Communicating Ocean Science BISC 587 Spring 2010

Instructors: Dr. Myrna Jacobson Meyers, USC Biology/Wrigley myrnaj@usc.edu (05145)

Dr. Cornelius Sullivan, USC csulliva@usc.edu (06712)
David Bader, AOP dbader@lbaop.org (562-
951-1633)
Emily Yam, AOP eYam@lbaop.org (562-951-
5378)
Other invited guest speakers include: Holly Willis (Intermedia Department), James Fawcett (USC
Sea Grant), Michelle Riconscente (Rossier School), Casy Cody (Annenberg School).

Course Description:
Multi-instructor, interdisciplinary course focused on student awareness and improvement of
cognitive processes used in research development, and communication of ocean literacy in the
public sector.

Units: 4 semester units

Prerequisites: Graduate level understanding of Oceanographic Principles. Other interested upper
division students can petition the instructor for admittance on an individual basis.

Overall Schedule:
Class will meet Tuesday afternoons 1-5:00 PM, either at USC or at the Aquarium of the Pacific.
Travel time to the Aquarium will be used for group discussions and exercises and is considered
class time. Each student will schedule additional 15 hours over the course of the semester for
observing and presentations.

Grading: (letter grade)

Participation – 10%
Reading materials will be given to students prior to class. Students will guide the class in
review of articles using blackboard tools.Participation will include blackboard as well as in class
discussions and attendance.

Teaching Practicum – 35%

Teaching to informal audiences at the Aquarium of the Pacific.
Written Assignments – 35%
Development of a lesson or presentation that can be taught in a local aquarium or
presentations to other informal or formal group (15%), including:
Lesson or research idea proposals
Written lesson/presentation plan
Lesson debrief
Assessment tool or rubric (15%)
Written participation in Blackboard discussions on articles ( 5%)
Presentation – 20%
Oral presentation of presentation to class
Review of a peer’s presentation

Statement for Students with Disabilities

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register
with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved
accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to
TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00
p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Statement on Academic Integrity

USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty
include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that
individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations
both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using
another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these
principles. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section
11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A:
http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMPUS/gov/. Students will be referred to the Office of
Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any
suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be found at:
http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/.

Course Introduction and Objectives

COSIA is a nationwide program focused on developing ocean science literacy, acting through a
formal national network of educators and scientists participating in this teaching/learning
initiative. The proposed course is designed for graduate students in the Marine and
Environmental Biology Section of the Department of Biological Sciences and graduate students
in other fields with experience and/or knowledge of marine science. Other advanced students may
petition the instructor for admittance.
The objectives of this course are to improve the ability of advanced science students to
communicate their scientific knowledge to informal and formal audiences. An additional
objective is to teach scientists consciousness related to how they codify research concepts, with a
goal of improving the quality of their approach to scientific ideas. The curriculum facilitates
these objectives using learner centered and learning by doing philosophies. Students, using their
own scientific research ideas, and working with university professors and educators, will
participate in, and design an activity to be implemented at an informal learning institution. In
addition, students, with guidance from outside experts including the Rossier School of Education,
the School of Journalism, and the Institute for Multimedia Literacy will learn about evaluation
techniques, develop appropriate short presentations (elevator talks) to address various audiences,
learn how to present concepts to journalists, and learn the basics involved in combining animation
and intermedia learning tools with scientific concepts to enhance communication of science to
non-science and informal audiences. The course will combine instruction in inquiry-based
science teaching methods with 15 hours of supervised teaching ocean sciences at the Aquarium of
the Pacific in Long Beach.

