The mission of COSEE Great Lakes is to foster lasting relationships through networks that link Great Lakes educators with ongoing science research in the region and with connections of that science to marine equivalents. It is primarily a program for marine and Great Lakes education and public outreach.

There was a need to enhance teacher capabilities for accessing science information and delivering high quality educational programs in Great Lakes/ocean sciences. It is important to integrate ocean and Great Lakes research into existing high quality science education materials. COSEE GL wanted to make current research findings about the Great Lakes available to the public to encourage public science literacy and appreciation of our water resources. New York and the other Great Lakes states will be dependent upon stakeholders to make judgements and take actions to protect the environment. Through this project we are trying to develop a scientifically aware citizenry in order to protect the future of the Great Lakes.

Four week-long programs have been conducted including a course for teachers aboard the USEPA Lake Guardian, two tropical marine ecology course in Roatan, Honduras and Curacao, and a week-long Great Lakes On-line Workshop for teachers from around the country. Six day-long “Teachable Moment” teachers’ workshops have been offered to NY teachers on topics like invasive species and global warming. A curriculum compendium, The Greatest of the Great Lakes is compilation of 41 exemplary activities on CD-ROM was produced and is matched to NYS Science Standards. Two State of the Lakes meetings have been held, bringing 500 stakeholders together with researchers to learn about the health status of Lake Erie. In a means to encourage researchers to work with teachers and stakeholders a 3-hour symposium was organized by COSEE as our first School for Scientists as part of the The International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) conference in May 2007. Researchers learned ideas and examples of how to communicate science to the public and to students, engage underrepresented groups, develop plans for Broader Impacts, and prepare for a school visit. I have also made invited presentation on COSEE GL at a number of international, national and regional conferences and meetings relating to NYSG education programs and Great Lakes topics.

Over 1,000 educators have been reached through NY Sea Grant’s involvement in COSEE GL. Evaluations indicate that teachers involved in COSEE GL programs and workshops have learned new information about the Great Lakes and they are what they learned with their students. Teachers are incorporating lessons from The Greatest of the Great Lakes curriculum compendium into their classrooms. There have been linkages made between researchers and educators, which allow teachers to share cutting-edge science with their students.

Great Lakes Education