10 Questions on COSEE:CGOM

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Sea Briefs is a report on the results of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium.

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10 Questions on COSEE:CGOM

SHARON WALKER, Ph.D., is the education director for the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and professor emeritus with The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Department of Coastal Sciences College of Science and Technology. She also serves as special projects coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Education and the National Sea Grant College Program. She earned her bachelor's degree in zoology from Milsaps College, her master's in marine science from Louisiana State University and her doctorate in science education from USM. Walker also consults for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Gulf of Mexico Program. She is the Principal Investigator of the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education and Excellence: Central Gulf of Mexico (COSEE:CGOM) and the chairwoman of the COSEE Messaging and Marketing Working Group.

1. What is the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) Network?
Since 2002, the COSEE Network has grown to encompass 12 thematic and/or regional centers throughout the United States. Its mission is to spark and nurture collaborations among research scientists and educators to advance ocean discovery and make known the vital role of the ocean in our lives. Although each COSEE is funded individually through a competitive, peer-reviewed National Science Foundation grant process, the network has established its own identity and goals. The NOAA National Sea Grant College Program and the U.S. Navy also fund select COSEE components.

Facilities that host COSEE programs in the Gulf of Mexico include The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and J.L. Scott Marine Education Center, in cooperation with the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium; Dauphin Island Sea Lab and its Estuarium; Loyola University New Orleans and the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas; the University of Florida, its Natural Museum of History and the Florida Sea Grant College Program; and Mississippi State University and its Computer Technology Center.

2. How does COSEE: Central Gulf of Mexico (CGOM) improve education?
It bridges the gap between the relevance of ocean and coastal sciences research and a broad range of audiences via various programs offered at the four participating centers (museums, aquariums and science centers). COSEE also gets scientists involved in professional development programs for formal and informal educators and develops inquiry-based ocean sciences lesson plans for middle-school teachers and informal educators to use in classrooms.

3. How can educators get involved with COSEE:CGOM?
COSEE expands and leverages collaborations through regional partnerships with agencies and organizations with similar missions; enhances living and static exhibitry within the four centers, thereby creating a more ocean literate citizenry within the Gulf of Mexico; involves program participants in short- and long-term evaluations and assessments; and enhances the COSEE:CGOM Web site with resources and programmatic information. Interested teachers (formal and informal) can go to this Web site to obtain more information on workshops and institutes, as well as lesson plans.

4. What are some of COSEE's major accomplishments?
Each year, COSEE has an extensive list of accomplishments. For example, about 21 scientists and 75 educators (formal and informal) are actively engaged in two-day workshops or three-week, face-to-face and virtual summer institutes. The four informal centers teach thousands of precollege students and members of thepublic about the world’s ocean and its watershed. And, 24 lesson plans are revised or developed on issues important to educators (formal and informal) and their students. Also, when U.S. Navy oceanographic survey ships are available, 14 educators spend seven to 10 days at sea, working side by side with six Navy and/orcivilian surveyors on geological, biological, chemical, and physical oceanography.

5. Why should educators participate?
COSEE programs include indoor and outdoor programs that are hands-on, inquiry-based and fun. The information provided in the attitudinal evaluations that have been analyzed reveal participants “feel” an empowerment by enhancing their awareness and understanding of the world’s ocean, its watersheds and their inhabitants. They become more responsible in protecting their interconnectedness to nature and other species on this watery planet. Lastly, participants become better stewards of our environment.

BELINDA MCKEE MATLOCK is a science teacher at Lamar Elementary School, an independent pre-K-through-12 school in Merdian, Miss. She has been a teacher since 1973 and has been leading field trips to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for more than two decades. She is a member of the advisory boards for the Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence: Central Gulf of Mexico.

6. How did you become involved with COSEE:CGOM?
Years ago, my fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students had been studying vertebrates and invertebrates, when they asked, “Mrs. Matlock, where can we see these animals for real?” We took a couple of field trips to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and Biloxi High School teacher Della McCaughan invited us into her classroom on a Saturday and led us on a super adventure of learning. Then, the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center (MEC) opened a field program for students. It was called Project Marine Discovery. My participation in the Project Marine Discovery programs led me to encounters with some of the best marine educators around. My students’ and my continued participation in the MEC’s programs enabled me to participate in Operation Pathfinder, Sea Scholars’ Teachers at Sea and the COSEE:CGOM’s Summer Institute.

7. How has COSEE helped you and your students?
I consider my association and participation in COSEE:CGOM’s Summer Institute, The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Lab and MEC as huge learning experiences. The people who lead these programs make sure you feel that you can continue to call on them for support, materials, information and any other resources they have available. They continue to provide support and materials for my students and me.

8. How does COSEE: CGOM make you a better teacher?
Through the education and experiences I’ve had through the Project Marine Discovery programs, Operation Pathfinder, Sea Scholars and the COSEE:CGOM’s Summer Institute, my science background has grown in leaps and bounds. My students are always asking, “How do you know so much without reading from the book?”

9. What has COSEE done for your classroom?
COSEE:CGOM has helped me become a rich teacher. My classroom is full of specimens, materials, tools and other resources. I know how to use and implement lessons with all those resources. The people (other participants, instructors, experts, sponsors, etc.) from the program and experiences are now friends, educators, mentors and role models. I treasure every shared experience and the things I learned from each individual.

10. Why are COSEE:CGOM experiences important to you as an educator?
Once upon a time before I ever knew of COSEE:CGOM, I attended an educational conference in Jackson, Miss. The presenter of the best session I attended said, “You cannot tell about a train ride you’ve never been on.” His point was that we cannot teach things we really do not know. My education, my experiences and my participation in the COSEE:CGOM program have been one tremendous train ride. I have lots to tell. My rich experiences make great teachable moments and make the science real for my students.