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NAME 2011 Presentations • 2011 Conference Home

Workshops • Wednesday • July 13, 2011
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Concurrent Session 1 • Thursday • July 14, 2011
10:10 AM – 11:00 AM

Ocean acidification in the Pacific Northwest
Sarah Mikulak, NANOOS/Applied Physics Lab-UW
(Classroom Building – Left)
Ocean acidification is a term that is being heard more and more in the news, but what exactly does it mean, how does it work, and is it happening in the Pacific Northwest? In this session, I will present the most recent research and data from NANOOS and partners at the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Lab (PMEL) and Oregon State University to answer these questions. Newly developed education resources related to ocean acidification from NANOOS will also be introduced.

Peer Teaching: Connecting Deforestation, Erosion, and Aquatic Life in the Watershed
Beth Parsons, Kara Allan; Taft Elementary
MaryBeth Guerena, Matt Falby; Oceanlake Elementary
(Classroom Building – Center)
Presenters will discuss their “pilot” experience with peer teaching using an inquiry model and SIOP strategies, to reinforce key vocabulary and increase scientific discussion and written communication. 6th grade students facilitated an inquiry to explore the impact of deforestation on erosion, aquatic life, and a watershed. 3rd and 4th grade students worked with 6th graders to create a model, develop hypotheses, and make observations, conclusions and connections. Resources will be made available.

Schools as Labs: Supporting Student Designed Research on Runoff
Stephen Streufert and Jason Winters, Salish Sea Expeditions
(Classroom Building – Right)
The workshop will chronicle the pathway that has led us to the development of a modular plans that allow students to use a school’s campus and surrounding areas to gather samples and analyze key parameters. Presenters will share how students follow the scientific method, including presenting results at the Salish Sea Student Science Symposium. Participants will leave with ample information and resources to develop a similar program.

Cape Creek Watershed: How a curriculum team designed an outdoor school program
Robyn Medici, Ingrid Olson, Jennifer Stobie; Lincoln County School District/OCAMP
(Rosemary Inn – Science Lab)
Three Crestview Heights teachers will share how their curriculum study team designed and implemented a science-based outdoor school program. The “place-based” instruction focused on observation and inquiry in the Cape Perpetua Watershed. Scientists, informal educators, and community expert volunteers helped lead the students through a day of science exploration and discovery with a variety of fun, hands-on activities.

Concurrent Session 2 • Thursday • July 14, 2011 • 11:10 AM – 12:00 PM • Back to Top

The Indigenous Science of Northwest Coastal Peoples
Gloria Snively, University of Victoria
(Classroom Building – Left)
Indigenous science relates to both the science knowledge of long-resident, usually oral culture peoples, as well as the science knowledge of all peoples who as participants in culture are affected by the worldview and practical interests of their home communities. This presentation describes many examples from Canada and around the world of indigenous people's contributions to science, environmental understanding and sustainability. Special attention will be given to BC examples of marine related traditional ecological knowledge and wisdom.  The presenter argues the view that Western or modern science is just one of many sciences that need to be addressed in the science classroom.

Conservation Genetics in the Salish Sea: NOAA’s Teacher in the Lab Program
Casey Ralston, NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center; Michelle Wolski, Arlington High School
Jennifer Duncan-Taylor, Port Angeles High School; Jon Baker, Mariner High School
(Classroom Building – Center)
We’ll provide an overview of NOAA and NOAA Fisheries education resources, specifically highlighting programs that provide research experiences for educators (i.e. Teacher at Sea).  Come meet local teachers who are participating in an ongoing Teacher in the Lab pilot project at NOAA’s Mukilteo Research Station. We’ll discuss our research on conservation genetics and let you know how we are taking what we’ve learned back into our classrooms to create locally relevant lessons for our students.

