An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century - California Ocean ...

Figure 8.2 U.S. Students Fall Behind in Science580Figure 8.3 Environment-based EducationBoosts Overall Academic AchievementTest Score560540520500480460CommunicationSkillsProblem Solving/Strategic ThinkingSocial StudiesContentScience Concepts94%97%95%99%■■440420Grade 4U.S. AverageInternational AverageGrade 8Grade 12U.S. students in fourth grade score above the internationalaverage in science achievement, according to the Trendsin International Mathematics and Science Study. However,as students approach their final year in secondary school,the performance in U.S. schools drops well below theinternational average.Source: Calsyn, C., P. Gonzales, and M. Frase. Highlights fromTIMSS [Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study].Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, 1999.MathematicsLanguage Arts92%93%0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%Percent of Teachers Reporting aMeasured Increase in StudentComprehensionIn a recent study, a high percentage of teachers reportedincreased student achievement when natural andsociocultural environments were used as a context forlearning a range of subjects.Source: Lieberman, G.A., and L.L. Hoody. Closing the AchievementGap: Using the Environment as an Integrated Context forLearning. Poway, CA: Science Wizards, 1998.The enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 reemphasized education—including science education—as a national priority. With the goal of improving educationalquality and student achievement, the Act calls for all states to establish standards invarious subjects, with science education standards required by the 2005–6 school year. Toensure that students are reaching the goals set for them, the Act calls for science achievementto be tested beginning in the 2007–8 school year. Although its implementation maybe challenging, this requirement offers an opportunity to demonstrate how ocean topicsexcite students about science and other subjects by incorporating ocean-related conceptsinto K–12 curricular materials and evaluating improvements in performance.Using Ocean-based Examples to Meet Education StandardsThere are two primary sets of science literacy guidelines at the national level: the AmericanAssociation for the Advancement of Science’s 1993 Benchmarks for Science Literacy; andthe National Research Council’s 1996 National Science Education Standards (NSES). Despitesimilar goals of outlining what students should know, understand, and be able to do inscience at various grade levels, the Benchmarks include ocean sciences and ocean-relatedissues, while the NSES contain few explicit references to the oceans or ocean sciences.A recent survey of the NMEA membership revealed a clear preference among educatorsfor using the NSES rather than the Benchmarks when aligning science lessons withinstructional standards (Appendix 3). And where statewide science standards exist, theyare also typically based on the NSES. Thus, the notion of using the oceans to meet sciencerequirements is not commonly incorporated at the state or local level, slowing the adoptionof ocean-based curricula in K–12 classes.C HAPTER 8: PROMOTING L IFELONG O CEAN E DUCATION131