Required Texts and Articles:

Charles Miller, Biological Oceanography, 2004, Publisher: Blackwell Publishers
John D Bradsford, J.D. Brown., and Cocking R.R., editors How People Learn: Brain, Mind,
Experience and School. 1999 National Academies Press
Selected articles on scientific topics based on student research-posted on blackboard,

Suggested Reference texts:

Oceanography: An Illustrated Guide. Summerhayes, C.P. and S.A. Thorpe. Wiley, 1998. Science
Library Call # GC11.2 .O22 1996
Marine Ecological Processes. Valiela, I.Springer, 1995. Science
 Library Call # QH541.5.S3.V34 1995.
Dynamics of Marine Ecosystems : biological-physical interactions
in the oceans. Mann, K.H. and J.R.N. Lazier. Blackwell Science,
1996. QH541.5.S3.M25 1996.
Aquatic Photosynthesis. Falkowski, P.G. and J.A. Raven.
Blackwell Science, 1997. QK882.F36 1997.
Concepts in Biological Oceanography: an interdisciplinary primer.
Jumars, P.A. Oxford University Press, 1993. QH541.45.S3J85
1993
Falk, J. and Dierking, L. Learning from Museums: Visitor Experiences and the Making of
Meaning. 2000. AltaMira Press
Castro, P. and ME Huber. Marine Biology, 6th ed. Mc Graw-Hill Higher Education (background
for graduate students not necessarily with a concentration in marine biology interested in
taking the course).

NOTE:
Students will make oral presentations before the class on research topics of their choice and
will provide guidance to the class on background journal readings at least one week before
their presentation. The journal articles will be chosen from peer review journals. Each student
will present 3 articles on blackboard for review by the class.

References for readings, coordinated to weekly sessions are below, found after the syllabus.
Note number before reading is associated with Session number. PDFs will be made available
to students on the Blackboard. Student references associated with personal research will be
added the second week of class.

Scheduling changes may be necessary as the course proceeds and will be announced in class.
Note: Assigned readings and on-line discussions must be completed before class each week. The
student leading a blackboard discussion will compile on-line student comments and present them
for discussion in 7 minute session at the beginning of class.
Session 1 reading is posted please read before class: U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. (2004).
“An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century: Final Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean
Policy”.
_______________________________________________________________________
Session 1. Introduction to the Toolbox of Learning and Communication.
Location - USC.
________________________________________________________________________
Session 2. What is Science, What is not Science, What Seems Like Science and is not?
Location – AOP Laboratory. Through interactive presentation students will inspect the
philosophical underpinnings related to how we define science in our society. Contribution by Dr.
C. Sullivan on a life as a scientist, lessons learned. Students will discuss and present the
fundamentals of their graduate research topics.
_______________________________________________________________
Session 3. What is the Best Practice for Laboratory Presentation?
Location - USC Laboratory. Oceanographic concepts will be used in a series of laboratory
experiments, which vary not in concept, but in presentation. Discussion of the perceived best
practice in research experiments will follow.
______________________________________________________________
Session 4. Styles of Communicating in Lecture, Useful Methods.
Location – AOP. Laboratory – Skit presentations and role-play of scientific presentation. How
can we best present content rich information to various audience types? How can I tell if the
audience understands? Discussion of communications rubric to observe behavior of individuals,
followed by observations at the AOP using communication rubric generated by professional at
the Laurence Hall of Science, and our own modified rubric.
________________________________________________________________
Session 5. Holly Willis of Interactive Media Lab.
Location-USC IML. Multimedia tools - U Tube, Second life, Web page design, Inter media
Department. Focusing on U Tube and other communication media, we will begin to create
Design projects related to our research, web pages etc. Holly Willis, of IML will be guiding us as
well as showing us a range of projects that embody scholarly multimedia.
___________________________________________________________________
Session 6. How the Media Approaches Science and Culture
Location – USC. Journalism, Radio and Culture. How to talk to the media Journalism and
Science. What are the cultural impacts on Learning? In conjunction with the Journalism School
of Annenberg Laboratory – interaction of science students and Journalism students. What do my
science words mean to a Journalist.
___________________________________________________________________
Session 7. Designing a Presentation.
Location – AOP. Discussion of the draft of your proposed presentation(s) to selected audience.
We will be on the floor of the AOP presenting technical information materials on the exhibits are
available in booklet form as well as articles related to research.
_____________________________________________________________________
Session 8. Inquiring Minds/ Putting it All in Context: A Model for Learning
Location – AOP. Refined presentation proposal due. Presentation and critique of our own
research ideas to our peers and to audience at the AOP in the “ask a scientist mode”.
_____________________________________________________________________
Session 9. Michelle Riconscente, Rossier School
Location-USC. Assessment and Evaluation in Informal Settings Formative and summative
assessment evaluation.
________________________________________________________________
Session 10. James Fawcett, USC Sea Grant.
Location- USC. Traversing from science practice through sociology to politics. Pre-
conceptualization in public viewing of science theory, its role in public understanding of science
knowledge
_____________________________________________________
Session 11. Prior Knowledge Role in Learning
Location TBA
Development of “elevator talks” and practice during class.
__________________________________________
Session 12 &13. Cornelius W. (Neal) Sullivan
Location USC. Science, NSF, and the White House. How does it really work. Your scientific
interests and accomplishments to the academic hierarchy: Department Chairs, Deans, Provosts
and their Committees and National Academies. Continued presentation of “elevator talks”
________________________________________________________________

