Implementation of Google Earth and OOI Data Exercises into an Introductory Oceanography Class

What I need is a better way to connect, and I think that implementing real data sets may just do the trick. I teach introductory Oceanography classes every semester at a four-year, primarily undergraduate institution. Students include a small number of Environmental Geoscience and Environmental Biology majors but are predominately non-majors taking the course as a general education requirement. Thus there is a wide range of abilities and interests in the class. Several years ago, I instituted in-class exercises using maps of ocean characteristics (SST, surface salinity, primary productivity) to help the students see the connections between those parameters. That worked well, but I need something more to help them get that “AHA” moment. This semester, based on what I learned in the GEODE and OOI Data workshops at the recent Earth Educators Rendezvous, I am adopting and adapting several exercises where students will explore real data. Students will use Google Earth in two exercises, one on bathymetry of continental margins and one on distribution of ocean sediments at different depths. I will give 3 assignments using data from the OOI Ocean Data Lab Project: one on Salinity, one on Primary Productivity, and one on anoxic events off the Oregon coast integrating data on wind speed, dissolved oxygen, and temperature. For each of the exercises, we will have an introductory portion in class where they can work in small groups and ask questions, then a take home portion where they can work at their own pace. It is my hope that engaging with real data will help them see the application of the oceanographic concepts presented in class and the interrelationships among ocean characteristics. I will assess the success of my plan after final exams by comparing overall student responses to questions on these topics on final exams from previous semesters to responses to similar questions on the final exams from this fall semester. I hope to report a positive result.