OSEI II - Stellwagen Bank Kit
—by Catherine Cramer, Staff Writer
Conversation between NE-COSEE and the Boston Public Schools (BPS) led to an opportunity to bring the curriculum close to home. Team members focused on the ten existing EcoScenario kits in the FOSS curriculum that are used in the 8th grade, noting that a kit based on the pelagic water column as a habitat would be a welcome addition, and an appropriate project for OSEI II. In short order, the OSEI II team has developed curriculum using Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in Massachusetts Bay as an eleventh option for Boston students.
BPS teachers Jody Gould Calabro and Valerie Saucer; researchers Ru Morrison from the University of New Hampshire and Erik Zettler from the Sea Education Association; and NE-COSEE facilitators Kim Frashure and Bob Chen from UMass Boston met in early September to determine the best ways to integrate an ocean EcoScenario into the FOSS Populations and Ecosystems curriculum. They explored current research in local ocean ecosystems and became familiar with the FOSS ecosystem materials.
Adapting existing materials, which include photos, data, graphs and Internet links, was the next step. The OSEI II team has been compiling information about Stellwagen Bank that is consistent with the other FOSS EcoScenarios. The Stellwagen EcoScenario kit includes abiotic and biotic data, materials addressing environmental issues, web resources, and a debate among stakeholders.
Stellwagen attracts a variety of marine life, from plankton to whales. The kit’s abiotic data explains how geology, light and nutrients interact to make Stellwagen so attractive. The biotic data describes the life found there and the food web, exploring the species that are involved and the dynamics of their interactions.
The kit includes an explanation of the development and mission of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Views of individuals and groups with an interest in Stellwagen are presented, including Internet links to the original sources. Questions are raised concerning commercial fishing, pollution, species endangerment, and commercial shipping, thereby highlighting the complexity of making decisions that affect entire ecosystems.
One of the stated goals of OSEI II is to develop a concrete ocean science research-based curriculum unit that is implemented in the classroom; field testing of the Stellwagen EcoScenario kit in selected BPS 8th grade classrooms begins in December, 2004. This project is being viewed as a model for developing localized curriculum, and thereby increasing student engagement, while maintaining the FOSS research-based curriculum.