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Expanded Teacher at Sea Program

NOAA Teacher at Sea logo

It is with great excitement that we announce our new partnership with NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program!

In 2018, educators participated in each of our three Gulf of Alaska research cruises. Michele Hoffman Trotter, Per Fosstveit, and Mark Van Arsdale filmed creatures, helped with sampling, and developed lesson plans that will introduce students to our Alaskan ecosystem. Altogether, their contributions enabled our LTER program succeed. In general, however, it’s been challenging to connect with teachers and educators who want to get involved in our future cruises.

Mark Van Arsdale
Alaska high school science teacher Mark Van Arsdale on the fall, 2018, NGA LTER cruise

Over the summer, our marine education specialist, Marilyn Sigman, researched existing teacher research experience programs to find the best partner for the NGA LTER. Luckily for us, Mr. Van Arsdale joined us via NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program (TAS), which watered the seed of this new opportunity. As a result, NOAA and CFOS-UAF have made an agreement that will allow more K-12 teachers and marine educators who work in informal settings to take part in our research. In 2019, TAS’s established procedure will recruit teachers to come on our cruises. The educators will also take advantage of TAS infrastructure to post blogs and will participate in the network of TAS alumni. More information about NOAA’s program can be found at the TAS FAQ.

For the 2019 field season, educators will apply through NOAA’s TAS Online Application. We are spreading the word to teachers, informal educators, and administrators, particularly emphasizing educators in Southcentral Alaska.

Interested teachers should apply online before November 30, 2018, for the 2019 Teacher at Sea field season (sample application). Both K-12 teachers and informal educators (such as museum docents) are eligible to apply.