InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Ocean Sustainability > Instructor Stories > Cara Thompson
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Initial Publication Date: November 22, 2016

Cara Thompson: Using Ocean Sustainability in Physical Oceanography at Santa Monica College

About this Course

An introductory course for non-majors.

40
students
Two 80-minute lecture sessions per week

Physical Oceanography Syllabus (Acrobat (PDF) 111kB Aug5 16)

A Success Story in Building Student Engagement

I implemented the Ocean Sustainability Module in my introductory physical oceanography course at a two-year junior college (Santa Monica College). Many of our students struggle in science courses. It was great to see those students grasp concepts through the hands-on, student-lead learning provided in this module.

The student-lead learning drew students out of their shells and helped them draw their own conclusions about their personal responsibility in terms of ocean health and sustainability.

My Experience Teaching with InTeGrateMaterials

I implemented the module as intended as a capstone to the course.

Relationship of InTeGrate Materials to my Course

My course was 16 weeks long — the module was implemented at the end of the course (last three weeks). Students were introduced to the formation of the planet, plate tectonics, marine provinces, sediments, water and seawater, wind-driven currents, density-driven circulation, waves, tides, and coastal geology before starting the module.

Assessments

I provided a concept map as a group exercise during the final exam. I believe as an individual exercise it would have been too difficult. As a group exercise it initiated a lot of thoughtful conversation, and students did relatively well on it. That said, we changed the summative assessment to a more purposeful assignment (an educational brochure for the public) that I think will be more effective.

Outcomes

Our primary vision was to increase student-led learning and have them understand their role in ocean sustainability. Although many students at Santa Monica College already tend to be relatively sustainably-minded, this module was able to teach them the science behind these sustainability themes. Students did well — many commented on how they did not realize the carbon that they were emitting affects the ocean in multi-faceted ways. They stated that before the module, their impression of ocean sustainability was limited to pollution (e.g., plastics) and/or overfishing.

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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »