activities.6,7


These social issues can lead to weakly-enforced


MPAs, which provide little protection for marine life. Net- works of MPAs can be powerful conservation tools, but as long as their socio-ecological impacts remain unaddressed, they will fail to fulfill their central purpose.


Today’s students; tomorrow’s scientists Training our students to develop critical thinking and prob- lem-solving skills is the goal of the US-based Next Genera- tion Science Standards (NGSS). Development of these skills is also necessary to prepare students for a STEM-driven job market. Much research in the education field demonstrates the value of active, inquiry-based learning in promoting the skills that students need to excel.8,9


ing promotes greater comprehension of complex topics in comparison to other teaching methods.10,11


Teacher, and San Diego’s waterways for providing inspira- tion for these lessons.


Endnotes:


1. Craig, R. K. (2004). Protecting international marine biodiversity: interna- tional treaties and national systems of marine protected areas. Journal of Land Use and Environmental Law, 20, 337–373.


2. Lubchenco, J., & Grorud-Colvert, K. (2015). Making waves: The science and politics of ocean protection. Science, 350(6259), 382–383. https://doi. org/10.1126/science.aad5443


3. Worm, B., Barbier, E. B., Beaumont, N., Duffy, J. E., Folke, C., Halpern, B. S., … Watson, R. (2006). Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Ser- vices. Science, 314(5800), 787. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1132294


In particular, active learn- Using real-world


problems to teach science aligns with national teaching stan- dards and develops critical thinking skills that are desirable in STEM careers.10,12


room, students will experience an array of socio-ecologi- cal problems that managers face when creating a protected area. This active, inquiry-based learning lesson aligns with NGSS standards, constructivist pedagogy, and place-based education, while also bridging the gap between the scientific and the social, political, and economic aspects of conserva- tion. The planning process modeled herein allows students to understand that scientists do not work in isolation. Stu- dents, like scientists, must draw on other skill sets, such as negotiation, communication, and community outreach to successfully achieve conservation goals. Students will also be immersed as “stakeholders,” allowing them to gain expe- rience in modeling, designing, and evaluating a real process that is used to mitigate human impacts on the oceans. While the activities are based loosely on San Diego’s


MPAs, they can be easily modified to represent another region’s protected areas. For those who live inland, national parks can be substituted for MPAs to highlight terrestrial conservation issues. These activities can also be modified to focus on a class’s local ecology and conservation issues, thus supporting students’ place-based environmental literacy. This lesson would be well-suited for use at the end of an Environ- mental Science or Biology unit as it covers environmental issues, human impacts, and solutions.


Shannon Subers is an Education Specialist at San Diego Coastkeeper and a graduate student in the Advanced Inquiry Program, a Master’s degree program jointly offered by Miami University and San Diego Zoo Global. Her research focuses on how to use science communication and education to foster ocean conservation.


Author’s Note: Shannon would like to thank the following individuals for their support and feedback during the pub- lishing process: her AIP instructors and peers from Miami University and San Diego Zoo Global, the editors of Green


Green Teacher 121 Page 37 Equipped with these skills, our students


will be better prepared to tackle the world’s pressing environ- mental issues. By creating a mock MPA planning process in the class-


4. Jentoft, S., van Son, T. C., & Bjørkan, M. (2007). Marine protected areas: a governance system analysis. Human Ecology, 35(5), 611-622.


5. Bennett, N. J., & Dearden, P. (2014a). From measuring outcomes to provid- ing inputs: Governance, management, and local development for more effective marine protected areas. Marine Policy, 50, 96–110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mar- pol.2014.05.005


6. Bennett, N. J., & Dearden, P. (2014b). Why local people do not support con- servation: Community perceptions of marine protected area livelihood impacts, governance and management in Thailand. Marine Policy, 44, 107–116. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2013.08.017


7. Foale, S., & Manele, B. (2004). Social and political barriers to the use of Marine Protected Areas for conservation and fishery management in Mela- nesia. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 45(3), 373–386. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467- 8373.2004.00247.x


8. Lovejoy, T. E. (2006). Protected areas: A prism for a changing world. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 21, 329–333.


9. McCright, A. M. (2012). Enhancing students’ scientific and quantitative lit- eracies through an inquiry-based learning project on climate change. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 12(4), 86–102.


10. Simmons, B., Clark, S., Bennett, B., Burnett, D., Carter, J., Khalil, K., … Steffen, P. (2019). K-12 Environmental Education: Guidelines for Excellence. Washington, D.C.: North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE).


11. Ban, N. C., Boyd, E., Cox, M., Meek, C. L., Schoon, M., & Villamayor-To- mas, S. (2015). Linking classroom learning and research to advance ideas about social-ecological resilience. Ecology and Society, 20(3). https://doi.org/10.5751/ ES-07517-200335


12. McCarthy, J. P., & Anderson, L. (1999). Active Learning Techniques Ver- sus Traditional Teaching Styles: Two Experiments from History and Political Science. Innovative Higher Education, 24(4), 279–294. https://doi.org/10.1023/ B:IHIE.0000047415.48495.05


Please find the complete lesson plan on the following pages.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52