OCEARCH STEM Curriculum

Arguably as important as the tools used to monitor the environment is educating the next generation to carry on with such critical monitoring projects. The OCEARCH STEM curriculum aims to teach young science students from Grades K-8 what it takes to conduct experiments, use tools, and carry out research. The curriculum was created by OCEARCH, a non-profit ocean research organization, in 2018, and is accredited by the Next Generation Science Standards, so it is able to be integrated into the curriculum of most school systems. Kids learn how to think critically, solve complex problems, and effectively use technology to answer their questions. OCEARCH also gives kids access to their app, the OCEARCH Tracker, which tracks over 400 sharks tagged throughout the world. Inspiring and empowering the next generation to take up the mantle of environmental protection is vital to continuing good research and encouraging a healthy sense of environmental stewardship from a young age. The overall delivery of the curriculum is largely based on how teachers present the material to students and the funding available to schools to adopt the lessons, but those are factors largely outside of OCEARCH’s control.

Categories

Aesthetic/Leisure, Biodiversity, Data, Ecological Monitoring, Monitoring, Psychology