Oceanography as a Vehicle for Teacher Enhancement in the Sciences

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Working with a five county consortium of school districts served by the Southwest Florida Teacher Education Center (SWFTEC) in Ft. Meyers, the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) proposes a two year program of seminar/workshops, research vessel experience and field exercises designed to translate the strongly multidisciplinary nature and excitement of oceanography into enhanced understanding and teaching skills in the basic sciences and mathematics. Later sessions of the program will stress the application of scientific principles in coastal management and will involve community and state leaders. The content and activities are tied to the Florida Department of Education Curriculum framework. Beginning in the summer of 1990, thirty teachers from the five county area will act as lead teachers, translating with the aid of the professional staff of SWFTEC, the program content into pedagogical techniques, lesson plans and teacher aids that will be presented in a series of teacher led workshops in the school districts. An emphasis will be placed on continuing teacher access to the many scientists in Florida's public and private research institutions. Through the lead teacher network, the program will be exported to other school districts in the state through inservice teacher training and workshops. Participants may earn five graduate credit hours per semester. All of the participant's salaries during the regular school year and, through FIO, the Florida Department of Education, and private funding, the entire cost of the academic, oceanographic and Keys facility field activities are cost shared. The cost sharing in an amount of $332,792 equals 90% of the NSF award.