I would like to
make a few clarifying comments about the AAAS oceans map and about
Benchmarks and NSES. First, the map is a "special topic map" and for that reason does not
appear in the Atlas of Science Literacy. The Atlas maps are generally organized around the
chapter sections in Benchmarks. As you can from the oceans map, however, specific
benchmarks can be selected and organized for special purposes such as a course on ecology,
marine science, etc. When I look at the map, I am impressed by how many of the ideas that the
workshop participants have been talking about are present on this map.
My second comment
has to do with the standards and benchmarks and science literacy.
Actually, it is more of a question than a comment. The benchmarks and standards are about
science literacy for all. When we say "ocean literacy," do we mean something that is within
the
boundaries of what has been defined as science literacy or something over and above science
literacy? What can we reasonably expect all students to know about the ocean? Certainly it is
appropriate to use ocean phenomena to teach, for example, scientific principles having to do
with the flow of matter and energy in living systems, but do we expect all students to learn
about matter and energy flow from ocean phenomena or is it enough that they understand
general principles, perhaps learned in contexts other than the oceans? Or, on the other hand,
when we talk about ocean literacy are we talking about something that a smaller number of
people will acquire, i.e., a fairly specialized knowlege of the oceans? I offer these only as
questions to help clarify our thinking about what we mean by ocean literacy and to whom it
applies.
1. Background to the Scope and Se...
