This award provides continued funding for the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB), which was established in 1998 by CORE. The program runs a nationally recognized high school academic competition that provides a forum for students to excel in science, mathematics and technology and introduces team members, their teacher/coaches, schools and communities to ocean sciences as an interdisciplinary field of study and a possible future career path.
The basic model for NOSB is that of a two-tiered timed competition in which pairs of four-student teams answer multiple-choice, short-answer and critical thinking questions within multiple categories related to the oceans. Each fall, over 400 participating high schools prepare their teams for 25 regional ocean sciences bowl competitions held across the United States in February and early March. Winners of these Regional Bowls advance to the national finals in late April. The current structure layers an array of year-round academic elements onto the basic competition framework and offers a range of program enhancements including summer internships and scholarships for NOSB alumni and opportunities for teacher professional development. Four regional bowls currently receive additional funding to expand recruitment efforts and provide mentoring and field trip experiences for students from racial, ethnic and economic groups underrepresented in the ocean sciences.
CORE will to continue to administer and manage the National Ocean Sciences Bowl for the next five years (April 2007-March 2012). This award is the NSF-portion of an interagency effort that supports the NOSB. The combined interagency funds will support the addition of two new sites and expand the diversity initiative. To improve the credentials of the nation's teachers and informal educators, the award will provide funding for coach and regional coordinator professional development including a focus on the fundamental principles and concepts of ocean literacy recently developed by the ocean education community. An additional new element is a longitudinal study of educational and career paths that will assess the role that the program plays in encouraging talented students to enter the pipeline into ocean science careers and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) professions. By supporting and promoting the program's unique educational and experiential opportunities, all NOSB partners and sponsors contribute to helping our nation better prepare K-12 students in science and technology and identify and cultivate future scientists and technical experts.
The NOSB program has been a model for interagency support of ocean education as directed by the President in the U.S. Ocean Action Plan (http://ocean.ceq.gov/actionplan.pdf ) which states that all agencies that fund ocean research and education should work together to ensure a coordinated education and outreach message; the integration of education and outreach components into research, exploration and management activities; that data collected through ocean and Earth observations are translated into useable forms for teachers, students, and the general public; that State and local educators are involved in developing high-quality education materials by participating Federal agencies; the ocean workforce of tomorrow is well-prepared; and that we continue to expand innovative means for bringing ocean science into classrooms and reaching the broader public. This award provides a portion of the funding required to support this program. A majority of the funds to support all other aspects of the program will be provided by NOAA via a parallel award for $1.0 - 1.3 M per year for 5 years. Other agencies that may contribute to the program include the Navy, Minerals Management Service (MMS), NASA, and USGS.
The goal of the NSF-supported award "The National Ocean Sciences Bowl" was to support many of the enhancement activities of the overall National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) program. The NOSB, now in its 17th year, is a national high school program through which talented students are introduced to ocean science and other science, engineering, mathematics and technology (STEM) subjects and careers. The basic model for the bowl is that of a timed competition in which two teams compete to answer questions in categories related to the ocean. Each spring, participating high schools compete in one of twenty-five regional competitions taking place around the country. Winners of these regional competitions then advance to the national Finals Competition in late April. Each team consists of four individuals with many teams involving a fifth student as an alternate. In 2013, 1,929 students competed, representing 300 high schools in 33 states and the District of Columbia. Over the past sixteen years, the program has encouraged over 26,000 students and teachers to pursue ocean sciences as an interdisciplinary field of study and a possible future career path. However, the NOSB is more than just a buzzer competition. Since 2007, the NOSB has continued to heighten coaches’ and students’ experiences throughout the school year. The NOSB national office provides additional enhancements to the competitions, including those funded by NSF: professional development opportunities for educators, mock congressional briefings, an online game, enhanced communication of ocean science career opportunities available to high school students and teachers, and a program evaluation study. All of the enhancement activities have a similar objective – to expose students and educators to ocean science information, activities, presentations and interactions with scientists in ways that they do not receive in the traditional classroom setting. These opportunities are extremely important and influential as they provide intensive interactive and hands-on learning opportunities that help shape personal, leadership and professional development skills. NOSB students learn basic scientific principles and apply them to more complex problems, thereby receiving a richer education. They also gain exposure to and preparation for careers within and related to ocean science or STEM, which, in turn, supports environmental stewardship and leadership within local communities. The key outcomes of the effort are as follows: 1. Professional Development Webinar Series The NOSB hosted its annual Professional Development Webinar Series in early 2013. The series focused on the 2013 competition theme, "The Great Lakes: A Window into Freshwater Science." The series provided educators with the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of topics related to freshwater environments, as many coaches and were unfamiliar with freshwater topics and the Great Lakes region. One coach specifically noted: "From my standpoint as a coach, the webinar series was valuable because it guided me on what to have the kids focus on for preparing for competition [as] I have no background in freshwater ecosystems." 2. Science Expert Briefing (SEB) The SEB on invasive species, conducted at the National Finals Competition in April 2013, was created in order to help students increase their knowledge of the structure, format and purpose of policy briefings; improve their analysis skills; gain experience preparing a formal testimony; and hone their critical thinking and cooperative learning skills. Coaches responded that the 2013 SEB was an extremely worthwhile activity for their teams as it continued to provide the students with researching, writing, critical thinking, communication, presentation and cooperative learning skills: "My students left the entire experience with a strong appreciation and respect for the judges/scientists and for the complexity of the issues related to invasive species." 3. Ocean Sciences Quiz The Ocean Science Quiz (OSQ) is an online game that simulates the NOSB competition. Users have the option to play along, against the clock or against another user on the same computer. The game enables two players using the same computer to compete against one another and the clock. Phase III, allowing users to compete across the internet, was launched in April 2013. Now a team in California can play a team in Florida online! Anyone can try their luck at the OSQ at http://osq.nosb.org/. 4. Career Booklet The NOSB career booklet, entitled "An Ocean of Possibilities! Careers Related to the Ocean and Aquatic Sciences," was debuted at the National Finals Competition in Milwaukee in April 2013. The booklet can be viewed and downloaded online by any student interested in learning more about careers and career preparation at http://nosb.org/ocean-careers/career-resources/. 5. Longitudinal Study The Longitudinal Study emphasizes that the NOSB is more than an academic competition. The NOSB is a community of multiple stakeholder groups – students, educators, scientists, federal agencies, and sponsors - who all benefit from the interactions with one another through question development, competition preparation and participation, and other enhancement activities. The full five-year Longitudinal Study can be found online at www.nosb.org/alumni-2/alumni-study-archives/.
