LEARNING BY DISCOVERY IN OCEANOGRAPHY

Oceanography is taught at Pacific Lutheran University as a lower division, non-majors course. Most students take the course to fulfill their laboratory science requirement and this is often the last science course they ever have. While the course encourages an understanding, appreciation, and enthusiasm for the oceans, the goals include understanding and experiencing the scientific method and the development of lifetime skills. A significant portion of the material is introduced through laboratory and in-class activities before presenting it in lecture, enabling the students to discover the concepts on their own.

Three example activities are presented. (1) Experiments to measure various properties of seawater, including heat capacity, variation of density with salinity and temperature, the halocline and the thermocline, develop the skills of observation, data collection, graphing, interpretation, and collaboration. (2) To participate in the scientific method, students examine marine sediments collected from beaches and offshore. They describe texture and composition and hypothesize about the history of the sediments, given a set of guidelines for identification and interpretation. (3) A "jigsaw" investigates the distribution of salinity in the world's oceans. Each student graphs the variation in salinity with depth at one site and describes the range of surface salinity values for their group of sites. In class they share information to create a table of the maximum range of values for each 10° latitude increment in each ocean. In small groups they describe the patterns and propose explanations for the distribution prior to a full class discussion. Each student writes a brief summary of salinity distribution with latitude and the controls on the distribution. This exercise focuses on the skills of graphing, use of maps, interpretation, communication, and peer cooperation. Each of these activities develops a better understanding of key concepts through active participation in the discovery process.