Gliders Observing the Coastal Waters of Washington & Oregon, or “Robots Are Our Friends”
Fritz Stahr, University of Washington School of Oceanography
(Classroom Building – Right)
The ocean has many features we cannot observe well because it’s hard to be there continually via ships, our primary sampling platform. To help, various robotic instruments have been developed in the last two decades, including underwater gliders, several of which are observing off the Oregon and Washington coasts right now. This talk will illustrate the power of these robots for a variety of science missions, and focus on a Seaglider that’s being operated by the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems at present. We’ll discuss the intricacies of piloting it and, depending on current mission status, take control for a few dives.

B-WET SWIMS: Salmon and Watershed Education in Whatcom County
Lindsay Taylor, Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association
(Rosemary Inn – Science Lab)
The Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association’s (NSEA’s) salmon and watershed ecology-focused Student Watershed Investigations and Marine Science (SWIMS) program provides 4th – 6th grade students in all seven Whatcom County school districts with local and relevant environmental science and stewardship experiences. SWIMS provides local youth with the opportunity to explore their watershed in a hands-on way by participating in lessons and activities that use inquiry-based science to study freshwater and marine ecosystems.  Students also engage in protecting and restoring watersheds by implementing a streamside habitat restoration project.

Concurrent Session 3 • Thursday • July 14, 2011 • 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM • Back to Top

Building Teaching Communities: A look at hosting an Informal Teaching Practicum for teachers-in-training
Lindsay Bliek and Amy Stephenson; Vancouver Aquarium
(Classroom Building – Left)
We all know that learning does not just take place in the classroom, yet teacher-training programs tend to concentrate their efforts on grooming teachers-in-training for that learning environment.  Over the years, the Vancouver Aquarium has developed and offered a three-week long Informal Teaching Practicum (ITP) for some of these teachers in partnership with several universities.  Let us share our experiences with you and consider developing a similar program for your own aquarium, marine or nature centre, or museum to help foster building partnerships in your community and promote effective teaching practices, both formal and informal.

Seals, Satellites, and STEM: What does NASA have to do with ocean science?
Katie Hart and Heidi Ebel; Seattle Aquarium
(Classroom Building – Center)
What does NASA have to do with ocean science anyway?  More than you might think.  Find out how NASA’s Earth Observing Satellites help us to better understand our home planet, including the 70% that is covered by water. Try some interactive tools and games developed by NASA and the Seattle Aquarium to bring STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and ocean science concepts to life. Learn how NASA and NOAA have partnered to study northern fur seals and how the Seattle Aquarium is helping them share their findings with the public. Discover NASA resources you can access for your own marine education program.

Engaging students, educators, and scientists in a community of practice
Alicia Christensen, SMILE Program, Oregon State University
(Rosemary Inn – Science Lab)
How do you engage scientists in meaningful and effective education and outreach? How can K – 12 students and teachers be exposed to college, scientists, and current scientific research? This session will answer these questions by looking at the SMILE (Science and Math Investigative Learning Experiences) high school problem-solving challenge model, which brings ocean research scientists, graduate students, undergraduate students, and K – 12 teachers and students together into a community of practice.

Fostering Stewardship
Jen Kidder and Katie Bovee, Olympic Park Institute
(Inglenook Fireplace Shelter)
Join Olympic Park Institute staff for an interactive exploration of methods that build student understanding of connections between themselves, their actions, and the world. Discover and share new ways of using discussion, exploration, play, and food to help students develop their values and foster stewardship actions.

Concurrent Session 4 • Thursday • July 14, 2011 • 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM • Back to Top

High and Dry? Teach your students to B-WET all the way to the coast and beyond!
Jenna Kulluson, Tom Gaskill; South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve
Nancee Hunter, Oregon Sea Grant; Trish Mace, Oregon Institute or Marine Biology
(Classroom Building – Left)
Join educators from the Oregon Coast Education Program as we share ways we have explored through a NOAA B-WET grant to work with partners in the drier parts of Oregon, as we seek to engage teachers and students in meaningful watershed education experiences that reach from the crest to the coast. We will share resources and ideas both indoors and out on an interactive watershed walk developed as a part of the program. We hope to learn from other talented NAME educators through discussion on what works well and what has yet to be tried! Participants will receive a resource field journal.

