries 101 curriculum will be correlated to the National Science Education Standards, the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, and the Ocean Literacy Principles and Concepts.
Use of the Estuaries 101 Curriculum will be encouraged and supported through professional development trainings hosted by individual Reserves and at professional meetings across the nation.
Who is developing the Estuaries 101 Curriculum?
NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS), in collaboration with teachers across the nation, the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office and a professional contractor TERC (Boston, Mass.), are currently developing Estuaries 101 Curriculum.
How will the curriculum be developed and implemented?
Several steps are being followed to develop Estuaries 101. Visit this website often to follow the progress of curriculum development, to find opportunities to provide feedback, and learn about opportunities to test educational products!
Step 1. Design and implement a national teacher needs assessment.
In the summer of 2007, more than one thousand classroom teachers and informal science educators shared their thoughts and opinions on teaching estuarine related topics via an online needs assessment. This assessment - which determined obstacles to teaching about estuaries, and teacher’s preferences for accessing and utilizing various educational products - will shape the development of teaching and professional development materials about estuaries. This assessment was conducted by TERC, a non-profit educational research and development organization, and NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve System. To read the final report on the survey results, please click here.
Step 2. Design and develop Estuaries 101 curriculum.
The Estuaries 101 curriculum will be presented in four parts: K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12 grades. The curriculum for grades 9-12 is being developed now. The lessons will utilize field-based estuarine research and data to interpret the health and function of estuaries.
Timeline:
- Design 4 modules of Estuaries 101 for grades 9-12 ....... Feb 2007 – Sept 2007
- Pilot Chesapeake Bay module with teachers .................. May 2007 – Dec 2007
- Pilot remaining 3 modules with teachers ........................ Oct 2007 – Dec 2007
- Lessons are revised ........................................................ Dec 2007 – Feb 2008
- Final lessons are published on the estuaries.gov site .... March 2008
Step 3. Implementing Estuaries 101 through professional teacher training.
In 2008, NERRS educators will train and support teachers on the use the KEEP products, such as the 9–12 grade portion of Estuaries 101 and the powerful web-interface that manipulates data for teaching various estuarine concepts.
Currently some Reserves offer teacher training on existing lessons and activities. Complimenting this existing training, Teacher on the Estuary programs will be offered. Teacher on the Estuary programs are professional development workshops to be offered individual Reserves across the country and at national education conferences. To learn about upcoming events, including professional teacher training workshops, please visit the NERRS education calendar frequently at http://www8.nos.noaa.gov/publicnerrs/eduevents.aspx.
What is the NERRS' System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP)?
The National Estuarine Research Reserve System collects a wealth of data from estuaries across the county through the System-wide Monitoring Program (SWMP). As part of SWMP, the 27 Reserves collect physical, chemical water quality, nutrient, and weather data every 30 minutes at over 100 locations. Data are available beginning in 1995, allowing for long-term comparisons. Recent advances in technology allow NERRS to present water quality and weather data from throughout NERRS on the web almost instantly, in "real-time". NERRS is currently expanding SWMP to include monitoring of biological parameters (like invertebrate and plant populations) and tracking changes in land use through remote sensing.
SWMP can be used to identify patterns and trends in parameters over time. Additionally, SWMP data sets complement, and can be used with, many other data sets, including the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS). SWMP data is recognized as an important component of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System and can be accessed and manipulated at the Centralized Data Management Office website.
Using SWMP data, teachers can deliver important lessons about valuable estuarine, coastal, and ocean systems, thereby improving ocean literacy. Teachers can bring subjects to life for students by using archived and real-time estuarine data to teach basic subjects such as math, science, and technology. In addition, by working with data sets, students can gain experience in using the scientific method to investigating questions. For example, using estuarine data, students can explain differences in dissolved oxygen concentrations in the Chesapeake Bay (on the Atlantic coast) and the San Francisco Bay (on the Pacific coast) at various times of the year. In another example, students might use data to graph the change in water level and habitat type in a Mississippi estuary before, during, and after a hurricane and discover the effects storms have on coastal ecosystems.
The Estuaries 101 curriculum currently being developed will incorporate both SWMP and CBIBS data into lessons and activities, providing robust and meaningful lessons that allow students to develop a deep understanding of complex concepts.
What is the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System?
The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office is currently working to establish the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System (CBIBS). CBIBS will combine on-the-water sensor platforms providing real-time data streams with multi-disciplinary educational tools that interpret portions of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Water Trail. These tools will provide users with the products and information they need to further protect, restore, and manage the Chesapeake Bay.
NCBO and its partners plan to deploy three buoys in spring 2007 at Jamestown, Potomac Junction and in the Northern Bay. Real-time data from these buoys will be available via a new interactive web site. CBIBS will be an integral part of the Chesapeake Bay Observing System (CBOS) and a component of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System.
NCBO has positioned a buoy in Annapolis Harbor that provides a sneak preview of CBIBS' capabilities. The buoy reports real-time water quality and weather observations via wireless technology. Response to the demonstration has been overwhelmingly positive with local users requesting that the buoy remain in place indefinitely.
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