This manuscript introduces a novel General Chemistry experiment designed to incorporate modern instrumental methods and bioinspired materials in the context of marine environments and sustainability. The experiment explores the influence of collagen on the formation of calcium carbonate (CaCO[subscript 3]) polymorphs over two 2 h lab sessions,…

This research aims to develop an ocean wave energy converter kit from low-cost materials as a teaching tool. The kit is developed using the working principle of a wave energy converter that uses a buoy as a system drive and a weight balancer that is connected to a chain. The dimensions of the kit are 6.7 × 0.3 × 0.4 m (length × width × height)…

Undergraduate research experiences benefit students' scientific skills, and recent trends in undergraduate research and education include focusing on interdisciplinary projects and on place-based learning. Here we describe a semester-long pilot interdisciplinary undergraduate research program focused on local aquatic ecosystems, discuss perceived…

Raising awareness on marine environmental issues is crucial to deepen students' knowledge on ocean sustainability. Nonetheless, ocean-related topics have not been adequately addressed through formal education curricula, thus non-formal learning activities were developed to promote Ocean Literacy among students. These include visits to the local…

Ocean acidification (OA) has been called climate change's evil twin for a reason. Increased levels of carbon dioxide, caused by humans burning fossil fuels, are not only causing a rise in global temperature but are also having adverse impacts on marine ecosystems. In the lesson presented in this article, students conduct investigations using…

Marine phytoplankton comprise the foundation of oceanic food webs and generate most of the Earth's oxygen. Of the many phytoplankton species in the ocean, a few dozen produce potent toxins, and at high concentrations can form what are called Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) or "red tides" that can discolor marine waters. Managers and…

Invasive species outreach has long leaned on problematic and oversimplified messaging that narrowly frames the issue as binary: good-native vs. evil-invasive. Contemporary invasive species educational programming in the United States, as illustrated in this article, draw on this same approach that, while attention grabbing, both reinforces…

The vast extent to which quantitative prerequisites vary among post-secondary geoscience programs often presents a challenge for educators and students alike in courses for which math and physics are foundational. This study discusses the design of GEOAppS, a suite of educational numerical models, and its application toward lowering the…

"Minecraft" is a computer game that allows players to move around in a virtual world, building almost limitless creations with a vast array of cubic blocks with varying textures and properties. Its representative settings and processes link to the real world, making the game a valuable tool for both presenting scientific concepts to…

Recent studies indicate poor understanding of the causes and consequences of climate change among college students. In an effort to improve climate change literacy, we have developed an authentic research experience for upper level undergraduate students focused on resolving spatial and temporal patterns of coral reef bleaching, an ecologically…

This article elucidates a participatory design process in which a prototype iBook was embedded within the context of secondary science classrooms through multiple interventions. The fundamental design intention of the iBook is to increase students' ocean literacy in a curriculum that lacks marine science. Two e-learning ecologies were identified…

Increasingly, undergraduate institutions are incorporating original research into the curriculum as a matter of best practice. However, while the practice of science has grown more collaborative, undergraduate research has remained largely confined to single-institution studies. Incorporating long-term, distributed research projects into the…

The 1990 film "The Hunt for Red October" (based on Tom Clancy's 1984 debut novel of the same name) featured actors like Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin, but the star of the movie for physicists was a revolutionary new magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) marine propulsion system. The so-called "caterpillar drive" worked with no moving…

Socioscientific issues have proved to be excellent tools for fostering the development of higher-order thinking skills that lead to superior socioscientific reasoning and decision making. This educational construct, with a focus on a local coastal environmental situation, was incorporated into a science class of high school biology students in…

Data-driven inquiry as a science practice and instructional approach can provide a powerful context for project-based learning (PBL). Students engage in data-driven inquiry when they explore a rich data set and observe patterns, ask questions suggested by the data, and pursue answers about underlying phenomena. Krajcik (2015) describes five…