Hazards on the Homefront—Teaching about Hazardous Household Products
Joanne Lind, Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction Program,
Washington State Department of Ecology
(Classroom Building – Center)
What are common hazardous household products? How can your students learn to make informed choices, for their health and the environment? Teach these concepts using the Hazards on the Homefront (HHF) curriculum. HHF includes lessons on the selection, use, and disposal of hazardous household products. There are two versions: one for grades 6 – 12, the other for grades 4 – 6. Each lesson identifies which learning objectives (Washington EALRs) are met. This session will include an overview of all lessons, with demonstrations of lessons on analyzing labels and routes to the environment. Come get your free CD with the complete curriculum!

Science-Based Service Learning Projects—A Community Partnership
Tara Morrow, Western Washington University Huxley College of the Environment on the Peninsula
Port Angeles High School Students
(Rosemary Inn – Science Lab)
This presentation will provide a hands-on modeling experience. It will engage participants in a program developed to involve students in real-world, science-based service learning projects.  The session includes an indoor project and an outdoor field lesson along Lake Crescent.  Participants will discover a project that can be used in a variety of settings. Participants work through a sample of the project, discuss place-based science topics while walking near Lake Crescent, develop an Essential Question to provide focus for a scientific inquiry and create an ecosystem description. Session participants will receive a complete curriculum packet that can be used for senior culminating or other student projects perfect for formal or non-formal educators and community partners.

Increasing awareness, knowledge and appreciation of nature using a unique field journaling system
Pat Willis, Oregon State University Extension
(Rosemary Inn – Naturalist Room)
Einstein, Hemmingway, Darwin, Lewis & Clark; all of these people had something in common, they kept a journal. A journal is much more than a log or diary and can be a very important component in positive youth development, connecting kids with outdoor settings and sense of place. Participants leave with their own field journal, a pragmatic and effective journaling system, and journaling techniques that connect both the left and right brain to outdoor learning experiences. Findings from a student field journaling research project conducted in the fall of 2010 will be shared providing assessment strategies embedded in field journals.

Plenty-O-Fish!
Kent Chapple and Shannon Walz, Olympic Park Institute
(Inglenook Fireplace Shelter)

There’s plenty o’ fish in the sea… or is there? Step onto the slippery (imaginary) deck of your own commercial fishing boat in this fast-paced and fun classroom activity from Olympic Park Institute’s marine curriculum that gives you a chance to balance economics with ecology. Race to fill your boat with delicious paperfish before the season closes (or before your competitors get them first!), then sell them at market to sustain your boat, purchase gear and upgrades, and feed your family. But don’t get carried away, the paperfish is an endangered delicacy, and there’s no guarantees next seasons catch will be as good as the last one. It’s not like they grow on trees! You might even find yourself in the role of a research biologist trying to monitor their fluctuating populations, implementing management regulations and even issuing hefty fines to violators!

Concurrent Session 5 • Saturday • July 16, 2011 • 10:00 AM – 10:50 AM • Back to Top

NOAA Resources to support Science and Social Studies learning for K-12 Audiences
Casey Ralston, NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center
Peggy Foreman, NOAA Northwest Regional Office
(Classroom Building – Left)
Come learn about a few of NOAA’s NEW resources for teachers and other educators.  We are proud to present our new SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy) poster and want to highlight a few activities that could be easily adapted in your classrooms. Students can learn more about fish eggs, diatoms, and sensory adaptations of marine species. Help your students learn how real-life scientists are using microscopes to study marine ecosystems. As you know, integration is a powerful way of presenting information to students. NOAA’s NWRO has been working on three themes (Sustainable Fisheries, Salmon Habitat, and Killer Whale Recovery) to provide background information on these topics to support student accomplishments, one of the WA State Social Studies Classroom Based Assessments.

A Bridge between the Sound and the Community
Woody Moses, Highline Community College
(Classroom Building – Right)
The Marine Science and Technology (MaST) Center is the marine laboratory for Highline Community College. MaST is dedicated to expanding knowledge about the Puget Sound and the surrounding environment through teaching, outreach, and research. In addition to several college-level classes including Marine Biology and Oceanography, the MaST Center also hosts dozens of K – 12 visits each year and a Summer on the Sound kids camp. Come learn about this great community resource right in your own back yard and discuss ways in which you and your colleagues can collaborate with a truly unique marine educational experience.

