Becoming a Scientist: A Librarian's Experience at Sea

by Samuel Joel Northern, February 2019

Why in the world would a teacher be participating in a scientific expedition? Thanks to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) I was given this opportunity as a Teacher at Sea. Along with officers of the NOAA Corps, crew members of Gordon Gunter (a 224-foot research vessel), and world renowned scientists, I began my journey on May 28, 2017. NOAA's mission focuses on monitoring the conditions of the ocean and the atmosphere. My purpose as a NOAA Teacher at Sea was to participate in the Spring Ecosystem Monitoring Survey, researching the hydrographic and planktonic components of the Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf. This 10-day excursion gave me an understanding of the ocean's ecosystem that I was able to translate to my students. Just as I counted on NOAA ship Gordon Gunter to steer me in the right direction, my students depend on me to transfer my exciting experience and new knowledge to them.

Preparing to Set Sail

On February 1, 2017, I was notified of my mission as NOAA Teacher at Sea. I immediately began implementing instructional activities to spark student curiosity. Using up-close digital images, students observed the remarkable diversity of plankton. Students marveled at the vibrant colors and strange configurations of these creatures. They then used an online dictionary to define technical terms from the pictures' captions. These instructional activities allowed my students to design plankton of their own. Students made decisions about how their plankton would eat, move, and survive. By the end of the lesson, students could distinguish between zooplankton and phytoplankton.

My students' interest was piqued. I used PBS LearningMedia Lesson Builder to create a self-guided activity in which students viewed video clips about plankton before answering online questions. The students then asked their own questions, which I later posed to the scientists during my Teacher at Sea expedition. Students were eager to know the names of rare and interesting specimens scientists had collected on previous research surveys. My students quickly became excited about my voyage while developing digital literacy skills as a result of accessing and viewing online content.

Life at Sea

Driving to the ship at the Newport, Rhode Island, naval station offered stunning scenes of picturesque sailboats and majestic beach houses separated by golden shorelines. After arriving, I captured 360° images of the vessel's many spaces using my Ricoh Theta S camera. My students have since used this footage to take a virtual tour of the ship.

As a Teacher at Sea, I was an active member of the science team. My shift was from noon to midnight each day. My duties included collecting plankton and ocean water testing. Bongo nets allowed us to collect plankton. At each station the bongo was sent down to within five meters of the bottom or no more than two hundred meters. After the bongo had reached its maximum depth for a particular station, the net was brought back to the surface—all the while collecting plankton. Once the bongo nets returned to the deck, our work began. It was my duty to rinse the entire sample into containers, place the plankton into jars, and add formalin or ethanol to preserve the specimens for further analysis. These plankton samples were sent to the Sea Fisheries Institute in Poland for scientists to sort and identify.

At various locations during the cruise, we also performed a Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) cast. The CTD sensors were connected to the ship by means of a conducting cable as the instrument sank five to ten meters from the sea floor. The data was sent through this cable to scientists on the ship who monitored the data for temperature, chlorophyll, ocean density, and salinity.

Engaging Students in Scientific Inquiry

Click to Enlarge +Becoming a Scientist: A Librarian's Experience at Sea

I knew at the conclusion of my voyage that my 650 first, second, and third graders would be eager to experience oceanography and life at sea through their librarian's experience. I shared my experience through photographs, edited GoPro footage, 360° videos, and my Teacher at Sea blog. These primary sources proved captivating. After students read the "Science and Technology Logs" of my blog, they viewed the media content to better visualize the information. Students' understanding of the processes and tools used during the expedition led to thoughtful discussions about how the data collected influences the management and conservation efforts of the NOAA Fisheries service.

We also participated in NOAA's Adopt a Drifter Program. The drifting buoys allow scientists to track ocean currents, changes in temperature, and other important characteristics of the ocean's surface. I deployed a drifter into the heart of the Gulf of Maine during my voyage and now my students access data collected and monitor their very own adopted buoy. Anyone can access data from a global array of drifting buoys by visiting the Global Drifter Program webpage. There is an assortment of instructional activities to engage students. For instance, my students learned to use the website to locate our buoy and then plot the data onto a map. Other lessons include graphing temperatures, constructing climographs for coastal cities, and simulating ocean surface currents.

The Teacher at Sea Program has been influential in my effort to improve students' information-seeking skills. I recently began a program called, Research Ambassadors, which gives one student from each homeroom the research skills necessary to help fellow classmates conduct research back in the classroom. Through guided practice, ambassadors learn the skills of a good researcher by engaging in a project using a variety of sources to learn about a marine animal of their choosing. Students become scientists as they use different types of information gained from videos, websites, print books, and online encyclopedias to present their information in the form of a brochure. Students also share their research using ChatterPix, a free iPad app where students turn pictures into talking animations.

