Work Example:

Ocean Science Workshops for Educators

MMC facilitated Professional Development one day on-site workshops for middle and high school educators around the country as part of NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research education program. Groups of 25-30 teachers participated in each workshop. Content focused on ocean science topics such as marine biology, deep sea technology, marine geology, bioluminescence, exploration, and seabed mapping.

MMC also led efforts to expand NOAA Ocean Exploration workshops into Portugal and the Azores, based on her previous work with NOAA. Relationships between teachers and ocean researchers were catalyzed, and each workshop contained classroom, lab, and field components.

In addition to on-site workshops, MMC has worked as part of team to develop and facilitate online workshops for up to 700 global participants through the College of Exploration. MMC personnel served as the Instructor of Record for participants seeking graduate credits, in addition to liaising with keynote presenters, designing content, and aligning content to national education standards.

Work Example:

Oceans and Human Health Courses

Melissa Ryan holds a M.S. in Natural Health and one of her professional interests is the relationship between oceans and human health. Within this field lie the answers to questions such as: What can we learn from a squid about our own nervous system? How can substances found in marine sponges help to treat cancer?

MMC created two online courses on Oceans and Human Health (OHH). These courses have been offered as professional development for teachers through the nonprofit College of Exploration, and to undergraduate students at a local Connecticut college. The materials serve as a general introduction to this cutting-edge topic in ocean science. Global climate change, harmful algal blooms, marine biopharmaceuticals, and the use of marine organisms as biomedical models are some of the topics explored.