Integrating ocean literacy in UK curriculum-led field courses

Abstract

The UK post-16 school biology students have little requirement for knowledge of marine processes or issues. However, students taught ecology through field courses at coastal locations will use marine ecosystems as an example. UK Higher Education students (17/18+) may also have limited knowledge of the marine environment, and although some attend academic marine field courses, they may still have little opportunity to improve their own wider ocean literacy. This chapter describes some innovative field course teaching activities, designed by the Field Studies Council (FSC) and based on marine ecosystems, which aim to create rich experiences that deliver curriculum content whilst generating more time to teach ocean literacy messages. One activity describes how to teach rocky shore taxonomy. Another activity demonstrates ways of using information and communication technology to create more time for data analysis and discussion whilst still in the field. A third activity shows how an environmental impact assessment (EIA) exercise can be delivered to increase awareness of how marine science can be used to inform community and stakeholder decisions. Use of these activities on marine field courses means that their impact on student learning and ocean literacy levels can be evaluated. A semi-quantitative pilot evaluation study is described, the results of which point to the improvement in student awareness of the marine environment and related, environmental issues. The need for further staff training to enable them to take full advantage of the benefits of the new resources presented is highlighted, as is the need for further, statistically valid evaluation studies.