Students are applying their newly learned science skills to target an environmental issue facing our own school, which is poor drainage around the building. By working with the Kentucky Geographic Alliance on the use of a geographic information system (GIS) from Esri, an international supplier of GIS software, students are able to display the topography of the watershed in which our school resides. Students are collaborating with our local conservation office to develop a sustainable watershed that will help prevent storm water from standing on school grounds.

Preparing for the Future

One of the best outcomes is that many of my students are now interested in pursuing a career with NOAA. I created an interactive reference guide with ThingLink to help students learn about NOAA career opportunities.

My students' enthusiasm has motivated me to find new ways to support science curricula. I am working on creating a portable science lab. It will contain supplies to support science instruction: forces and motion, light and sound, weather, ecosystems, and Earth science. Students will use K'nex pieces to design and build new structures, explore light and reflection with mirrors and flashlights, analyze the differences between rocks and minerals, observe the life cycles of plants, construct new knowledge using manipulatives and craft supplies, and much more. Students will also use a microscope to study plankton retrieved from a pond near our school. The science lab will improve students' literacy skills through reading texts, following directions, and viewing video tutorials before and during science activities. This initiative will foster collaboration as students brainstorm ideas, suggest the necessary steps to take, and employ their individual strengths to develop final products in a real-world environment.

The Bigger Picture

Many types of zooplankton and phytoplankton are microscopic but seem to grow in size when viewed through the lens of a microscope. From the smallest fish larvae to the largest blue whale, the ocean is home to millions of species. The data collected during my Teacher at Sea Program (plankton samples, wildlife observations, and the ship's log) created a bigger picture of the ocean's ecosystem, helping scientists create predictive models of the marine environment. Our understanding of the hydrographic and planktonic components of the Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf ecosystem will help us prepare for a more sustainable future.

With each passing day during my time at sea, I tried to soak in as much of the experience as possible. I looked at the horizon a little longer; I paid closer attention to the sounds made by the ship; and I pondered how each sample will tell us more about our mysterious oceans. Only a year ago I would never have imagined that as a teacher in rural Kentucky I could say that I spent ten days on a research vessel as an acting scientist. There is always a new experience waiting! Why hesitate? Just do it! The memories I made are among those I will cherish for the rest of my life. You too can bring science to life and experience the adventure by applying to become a NOAA Teacher at Sea.

Resources

The Beauty of Plankton in Pictures. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2015/jun/06/the-beauty-of-plankton-in-pictures

This webpage from The Guardian highlights the remarkable diversity of plankton. Accompanying each close-up image is a caption which describes the plankton specimen.

Ichthyoplankton Sampling Methods (Bongo Nets) https://swfsc.noaa.gov/textblock.aspx?Division=FRD&id=6268

This site was published by NOAA Fisheries Service's Southwest Fisheries Science Center. The webpage describes the methods that researchers use to collect plankton at sea.

Esri (Geographic Information System) http://www.esri.com/industries/education/schools#

With Esri's geographic information system (GIS) mapping software, students can capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographical data.

Global Drifter Program webpage http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/dac/GTS_OSMC_database.php

This link gives users access to real time drifter data and graphs which is used by scientists to improve weather and climate forecasting and ocean state estimation. The webpage includes instructions on how to obtain the data using NOAA's Observing System Monitoring Center.

NOAA's Adopt a Drifter Program http://www.adp.noaa.gov/

The mission of NOAA's Adopt a Drifter Program is to establish scientific partnerships between schools around the world and engage students in activities and communication about ocean climate science. The website offers a number of resources for teachers and students related to drifting buoys.

NOAA Teacher at Sea Program http://teacheratsea.noaa.gov/#/home/

The NOAA Teacher at Sea Program provides teachers hands-on, real-world research experience working at sea with world-renowned NOAA scientists. Teachers should visit the website to learn more about the program and to apply.

PBS LearningMedia https://pbslearningmedia.org/

PBS LearningMedia, a free media-on-demand service, is the primary portal to access PBS content for classroom use. PBS LearningMedia's 100,000+ resources span a range of media types. The site's productivity tools include online lessons and digital storyboards.

Sam Northern's NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog https://noaateacheratsea.blog/author/snorthern2017/

This blog details Sam Northern's experiences as a NOAA Teacher at Sea. Each post includes weather data from the bridge, a science and technology log, and personal reflections. The blog contains photographs, videos, and 360º-images taken during the expedition.