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About Connecting Oceans Academy
The Connecting Oceans
Academy
The Connecting Oceans Academy staff offers
research-based instruction that is practical and
intellectually exciting. These research-based
learning opportunities promote critical inquiry and
differentiated instruction and include professional
development institutes for which teachers receive
graduate credit or professional development points.
In addition, Connecting Oceans Academy Staff have
created standards-based curricula for elementary,
middle, and high school grades that teachers can
download and use in their classrooms "tomorrow."
The Connecting Oceans Academy aims to enhance
teaching and learning through professional and
curriculum development in Science, Social Studies,
Art, Language Arts, and Math. With a focus on
underserved schools and teachers of culturally
diverse classrooms, the work of the Connecting
Oceans Academy (COA) is assessment based, grounded
in research, aligned with standards, and centered on
creating learning experiences that promote inquiry,
critical thinking and understanding of the ways the
natural systems, especially the ocean, shape and
influence social systems. The COA promotes a sense
of pride of place and stewardship while seeking
connections using interdisciplinary and integrated
curricula.
MISSION
The COA strives to:
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Provide teaching and learning and curriculum
that is research-based; |
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Create opportunities for interactive
teaching and learning; |
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Explore the dynamic connections among the
natural environment, commerce, art, science,
and history while fostering student pride of
place and stewardship of their culture and
environment; |
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Celebrate cultural and ethnic diversity and
inclusion within historic communities in
Alaska, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and
Mississippi; |
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Build bridges for learning about our
history, art, and the natural environment by
expanding the presence of our cultural and
historical organizations in the community;
and |
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Provide and ensure effective and equitable
access and/or participation in the
Connecting Oceans Academy to all teachers. |
PHILOSOPHY
Basing Instruction on Research
The Connecting Oceans Academy Planning Team--highly
experienced classroom teachers--understands the
multiple and complex questions confronting teachers
of elementary, middle, and high school grades: What
is good teaching? Are there instructional strategies
that really work? How can teachers meet the
individual needs of their students who have varying
levels of knowledge and understanding and multiple
languages? What is an effective approach to
curriculum development? It is these questions and
the following research findings that shape the work
of the Connecting Oceans Academy.
Good teaching is interactive, engaging, and based on
continuous and multiple measures of assessment.
Instructional strategies that really work include 1)
inquiry-based teaching and learning, 2) activating
and assessing prior knowledge, 2) the use of graphic
organizers and a focus on compare/contrast thinking,
4) the use of models, visualizations, artistic
expression, and kinesthetic learning, 5) requiring
that students explain their thinking, and 6) content
area literacy instruction, particularly in
vocabulary and comprehension.
Approaches to teaching and learning that meet the
needs of diverse learners 1) use flexible grouping,
2) set clear and challenging expectations that are
consistent with students’ current levels of
knowledge and understanding, and 3) provide many
opportunities for oral language/discussion.
Research to Practice
The Connecting Oceans Academy Staff also recognizes
the challenges involved in bridging research
findings to classroom practice. Much of that bridge
has been constructed by Research for Better Teaching
(RBT), a nationally recognized education consulting
firm. Their publications and professional
development courses provide practical applications
of the most robust findings of educational research.
The Director of the Connecting Oceans Academy has
been a certified instructor of Research for Better
Teaching Courses. Connecting Oceans Academy
curriculum and professional development offerings
incorporate, with permission, many of these “RBT
strategies.” |
