About COSEE New England

COSEE-NE is one of 11 Centers of Ocean Sciences Education Excellence created in 2002 by the National Science Fourndation’s Division of Ocean Sciences, and part of the National COSEE Network.

COSEE-NE seeks to strengthen the New England region's capacity to develop and provide high-quality ocean science education in both formal and informal settings by understanding the needs of, working with, and facilitating interactions among educators, researchers, and the public. Our long term goal is to strengthen understanding and appreciation of the oceans and their importance in audiences of all ages in both informal and formal education settings.

 

 

 

Our Program Elements

With hands-on involvement from our three partner institutions — the New England Aquarium, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and the University of Massachusetts System — COSEE-NE enhances New England's capacity for ocean science education by:

  • Fostering interactions between research and education communities
    COSEE-NE develops innovative models for workshops, programs, and follow up strategies that enable researchers and educators to work together to define and achieve common goals.
  • Researching and developing practices for engaging scientists in ocean science education
    COSEE-NE conducts needs assessments of scientists and educators; studies expert models and national, state, and local education guidelines; and develops and evaluates new models.
  • Sharing best practices in ocean science education
    COSEE-NE develops high quality, robust and adaptable models for formal and informal education that convey key concepts in the ocean sciences, and shares these approaches throughout the ocean science and education community.
  • Catalyzing the formation of lasting cooperative partnerships
    COSEE-NE builds partnerships with institutions throughout the New England region that enable ocean scientists and educators to collaborate more effectively by supporting collaborations; sponsoring workshops and conferences; and using the web and other electronic vehicles to increase information sharing and collaboration.

Contact Us

For all general inquiries, please contact COSEE-NE Manager at pdibona@neaq.org

Mailing Address

COSEE-NE Headquarters

New England Aquarium

Central Wharf

Boston, MA 02110

 

Want to stay up-to-date on COSEE-NE programming and New England-wide Ocean Education?  Sign up for our biweekly electronic newsletter!

 

National COSEE Network

There are 11 COSEEs across the United States, focusing on regional and thematic issues concerning ocean sciences education.  Each COSEE represents an ocean science research institution, an informal science education organization, and an organization representing the formal education community. For more information about the National Network, visit www.cosee.net.

In New England, the regional COSEE-New England is joined by two thematic Centers:  COSEE Networked Ocean World (website in development) and COSEE Ocean Systems

Fall 2007 Update:  COSEE Ocean Systems

COSEE-Ocean Systems (OS) joins COSEE-New England in enhancing ocean literacy efforts and advancing ocean science education in our region, with a special emphasis on rural and inland audiences. This year has been an exciting time for COSEE-OS. Immediately after the National Marine Educators Association (NMEA) conference in Portland, the Darling Marine Center at the University of Maine hosted the COSEE Council Meeting and Professional Development Workshop. Representatives from all COSEE Centers and the National Science Foundation were in attendance. 

 

Spring 2007 marked the first-ever semester course co-instructed by faculty in University of Maine’s College of Education and School of Marine Sciences. Instructors utilized an inquiry-based instructional approach to learn about physical sciences content and relevant ocean examples that could be used to illustrate them.  One example, Diffusion at Work: An Interactive Simulation, was recently published in Oceanography. 

 

A shorter version of this semester course, Teaching Science by Ocean Inquiry, was offered during late July 2007. The workshop showcased the ocean as a medium to teach and explore general physical science concepts such as density, buoyancy, heat, waves, pressure and energy transfer. Educators from seven states - middle- and high-school physics, earth science, physical science and biology teachers - participated in the weeklong workshop at the Darling Marine Center.

 

Another COSEE-OS sponsored workshop, Climate and Oceans - Using Ocean Based Data, was held in collaboration with George Matsumoto of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).  Dr. Matsumoto runs a teacher professional development program called EARTH (Education and Research: Testing Hypotheses) that uses real time ocean observing data. Ten educators from past EARTH workshops and ten educators from past UNH Coastal Observing Center workshops attended the weeklong workshop at the UNH campus.