Reading Apprenticeship Inspired Assignment or Lesson

David Minovitz

Monterey Bay: A Case Study in Environmental Science and Policy

Virtual Posters and Presentations

The purpose of the activity is for students to take on a role as a science communicator for a topic of interest in the marine or coastal sciences. It is an opportunity for students to think about the importance to society not only of scientists, but also the science communicators who convey the science and issues to the public. The goal is to communicate content from peer-reviewed sources at the level of a research paper, but in the format of a research poster.

Objectives:

-Develop a research question and project based on a coastal or marine science topic or policy issue related to the course

-Search and find at least two peer-reviewed papers using a CSUMB Library Databases or Google Scholar

-Summarize and synthesize sources in format of a research poster

-Communicate science to an audience of peers

-Participate in a virtual poster session

-Provide comments and feedback for posters and presentations of peers

Students will individually (or as a pair of 2) create a research poster and record a short (~ 5 min) presentation illustrating an oceanography-related science or policy subject.

This is a non-majors science class that satisfies our Physical Science general education requirement.

The first half of this course introduces major physical, chemical, geological, and biological features and processes of the ocean. Special emphasis is placed on developing an integrated understanding of physical and biological processes and human interactions within the marine environment. The second half of this course uses the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary as a case study to examine the impacts of human activities, such as fishing, agriculture, and urban development on the local ocean environment. Emphasis is placed on local science and policy issues impacting the management of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

This is the final project for the class. Students have been learning about a variety of topics and now this is their opportunity to select a topic, explore it more deeply than the level of what was introduced in the class, develop a research question, and communicate findings to the class in a virtual poster and recorded presentation. 

Students will be evaluated on both the poster and presentation as two separate assignments, each with a detailed grading rubric. For the poster, criteria will include overall organization, creativity, science content, and literature cited (four cited references, peer reviewed). For the presentation, criteria will include communication of well-researched content, professional delivery, well rehearsed, and smooth transitions between speakers if applicable.  Click here for an Assignment Description w/ Rubric and Examples

Metacognitive routines will be discussion forums geared towards getting students thinking about the research process. This will include introductory questions to brainstorm the selection of a topic, types of quality sources to use for information, key search terms to use for finding sources, and ideas for creating a well-balanced visual that will be useful in educating an audience. 

Example question:

Think about your Research Process (i.e. developing key terms, searching for papers, skimming through papers to find the right one, etc.). What did you learn in your own Research Process that would be helpful to share with others?

Think about the scientific papers you have read in your research for your Final Paper. Describe writing or structural tips that you learned from reading these papers, that you are using in your own writing.

Before submitting posters and presentations, students will respond to questions about what makes a quality poster/presentation, what is a good balance of text, images, and figures. Students will also have the opportunity to get and give feedback in the initial process of selecting a topic.

This activity will be completed in an online, asynchronous class. Students will have 2-3 weeks to focus on this project, without many other assignments during that time, aside from the metacognitive questions related to the project. I will scaffold certain sections of the project so that students will be moving along with completing specific requirements, especially in the beginning with selecting a topic, selecting sources, evaluating sources, and designing the poster.

Students will select their own peer-reviewed literature sources using CSUMB library databases and Google Scholar. They also have the option to use other sources like government agency documents and PhD theses.