Rebecca Bell, Environmental Education Specialist for the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), will get first-hand research experience aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research ship as part of NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program.
Bell will sail aboard the NOAA fisheries research ship Delaware II out of Woods Hole, MA, August 13-29, to help scientists with the Ecosystem Monitoring Project where they will assess changing biological and physical properties which influence the sustainable productivity of living marine resources of the northeast continental shelf ecosystem.
“I am really looking forward to doing research at sea and be able to interact with teachers and students about ocean and climate research and related careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,” said Bell. “I am honored to be selected by NOAA for the Teacher at Sea program and am proud to represent Maryland teachers and the Maryland State Department of Education.”
Aboard the ship Bell will write logs that include photos, information about research of the day and life at sea, and interviews with scientists. The logs will be posted on NOAA’s Teacher at Sea Web site at http://teacheratsea.noaa.gov/. While at sea, she will also take digital pictures and answer email from teachers and students.
“To fully understand the possible effects of climate change on the Chesapeake Bay and its ecosystems, a major concern of the Governor’s Climate Change Commission, students must understand Maryland’s, and the Bay’s, environmental and economic health from a new perspective, as an integral part of a dynamic global system,” said Dr. Nancy Grasmick, State Superintendent of Schools. “This is a unique opportunity for the department to participate in on-the-spot reporting from the continental shelf. Not only will students learn about the research and life at sea, but also about careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. This also serves as a model for other teachers to become life-long learners and to participate in doing the science they teach about.”
The enthusiasm for learning about science generated between teachers and students is the biggest payoff of NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program, where teachers from kindergarten through college go aboard NOAA hydrographic, oceanographic and fisheries research vessels to work under the tutelage of scientists and crew. Now in its 18th year, the program has enabled more than 500 teachers to gain first-hand experience in science at sea. Teachers can enrich their classroom curricula with a depth of understanding made possible by living and working side-by-side, day and night, with those who contribute to the world’s body of scientific knowledge.
“The NOAA Teacher at Sea program continues to be an effective way to introduce teachers to NOAA science in an ‘up close and personal’ way that helps them bring science alive for their students,” said Rear Admiral Jonathan W. Bailey, NOAA Corps, director of NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. “The program has been so successful, we would like to expand it to make sure more teachers have an opportunity to participate and improve their research skills. It benefits NOAA as well. Enthusiastic teachers make great assistants and tend to boost the morale of everyone on board. After spending a couple of weeks on a ship, they also are able to offer career information to their students about the various shipboard jobs. We are always looking for good NOAA recruits! All around, it’s a win-win situation.”
The NOAA Teacher at Sea program is administered by NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. OMAO is responsible for operating, managing and maintaining NOAA’s fleet of research and survey ships and aircraft, and is composed both of civilians and officers of the NOAA Corps, one of the nation’s seven uniformed services.
NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.