This project improves the effectiveness of undergraduate teaching and learning in science through a new problem/project-based, field-intensive curriculum that integrates scientific research with its application in the construction of public policy. In the pilot semester-long program, undergraduate students address the largely unexplored but emerging issue of high seas conservation. The curriculum is modeling an innovative three-stage approach. During the initial discovery phase the students operate as a research team to develop a conceptual framework that identifies gaps in biodiversity research and in the methods used in ocean conservation. Students subsequently employ modern molecular and classic morphological techniques to accurately measure biodiversity during a month-long research cruise in the Sargasso Sea. In the final application phase, students synthesize their results, generating comprehensive science-based policy recommendations, and present and defend these recommendations to scientists and public stakeholders. This project seamlessly integrates research and education as students make significant contributions to long-term databases used by the international scientific community and tackle current global-scale environmental challenges. Students participating in this program not only acquire leading-edge technical sophistication in marine science research, but the wisdom, concepts, and skills necessary to effectively operate within the world of public policy. By changing the focus to local conservation topics, the curriculum is being adapted for use at other institutions, including those without access to the ocean environment.
This project developed a novel cross-disciplinary semester curriculum in marine science and ocean policy for undergraduates, SEA Semester: Marine Biodiversity and Conservation (MBC). The MBC program was implemented twice during the grant period and Sea Education Association (SEA) is committed to offering the program annually. The curriculum focuses on integrating scientific research with its application in the construction of public policy. Students gain valuable skills in classical and molecular ecology, as well as place-based marine conservation planning. MBC, specifically, tackles the challenge of marine protection on the high seas (beyond national jurisdiction) and parallels the current international effort to protect the Sargasso Sea at the center of the North Atlantic gyre. Maintenance of biodiversity is critical for ecological sustainability, and accurately measuring biodiversity is instrumental for informing conservation action. Many basic questions about species biodiversity and population connectivity in the Sargasso Sea remain unanswered. Hence, MBC students employ morphological and molecular methods to study biodiversity of ecologically and economically important groups of organisms (e.g., eel larvae, spiny lobster larvae, the faunal community associated with Sargassum macroalgae, and the microbial community) found in the region. Biodiversity research conducted by undergraduates during MBC has directly resulted in published peer-reviewed articles in the scientific literature, as well as presentations at professional conferences, and several undergraduate senior theses. Academic science, no matter how sophisticated, cannot on its own, cope with these marine conservation challenges. Conservation involves understanding and influencing human behaviors and their impacts on the marine environment. Students with strong scientific foundation who can also analyze human dimensions, and communicate clearly to non-science audiences become valuable assets to the world of marine conservation. A number of strong students pursuing science majors who participated in the first two offerings of MBC have been accepted into interdisciplinary policy-related graduate programs, or selected for competitive summer research programs with policy components. In addition to building content knowledge and practical skills in conservation science and policy, a critical goal of MBC is to introduce undergraduates to the breadth of career paths available in ocean stewardship, from research science to conservation law to public outreach. These encounters provide opportunities for MBC students to begin to build professional relationships with potential internship mentors, graduate school advisors, employers and colleagues. Each spring SEA hosts a one-day symposium at which 10-12 invited experts in national and international marine conservation science and policy convene to review original scientific contributions and protection strategies for the Sargasso Sea high seas region developed the MBC students. The event has proven an even exchange, with invited participants gaining new ideas and energy from the students’ fresh approaches, while imparting lessons and perspectives from the front lines to the next generation of conservation professionals. With its thematic focus, cross-disciplinary approach, and authentic research experiences in conservation science and policy, MBC represents a model "learning community" that can be applied as a template to other conservation challenges in classrooms at other undergraduate institutions. The newly developed curricular elements guide student learning to produce high quality academic products (e.g., scientific research proposals and manuscripts, and conservation plans). More broadly, the curriculum contributes to a generation of citizen/scientists who possess a combination of skills needed to address complex environmental and social questions. Graduates finish with leading-edge technical sophistication in science, the wisdom and skills necessary to effectively operate within the world of public policy, and the ambition required to devote careers to addressing global-scale environmental challenges.
