Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation

Oceans with Mr. O. is a supplemental materials and resources tool for high school marine science education. It is specifically designed to provide an experiential learning opportunity for students who are not able to, or have never visited the ocean. Experiential learning establishes a sense of connection and responsibility for the oceans;1 however, many high school students, even in a coastal city like San Diego, CA, do not have equal access to experience the ocean first-hand. One solution is to bring the ocean to the classroom through educational materials and visuals. The video modules created through this project will provide an immersive experience with the ocean through the film lens, as well as embedded questions to facilitate important conservation discussions around key concepts. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have revolutionized the way in which teachers prepare students in the discipline of science. Teachers are tasked with finding “anchoring phenomena” from which to teach scientific concepts.2 Introducing students to local natural phenomena drives student curiosity and learning. The films will act as a springboard that teachers can build off of when building inquiry-based science curricula that aligns with the NGSS or their classroom. The short videos are each accompanied by resource guides that include discussion questions and answers, relevant vocabulary, examples of hands-on activities, further research information, and helpful images.