September 16, 2020

OOI Data Labs Season Opener: “News You Can Use”

Presented by Melissa Hicks, Onondaga Community College; Catherine Halversen, Lawrence Hall of Science, UC-Berkeley; and the OOI Data Labs Project Team 

Whether you are teaching face-to-face, remotely or somewhere in between, the Data Labs Project can support your efforts to introduce big data into your undergraduate courses.  Join us to find out about newly-developed interactive online data-focused activities that are grounded in learning science – and consider how to effectively incorporate them into your courses. Dynamic Air-Sea Interactions will be used as a case study of a Data Exploration in the classroom.

• Webinar recording 
• Five Foundational Ideas on Learning
• The Learning Cycle
• Dynamic Air-Sea 12/04/19 Webinar and Resources – Scroll down the page to Fall 2019-Spring 2020 Archive

September 23, 2020

NEW OOI Data Exploration: “Chlorophyll-a in Upwelling and Stratified Temperate Regions”

Presented by Claire Condie, Middlesex County College and Colleen Petrik, Texas A&M University

Additional collaborators: Karen Baker and Rob Ellis, Orange Coast Community College 

This new OOI Data Exploration invites students to explore seawater characteristics that are correlated with changes in primary productivity, particularly during the summer in the North Pacific vs. the North Atlantic. The authors will review the activity and discuss preliminary implementation results.

• Webinar recording
• Chlorophyll-a Data Lab and Instructor’s Guide
• Chlorophyll-a – Learning Cycle Chart

October 7, 2020

NEW OOI Data Exploration: “Factors Affecting Primary Production”

Presented by Jean Anastasia, Suffolk County Community College; Dina Disantis, Montgomery County College; and Matt Iacchei, Hawai’i Pacific University

This new OOI Data Exploration invites students to explore how primary productivity varies throughout the year in the Southern Ocean, and to examine how multiple abiotic factors correlate with primary production. The authors will review the activity, suggest ways to incorporate it into coursework, and discuss preliminary implementation results.

• Webinar recording
• Primary Production Data Lab and Instructor’s Guide
• Primary Production – Learning Cycle Chart

October 22, 2020

NEW OOI Data Exploration: “Plate Tectonics and the Seafloor”

Presented by Benjamin Jordan, Brigham Young University – Hawai’i and Paul Webb, Roger Williams University

This new OOI Data Exploration invites students to explore the relationship between plate interactions and topographic features on the seafloor – and the potential for tsunamis – by using bathymetry and earthquake data.   This data widget has also been expanded into a multi-part activity as part of an Online Laboratory Manual (in pilot testing) that uses OOI data to explore oceanographic topics.  The presenters will review the widget and activities, suggest ways to incorporate it into coursework, and share preliminary implementation results.

• Webinar recording
• Plate Tectonics and the Seafloor Data Lab and Instructor’s Guide
• Plate Tectonics and Seafloor – Learning Cycle Chart

November 11, 2020

NEW OOI Data Exploration: “Seasonal Variability in the Mixed Layer”

Presented by Rachel Eveleth, Oberlin College; Karin Lemkau, Western Washington University; and Ian Miller, Peninsula College

This new OOI Data Exploration invites students to explore ocean stratification including drivers and variability,  while allowing students to grapple with data gaps, representation and interpretation – leading to a better understanding of mixed layer dynamics. The authors will review the activity, suggest ways to incorporate it into coursework,  and discuss preliminary implementation results.

