Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation

Humans are causing a shift in ocean carbonate chemistry largely due to a heavy reliance on fossil fuels as an energy source. The ocean absorbs approximately one quarter of the carbon dioxide (CO₂) that humans emit into the atmosphere every year. High levels of atmospheric CO₂ emissions lead to the acidification of the ocean (OA) and many calcifying species can be affected, including human food sources. Economic policy has not succeeded in addressing OA so education must become a larger focus for adaptation and mitigation of this issue. To maximize the effectiveness of education, it is important to understand different modalities of learning including visual, aural, reading/writing, and kinesthetic (VARK). This project created a 21-minute documentary-style video for middle-school students. A survey (“quiz”) was also created to accompany the video. Initial survey results from 235 middle-school students in test classrooms located in both Hawaii and California, showed content knowledge improved by 21.3% after watching the video and children’s self-reported knowledge about OA changed from mostly never having heard the term to feeling confident in having some knowledge.