What institutions are involved in Classroom BATS?
BATS and Classroom BATS are programs of the Bermuda Biological Station for Research (BBSR). BBSR is a US-owned and operated oceanographic research station located on the mid-Atlantic island nation of Bermuda.
Classroom BATS links BATS scientists and data at BBSR with prospective science teachers in the College of Education at Florida International University (FIU). A member of the State University System of Florida, FIU is a research university offering a diverse selection of undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. Through its 16 colleges and schools, FIU offers baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degree programs in more than 280 majors, conducts basic and applied research, and provides public service. FIU currently has more than 30,500 students, 1,300 faculty and 80,000 alumni, making it the largest public university in South Florida.
The CBATS on-line link is mediated via a virtual campus run by The College of Exploration (TCOE). TCOE is a not-for-profit educational organization, with 501c3 status, located in Virginia. It designs, develops, and delivers courses for learners of all ages, with a particular emphasis on Web-based courses and workshops for teachers, students, business people, and the general public. TCOE was incorporated in 1991. TCOE has designed, developed, and delivered educational programs in collaboration with Public Broadcasting System for its Teacher Mathline Program, and with the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) for its distance learning programs for teachers and high school students. Since organizing its first course for the DoDDS schools, TCOE has taught in-person and distance learning courses to over 350 teachers or potential teachers.
Why would I want BATS in my classroom?
Classroom BATS provides teachers with a means to supplement traditional textbook-based science teaching with a more inquiry-based approach. Classroom BATS provides an on-line learning environment in which teachers and students can practice science in authentic and engaging ways. It provides ready electronic access to the stream of oceanographic data collected and analyzed by BATS scientists, and thus allows learners to become participants in the scientific community that uses the BATS data in their research.
Classroom BATS also provides the conceptual background and software tools that teachers and students need to analyze the BATS data in grade-appropriate and meaningful ways.
How can I use BATS in my classroom?
The Classroom BATS designers envision that teachers will use the data, hyperlinks, and software tools now available and planned for these web pages to help bring inquiry-based science learning to their classrooms.
Our ultimate intent is that, during our pilot project, the pre-and in-service science teachers involved in the Classroom BATS pilot project at Florida International University will develop lesson plans based on analysis of the BATS data. The in-service teachers will test these lesson plans in their classrooms, while the pre-service teachers will test them in front of an audience of their peers during the "micro-teaches" that are a required part of their science education curriculum. Faculty at FIU will review and edit the lesson plans to insure pedagogical merit. BBSR scientists will review and edit the lesson plans to insure content accuracy.
Once reviewed and edited, the lesson plans will be made accessible to teachers everywhere via the on-line lesson-plan data base on these web pages. Once the pilot project is completed, the Classroom BATS web site will shift into an operational phase, during which time it will be open to the educational community for additional submissions of new or revised lesson plans.
