BUILDING A FIELD COMPONENT INTO OCEANOGRAPHY COURSES

Even if you don't have a boat or live near saltwater, there are ways to incorporate a mini-version of the scientific process associated with an oceanographic expedition into an oceanography course. I will discuss the many ways hands-on, real world sampling can be integrated into the curriculum, with a minimum of resources. There are different levels of field involvement ranging from full immersion in the field for an extended period of time, to daily boat trips and work off a dock. Experiencing the entire scientific process of asking a question, designing a sampling plan to address the question, learning how to use new equipment and adapting it for field use to collect data, keeping track of data, and doing the data analysis, interpretation and presentation of results as a team is a very valuable exercise, exposes students to the application of the scientific method through field research teams. I have found the research team approach to be very successful in all three of the venues mentioned above. I will discuss design and implementation strategies that have helped me insure more successful educational outcomes and made the logistics of working with students in the field a bit easier.