The National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Education (NNOCCI) strengthens the capacity of informal science education institutions (ISEIs) to increase public understanding of climate change and its impacts on coastal zones and marine life. Building on ISEIs' large audiences, interpretive capacity, and public trust, NNOCCI has a transformative impact on public science communication. The project's goals are to: (1) Expand interpretive techniques based on sound social science research; (2) Expand the emerging community of practice developed through a CCEP-Phase I planning grant; (3) Deepen content knowledge and communication skills of scientists and interpreters; and (4) Develop a resilient and replicable national infrastructure for reaching ISEIs and their public audiences. This partnership is led by the New England Aquarium in collaboration with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, FrameWorks Institute, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, with evaluation conducted by the New Knowledge Organization, Pennsylvania State University, and Ohio State University. A series of 14 Study Circles are being developed to provide professional development for ISEI interpretive staff in collaboration with climate scientists and cognitive/social scientists. Fifteen Regional Leaders participate in recruiting and in planning and leading additional workshops. Special training methods are being developed and implemented for youth interpreters. For scientists, workshops focusing on strategic framing and communication are being offered. Best practices from current social science research are being incorporated into a new e-Workshop.
NNOCCI engages stakeholders from 140 institutions, with the potential to reach tens of millions of people through their interpretation and communication. An even larger impact arises from the potential to transform how ISEIs translate information about climate change and oceans. The activities of this project help to achieve the vision of scaling up a training program to reach thousands of interpreters, including underserved youth, over several years. This project builds on the knowledge, success, and momentum generated during a previous CCEP-I project to expand the depth, reach, and legacy of this work over the next five years. NNOCCI will ultimately engage millions of visitors to aquariums and other ISEIs in learning about the scientific processes linking climate change and the ocean. The project's strategic impact is its potential to transform how these organizations present this topic and, ultimately, how they communicate other complex environmental or scientific topics that involve policy implications. Anticipated outcomes include: a new "culture of communication" about complex science within the ISE community; a national network of interpretive leaders throughout the ISE field who are skilled, confident, and capable of disseminating that information effectively; engagement of a critical mass of ISEIs with a broad and diverse national reach; increased public awareness of climate change as a salient, meaningful, and actionable topic; and increased capacity of the next generation of ocean scientists.
This project is one of six Phase II projects being funded through the Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) program. The CCEP program was developed as part of the NSF Climate Change Education program, established through Congressional appropriations in FY 2009. The CCEP program is a one-time, dedicated NSF effort to establish a coordinated national network of regionally- or thematically-based partnerships devoted to increasing the adoption of effective, high quality educational programs and resources related to the science of climate change and its impacts. The CCEP portfolio encompasses a major interdisciplinary research and development effort designed to promote deeper understanding of, and engagement with, climate system science and the impacts of climate change on natural and human systems. The vision of this program is a scientifically literate society that can effectively weigh the evidence regarding global climate change as it confronts the challenges ahead, while preparing the innovative scientific and technical workforce to advance our knowledge of human-climate interactions and develop approaches for a sustainable, prosperous future. Each CCEP is required to incorporate innovative collaborations among expertise of climate scientists, learning scientists, and education practitioners in either formal or informal learning environments to research, design, and test new models and strategies for effective teaching and learning about climate science. With its focus on interdisciplinary approaches and transformative scales of impact, the CCEP program occupies a unique and complementary niche in the portfolio of Federal investments related to climate science education and workforce development.
