COSEE: Education Aquanauts Educator Enhancement Collaboration

卓越海洋科学教育中心（COSEE）寻求促进研究科学家和教育工作者之间的伙伴关系，传播海洋科学教育的最佳实践，并促进海洋教育作为一种有魅力的跨学科工具，以培养更具科学素养的劳动力和公民。提高公众对海洋及其在经济和环境考虑中的重要性的认识的一种方法是加强教育和开展以科学调查为基础的公众宣传活动。COSEE大湖区地理位置独特，可以充分利用全球对淡水资源日益关注的优势。五大湖可能会对全球气候变化做出更快的反应，较低湖泊的无冰季节延长已经证明了这一点。五大湖也容易受到入侵物种出现的冲击，主要是通过圣劳伦斯海道的航道。大湖威斯康星州水生技术与环境研究所（WATER）的pi对密歇根湖生态系统动力学的研究活动可以为支持COSEE，特别是COSEE大湖的使命提供理想的研究教育合作机会。在过去的十年里，超过六种动物入侵了五大湖上游，其中一些动物对大湖生态系统造成了明确的、甚至可能是灾难性的改变。特别是密歇根湖为入侵物种生态学的采样和理解提供了容易接近的机会。这些问题在海洋环境中也很普遍，比较学习可以令人兴奋。COSEE大湖为开发和传播令人兴奋的动手，互动的水生科学体验式学习机会提供了完美的场所。该项目旨在为初高中学生教师和非正式的科学教育者提供令人兴奋的、浸入式的科学学习和资源暴露。具体目标是：(1)扩大教育工作者对当地水域外来物种发生和活动的认识，作为介绍水生生态系统过程的更大主题的一种手段；(2)让教育工作者参加为期一周的高强度实践研讨会，在研究船上使用现代工具和实验室工作台的分析仪器来测试特定的，可处理的假设；(3)协助COSEE五大湖为教育工作者提供资源，使他们了解本地区和全国当前的环境研究活动和结果。通过与COSEE Great Lakes合作，将招募主要服务于初高中观众的参与科学教师，以及非正式的科学教育者，部分利用我们自己在JASON和其他外展项目中大量现有的参与者基础。

The Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE) seek to promote partnerships between research scientists and educators, disseminate best practices in ocean sciences education, and promote ocean education as a charismatic, interdisciplinary vehicle for creating a more scientifically literate workforce and citizenry. One way to increase public awareness of the oceans and their importance in economic and environmental considerations is through educator enhancement and public outreach activities based on scientific inquiry. COSEE Great Lakes is uniquely situated to take advantage of mounting global concern over freshwater resources. The Great Lakes may demonstrate faster response times to global climate change, as already evidenced by a longer ice-free season on the lower lakes. The Great Lakes have also been susceptible to an onslaught of invasive species appearances, predominantly through the shipping lanes of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Research activities on Lake Michigan ecosystem dynamics by the PIs at the Great Lakes Wisconsin Aquatic Technology and Environmental Research (WATER) Institute can provide an ideal opportunity for research education collaboration supporting the mission of COSEE, especially COSEE Great Lakes. During the last decade, more than half a dozen animal species have invaded the upper Great Lakes, some of them causing unequivocal and perhaps cataclysmic alterations in large lake ecosystems. Lake Michigan in particular provides readily accessible opportunities for sampling and understanding of invasive species ecology. These issues are widespread in marine environments as well, and comparative learning can be stimulating. COSEE Great Lakes provides the perfect venue for development and dissemination of exciting hands-on, interactive aquatic science experiential learning opportunities. This program seeks to provide exciting, immersion science learning and resource exposure for teachers of middle and high school students and informal science educators. Specific objectives are: (1) expand educator awareness of exotic species occurrence and activities in local waters as a means for introducing larger topics of aquatic ecosystem processes; (2) engage educators in 1-week, intense hands-on workshops using modern-day tools both onboard a research vessel and analytical instrumentation at the laboratory bench to test specific, tractable hypotheses; and (3) assist the COSEE Great Lakes in providing educators with resources to access current environmental research activities and results in their own region and nationally. Participating science teachers serving primarily middle and high school audiences, and informal science educators will be recruited through collaboration with COSEE Great Lakes, drawing in part upon our own substantial existing base of participants in JASON and other outreach programs.