Pardee Center Hosts Teacher Workshop on Deep-Sea Science and Conservation
On November 7, 2024, the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future hosted a workshop for local K-12 teachers sponsored by the Crustal Ocean Biosphere Research Accelerator (COBRA). COBRA is an NSF-funded international network-of-networks focused on the structure, function, resilience, and ecosystem services of the crustal ocean biosphere to inform decision-making for emergent human uses of the deep sea, such as deep-sea mining and subseafloor carbon sequestration.
There are five COBRA co-Is, including Prof. Randi Rotjan, a Research Associate Professor of Biology at Boston University and a Pardee Center Faculty Associate. Eight local teachers and two subseafloor experts from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute participated in the full-day workshop.
Workshop members discussed current research and technology for exploring the deep ocean and exchanged ideas for potential classroom modules. Such modules would include hands-on learning activities related to exciting fields of deep-sea science, and the engineering and technology that makes it possible. By the end of the day, teachers developed the framework for hands-on activities related to subjects such as sensor calibration and interpretation, seafloor mining, and ocean acoustics.
Now, the goal is for the teachers to further develop workshop activities over the coming weeks, after which they will be presented to workshop participants and additional subject matter experts. The activities and associated materials will be further vetted and packaged for use in the classroom. These novel activity kits will expand knowledge of the deep subseafloor, which covers about 60% of the Earth’s surface. It is anticipated that teachers will be able to request a kit from COBRA to use these hands-on modules in their classrooms.