K-12 Estuary Education
Glen Alexander, Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
(Rosemary Inn – Cedar Room)
Padilla Bay Reserve has been offering on-site, hands-on field experiences since 1982. For the last few years we’ve received B-WET funds to align the program with Meaningful Watershed Education Experiences. In this presentation you'll hear what Padilla Bay Reserve does to educate students and teachers about estuary science.

Using authentic data to teach science concepts: MBARI’s EARTH Program, NEPTUNE CANADA and NANOOS
Jennifer Magnusson, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Natasha Ewing, Ocean Networks Canada, University of Victoria
Amy Sprenger, NANOOS, Applied Physics Lab, UW
(Rosemary Inn – Science Lab; 1½-hour presentation)
Ocean observing systems provide educators with authentic real-world information on what is happening in our ocean in real-time. Designed by classroom teachers and informal educators across the country, the EARTH program integrates this near-real-time data from ocean observatories with existing educational standards and tested curriculum in an interactive and engaging way. This session will provide an introduction to the EARTH program, and an in-depth exploration of the activities and resources available on the website: http://www.mbari.org/earth/. In addition, data and education resources from two regional ocean observing systems in the Pacific Northwest: Ocean Networks Canada Observatory (VENUS and NEPTUNE Canada) and NANOOS (NW Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems) will be demonstrated. Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptops in order to personalize and extend the website exploration.

Concurrent Session 6 • Saturday • July 16, 2011 • 11:00 AM – 11:50 AM • Back to Top

Population Ecology and What Can Be Learned From a Little Poop
Adrianne Akmajian, Makah Fisheries Management
(Classroom Building – Left)
Makah Fisheries Marine Mammal program is currently undergoing a study to compare and identify prey of Steller and California sea lions on the North Coast of WA State. The presentation will describe our goals, methods for collection, processing, and identifying prey species, and other information than can be gathered from scat. Participants will process their own “sea lion scat” and get ideas for use in the classroom.

Marine Science Activities for the Classroom
Vanessa Hunt, Central Washington University
Rus Higley, Highline Community College
(Classroom Building – Right)
Marine science is an engaging field for the majority of students from upper elementary grades through college general science electives, and one in which appropriate activities can address objectives in biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, mathematics, and technology. The presenters are involved in science teaching from grades 5 – 16, and offer a demonstration of sample classroom lab activities we have developed that bring marine issues into the classroom while addressing state standards, and that can be carried out with easily available equipment.

Washed Ashore
Jana Osterlund, Jo Train; Newport Intermediate School
(Rosemary Inn – Cedar Room)
We will share an ocean literacy project that was completed with 6th graders and Artist Angela Hasseltine Pozzi. Students learned about ocean currents, gyres and marine debris. They collected debris from local beaches and created masks and sculptures. It was integrated with creative writing as well. We will share how we accomplished this with community partnerships.

Using authentic data to teach science concepts: MBARI’s EARTH Program, NEPTUNE CANADA and NANOOS
Jennifer Magnusson, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
Natasha Ewing, Ocean Networks Canada, University of Victoria
Amy Sprenger, NANOOS, Applied Physics Lab, UW
(Rosemary Inn – Science Lab; Continued)
Ocean observing systems provide educators with authentic real-world information on what is happening in our ocean in real-time. Designed by classroom teachers and informal educators across the country, the EARTH program integrates this near-real-time data from ocean observatories with existing educational standards and tested curriculum in an interactive and engaging way. This session will provide an introduction to the EARTH program, and an in-depth exploration of the activities and resources available on the website: http://www.mbari.org/earth/. In addition, data and education resources from two regional ocean observing systems in the Pacific Northwest: Ocean Networks Canada Observatory (VENUS and NEPTUNE Canada) and NANOOS (NW Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems) will be demonstrated. Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptops in order to personalize and extend the website exploration.

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