The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation launched an exciting new educational resource. The Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum is a comprehensive digital resource freely available online. It includes award-winning videos, custom-built interactive exercises, games, quizzes, and lesson plans for teachers — all aligned to the latest education standards (Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core State Standards, and Ocean Literacy Principles). The Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum can be found online at: www.lof.org/CoralReefCurriculum.
‘Our curriculum provides an exciting opportunity for students, teachers, and the general public to explore the natural world of coral reefs’ says Amy Heemsoth, Director of Education at the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation.
The Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum uses marine science, conservation and coral reefs as examples to teach broad themes relating to the natural world and our environment. Teachers can download lesson plans, worksheets, and get ideas for fun and instructive classroom activities, and track the progress of each of the students in their class. Students, too, have the opportunity to engage with science by tracking their own progress through fun and interactive exercises online.
‘The complexity of environmental problems today creates barriers for effective public engagement in policymaking.’ Says Captain Philip Renaud, Executive Director of the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation he continued, ‘Our new coral reef ecology curriculum knocks down those barriers through a fun and interactive learning platform. Best of all, it’s free.’
The Coral Reef Ecology Curriculum was created to improve ocean literacy by making marine science education available to students in the United States and around the world. It is easily adaptable so that all teachers can use it in their classrooms. Most lessons target S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering, and math) subject areas, but it includes many lessons appropriate for English and art classes as well. The development of the curriculum is part of the Foundation’s broader mission to improve ocean health through science, outreach, and education.
‘By educating people about the ocean, we hope to inspire them and give them the knowledge and understanding they need to become lasting stewards of our shared marine resources,’ said Ms. Heemsoth.
Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation: The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is a US-based nonprofit environmental organization that protects and restores the world’s oceans through scientific research, outreach, and education (www.livingoceansfoundation.org).