Session 14. Presentations with Critique

Location TBA.
________________________________________________________________
Session 15. Presentations AT AOP as Evening guests or Afternoon visitors.
Readings below correspond to Session Numbers. PDFs will be provided on line

1. U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. (2004). “An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century: Final
Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy”.

2. Feynman, R. (1985). “The Amateur Scientist.” From: Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman:
Adventures of a Curious Character. WW Norton & Co.

2. Newberry, T. (2004). Aquariums. The Three penny Review.

(http://www.threepennyreview.com/samples/newberry_su04.html)

3. Chapter 1 of Falk, J. H., & Dierking, L. D. (2000). Learning from Museums: Visitor
Experiences and the Making of Meaning. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.

3. Donovan, S. M., & Bransford, J. D. (2005). Chapter 1: Introduction. In S. M. Donovan & J. D.

Bransford (Eds.), How Students Learn: History, Mathematics, and Science in the Classroom (pp.
1-28). Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.

3. Hein, G. (2005). The Constructivist Museum. GEM News Index

4. Elstgeest, J. (2001). The Right Question at the Right Tme. In W. Harlen (Ed.), Primary
Science: Taking the Plunge (pp. 36-45). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

4. Jelly, S. (2001). Helping Children Raise Questions – and Answering Them. In W. Harlen (Ed.),
Primary Science: Taking the Plunge (pp. 47-57). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann..

7. Chapter 7 of Hein, G. (1998). Learning in the Museum. London: Routledge.

7. Allen, S. (2004). Designs for Learning: Studying Science Museum Exhibits That Do More
Than Entertain. Science Education. Special Issue: In Principle, In Practice: Perspectives on a
Decade of Museum Learning Research (1994-2004), 88(Suppl1), S17-S33.

8. Bransford, J. D., & Donovan, S. M. (2005). Chapter 9: Scientific Inquiry and How People
Learn. In S. M. Donovan & J. D. Bransford (Eds.), How Students Learn: History, Mathematics,
and Science in the Classroom (pp. 397-419). Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.

8. Falk, J. H., & Dierking, L. D. (2002). The Free-Choice Learner’s Bill of Rights. In Lessons
Without Limits (pp. 133-153). Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.

8. Falk, J. H., & Dierking, L. D. (2002). The Free-Choice Learner’s Bill of Rights. In Lessons
Without Limits (pp. 156-161). Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.

8. Pollina, A. (1995). Gender Balance: Lessons from Girls in Science and Mathematics.
Educational Leadership, 53 (1), p. 30-33.

8. Jolly, E. (2002). Appendix F--Confronting Demographic Denial: Retaining Relevance in the

New Millennium. In Perez-Pelaez, A., Walker, J., & Ross, H (Eds.), Eric Jolly on Sustainable
Diversity in Science Centers: a guide to promote dialogue (pp. 42-48). Washington, D.C.:
Association of Science-Technology Centers Incorporated.
8. Cummins, J. (1998). Beyond Adversarial Discourse: Searching for Common Ground in the
Education of Bilingual Students. Presentation to the California State Board of Education,
February 9, 1998, Sacramento, California.

11. Falk, J. H., & Adelman, L. M. (2003). Investigating the Impact of Prior Knowledge and
Interest on Aquarium Visitor Learning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40(2), 163-176

Articles and reading for sessions 5, 6, 9, 10 will be provided by guest instructors at least two
weeks before the class session.