ERIC Number: ED512431
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Jun
Pages: 27
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences (COSIA): Final Evaluation Report
Phillips, Michelle; St. John, Mark
Inverness Research
Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences (COSIA) is a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded project consisting of six three-way partnerships between the Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) and an informal science education institution (ISEI) partnered with an institution of higher education (IHE). Together, educators from the ISEI (often aquaria) and the IHE prepare and implement a course designed and adapted by the Lawrence Hall of Science. This course introduces college students (usually science majors) to inquiry-based pedagogy and learning theory. Together with the ISEI educators, the college students then design and implement activities to teach ocean science concepts to visitors on the ISEI "floor". The long-view goal of the COSIA project is to develop ocean science literacy at all levels and to encourage broad public understanding of science and environmental stewardship. This report is designed primarily to speak to the funder of this project, the ISE division of NSF; however, we hope that it will also provide helpful information for the designers of other similar initiatives, distilling more general lessons learned about the design and implementation of partnerships like COSIA. Importantly, we would also like this report to inform COSIA leadership and partners, as they move forward with the COSIA Network project. After summarizing our external evaluation activities, this document presents our current findings of COSIA, using research and theory as a way to further explain the salient defining features and to convey what the project has accomplished. We finish this report by presenting Inverness Research's perspective on COSIA as an investment and a network of partnerships. Characteristics of a Healthy Network are appended. (Contains 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Science Education, Informal Education, Marine Education, Oceanography, Partnerships in Education, Inquiry, Active Learning, Learning Theories, College Students, Science Activities, State Universities, Private Colleges, Educational Benefits, Networks, Program Evaluation
Inverness Research. P.O. Box 313, Inverness, CA 94937. Tel: 415-669-7156; Fax: 415-669-7186; e-mail: webdev@inverness-research.org; Web site: http://www.inverness-research.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: Teachers; Administrators; Policymakers
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Authoring Institution: Inverness Research
Identifiers - Location: California; New Jersey; Oregon; Virginia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A