5 minute read
Full STEAM
DIVING FULL STEAM
INTO 2022
BY VALERIE GAYNOR
Whale Shark
Throughout the last two years, teachers across the state of Florida have been developing some amazing new educational courses. We like to call them the Guy Harvey Collections. Th is ground-breaking program was initiated with the Florida Department of Education to increase cross-curricular, STEAM engagement. What that means is that the Guy Harvey Collections integrate all of the STEAM components — Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math — so students get a well-rounded learning experience.
Th is project was a labor of love for all of the teachers involved because it was started just days before the COVID-19 lockdown. Th e education world was fl ipped upside down, and educators were working full tilt in uncharted waters. As the storm settled, the Guy Harvey Collections teachers focused on the task of creating a full STEAM experience for K-12 students.
What is unique about these lessons is that Dr. Harvey’s art is the anchor that holds the entire process together. An additionally thrilling aspect is that the Collections focus on the topic of sharks. One thing we know for sure, sharks get people’s attention, especially if those people are swimming. In this case, the students won’t actually be in the water with live sharks, but they’ll be using Dr. Harvey’s real-life experiences scuba diving with sharks and painting them to develop an understanding of the how and the why of STEAM. Th e lessons combine videos and artwork to guide students to learn through the lens of Guy Harvey’s art.
Art is an important component in the Guy Harvey Collections, educational courses that employ a multidisciplinary approach. Here, Dr. Harvey adds markings to a painting of a whale shark.
Because the Collections cover all ages of students from K-12, it provides them with the opportunity to share, understand and practice activities together as a class and even as an entire school. While kindergarten kids may be using crayon coloring books of sharks, high schoolers will be studying the global movement of various shark species using satellite telemetry. It’s a unique way to create excitement within all grade levels.
If you’re wondering why teaching kids about sharks is important, you need to only look at the quality of our waterways. Red tides, blue-green algae, coral diseases and other maladies continue to degrade water quality. Using one of the planet’s most intriguing creatures is a wonderful way to get students interested in preserving and protecting our vital marine ecosystems. That’s the mission of the GHOF, and the Collections are a way to reach those goals.
The best news is that we have already betatested these lessons in schools around Florida and have had tremendous success. This has also allowed us to update and alter the Collections based on the feedback of practicing educators. Our Collections trainers began meeting in early 2022 in Jensen Beach, Florida, to create professional learning (PL) workshops for teachers so they will be able to go back to the
Jessica Harvey introduces teachers to findings resulting from a Guy Harvey Institute shark tracking initiative. Given universal fascination about sharks, lessons about the apex predators readily engage students.
Turtle Soup by Dr. Guy Harvey
“The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation Collections curriculum provides students with engaging and impactful opportunities to experience the power art has to help us learn, collaborate and communicate about the natural world. Art serves as a magnificent catalyst to encourage creativity and innovative thinking. Through the Collections’ curriculum, students see the interaction between art and science come to life as they investigate the importance of sharks in our marine ecosystem and consider the role we all play in conservation. Creating these curricula has been an incredible adventure, and we cannot wait for educators and students to embark on the conservation journey.”
LESLEY KIRKLEY Pasco County, Florida Collections K-5 writer
ERIN BRACK, Bay County, Florida Collections K-5 writer and beta-tester
RIDOFRANZ / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS Teachers gain hands-on experience during a Professional Learning workshop held in Jensen Beach, Florida. Such sessions take advantage of the fact that the best way to learn about a subject is to immerse yourself in it. Activities include data collection and interaction with researchers.
classroom prepared to engage their students. During the PL experiences, teachers will learn by doing: fishing, boating, seine netting, working with researchers and collecting data. Since they will be located throughout Florida, educators will be able to learn about different ecosystems.
The Collections were launched on the GHOF website in February 2022, and PL workshops began that same month. The plan is to work with school districts around the state and tailor the lessons based on the location. The GHOF knows education is not one-size-fits-all. Teachers are developing professional learning full days, half days and even virtual opportunities. Plans to expand this program globally are in motion because, after all, we are one world.
As we look toward the future, we will be developing a GH Collections 2 in the summer of 2022 and will be looking for feedback from teachers throughout the state on the topics that are most needing to be addressed. As a teacher myself, I know the best way to learn the subject is to be totally immersed in it! That is why in 2022, GHOF is diving in full force to support and provide educators with environmental knowledge they can share.