Educators Chart Course for Great Lakes Curricula

From Wisconsin Sea Grant:

Milwaukee (7/7/2010) -- Two Sheboygan-area teachers are joining 13 others from around the Great Lakes region July 6-12 as part of an educational workshop cruising Lake Michigan aboard the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) research vessel, R/V Lake Guardian. The group will conduct research alongside scientists while learning about ecological processes and lake systems. Their goal is to integrate current Great Lakes research into their curricula and programs.

"Understanding Great Lakes and ocean sciences is key to making informed decisions on coastal and ocean management and personal stewardship issues," said James Lubner, education coordinator for the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, who co-leads the workshop. "COSEE Great Lakes is engaging educators, both formal and informal, in ways that will enable them to more effectively give their students a deeper understanding of our inland sea —the Great Lakes—and their influence on our quality of life and our national prosperity."

Philip Knier, a teacher at Riverview Academy in Sheboygan, and Mary Kultgen, who teaches at Lakeshore Technical College in Sheboygan, are the two Wisconsin educators participating in the workshop. Stephanie Crook, a high school teacher from Portage, Ind., is keeping a blog of daily activities aboard the 180-foot-long research vessel. The vessel is the only self-contained, nonpolluting vessel on the Great Lakes. Find Crook’s blog at http://coseegreatlakes.net/weblog/category/shipboard-and-shoreline-science-on-lake-michigan/.

Read full press release.....

On the Lake Guardian with COSEE Great Lakes

The Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) Great Lakes invites 4th-10th grade teachers and non-formal educators to participate in one of two week-long Shipboard and Shoreline Science workshops aboard the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 180-foot research vessel (R/V) Lake Guardian every year. Educators work beside scientists, participating in Great Lakes research and stopping in ports for additional science experiences. In addition to shipboard and shoreline science, participants will examine curricula and resources and explore classroom activities relating to the Great Lakes and oceans.

In July of 2009, a group of 15 teachers spent seven days with a team of Great Lakes scientists aboard the EPA's research vessel the Lake Guardian living the life of a researcher on Lake Superior. One of the teachers made a video documenting many parts of the expedition. To view this video, click here.