• Webinar Recording
• Seasonal Variability in the Mixed Layer Data Lab and Instructor’s Guide
• Seasonal Variability in the Mixed Layer – Learning Cycle Chart

Designing Effective Learning Experiences Based on How People Learn

Dr. Catherine Halversen, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California  – Berkeley

In this interactive session, we will engage in discussions and activities focused on how to design effective learning experiences based on how people learn. We will explain how the Learning Cycle instructional model was used to frame our OOI Data Labs and how you can use it to improve your teaching practice. (90 minutes)

• Webinar Recording
• The Learning Cycle (one-page version)
• Five Foundational Ideas on Learning (v.2018)

OOI Data Lab Introduction – “Changes in Salinity”

Dr. Matt Semcheski, The College of the Florida Keys; Karen Helgers, Ulster Community College – SUNY; Mike Phillips, Illinois Valley Community College

This new OOI Data Lab consists of three sets of activities developed to support students’ understanding of sea surface salinity and variables that affect salinity. Students are introduced to time-series data and are asked to interpret data trends, focusing on sea surface salinity at a single station in the North Pacific Ocean. Other activities examine changes in sea surface salinity and oceanic/atmospheric parameters over time, including data from other OOI arrays. The authors will review the activity and discuss implentation in their courses.

• Webinar Recording
• Changes in Salinity Data Lab and Instructor’s Guide

OOI Data Lab Introduction – “Anoxic Events”

Dr. Kathleen Browne, Rider University; Dr. Rebecca Freeman, University of Kentucky; Dr. Gabriela Smalley, Rider University

This new OOI Data Lab was designed to help students apply their knowledge about the relationship between atmospheric processes (wind) and oceanic processes (currents and upwelling) to explore a real scenario where these two systems can affect benthic organisms and marine fisheries. The authors will discuss implementation in three different learning contexts, from a large lecture class to small laboratory exercises.

• Webinar Recording
• Anoxic Events Data Lab and Instructor’s Guide
• Anoxic Events – Learning Cycle Chart

Exploring Data Skills: Designing Experiences to Teach with Data

Kristin Hunter Thomson, Dataspire Education & Evaluation, LLC

In this interactive session, we will explore different strategies for designing learning experiences that help students develop quantitative skills. We will discuss how to utilize different data set models from Kastens & Krumhansl (2017) to more explicitly think about what we want our students to do with data, how we design our learning experiences to support that, and new things we can try.

• Webinar Recording
• Data Design Patterns

OOI Data Lab Introduction: “Dynamic Air-Sea Interactions”

Jacqui Degan, Cape Fear Community College; Dr. Melissa Hicks, Onondaga Community College – SUNY; Dr. Paul Webb, Roger Wiliams University

This new OOI Data Lab allows students to explore several types of data (wave properties, barometric pressure, precipitation) associated with a dramatic atmospheric event on the New England continental shelf. Once students come to a conclusion as to the cause of the event, students are invited to reflect on how this oceanic event affects their life. This case requires students to think of the interaction between atmospheric and sea surface conditions, and the impacts to coastal societies.  The authors will review the activity and discuss implementation in their courses.

• Webinar recording
• Dynamic Air-Sea Interactions Data Lab and Instructor’s Guide
• Dynamic Air-Sea Interactions – Learning Cycle Chart

Exploring Data Skills: Developing Student Data Skills

Kristin Hunter Thomson, Dataspire Education & Evaluation, LLC

In this session, we will explore how to create an on-ramp for student success with data exploration, as well as how to help students develop quantitative data skills. We will explore a range of data skills that are used when working with data and consider how we prioritize teaching and learning those skills. We will also review the pedagogical content knowledge that is at play when teaching with data, and some strategies to use when asking students to work with data.

• Webinar recording

OOI Data Lab Introduction: “Exploring Thermohaline Circulation”

Dr. Rich Dixon, Texas State University and Dr. Nick Beaird, Rutgers University

This new OOI Data Lab invites students to investigate the development of North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) in the Irminger Sea.  The three stages of the lab attempt to illustrate the connection between cooling and winds at the ocean surface, and the large ‘conveyor belt’ of ocean circulation. The authors will review the activity and suggest ways that it may fit into an introductory-level oceanography course.

• Webinar Recording
• Thermohaline Circulation Data Lab and Instructor’s Guide
• Thermohaline – Learning Cycle Chart
• Palevsky and Nicholson (2018) – Irminger Sea Biological Pump