RI EPSCoR funds help develop oceanography course at CCRI

Paul White teaches an introductory oceanography course and lab at Community College of Rhode Island, the largest public, two-year, degree-granting college in New England.

Most of the students who arrive in White’s class are enrolled in general studies and seeking to fulfill their science requirement, he says: “They all come in thinking they’re going to learn about seals and whales. But, for the lecture part, we start off with physical oceanography — plate tectonics, the ocean floor, waves, water, and currents. At the end, we get into life in the ocean.”

The lab focuses on water quality in Narragansett Bay, collecting data and samples from Warwick’s Conimicut Point and Goddard Park and investigating common Atlantic and invasive species. Out in the field, the students wear waders and use seine nets for collection; back in the lab, microscopes allow study of plankton samples.

“The students get excited when learning about where we live. They’re looking at their world in a way they’ve never looked at it before.”

CCRI purchased this and other related equipment with Rhode Island EPSCoR funding, making the lab and learning possible. White collaborated with colleagues Duayne Rieger, CCRI Newport campus, and Emily Burns, Providence and Lincoln campuses, to create the curriculum.

“The waders have really opened up how much sampling we can do,” says White. “The students can go out in the water, seine, collect fish, do plankton hauls. Then, back in the lab, they can look at samples and assess the data. It really connects the fieldwork to the lab.”

The experience, grounded in an inquiry-based learning format, also sets the stage for discussion about ocean acidification and its effects on both the ecosystem and the Ocean State economy, White adds.

Rieger says he notices the distinct impact on his Newport class of the hands-on, experiential lab work.

“The students get excited when learning about where we live,” he says. “They’re looking at their world in a way they’ve never looked at it before. They’re paying attention to what’s on the beach and what the water quality is. They are seeing the world that is familiar, but through a new perspective.”

The course also provided the platform for one of Rieger’s students— Hannah O’Connor, 19, originally from North Dighton, Mass. — to pilot a semester-long experiment on the effects of ocean acidification on shellfish as an honors project. Through the honors program, students can carry out a project for half a credit, working under the guidance of a faculty member.

O’Connor says, “At most, I had hoped to have the opportunity to do some extra research on a topic and write an essay about it. However, Dr. Reiger told me about a project he was going to offer to his students that researched the effects of ocean acidification on shell species.”

O’Connor jumped at the opportunity to take on the ocean acidification experiment. She says she always has liked science, and the Massachusetts Envirothon workshop piqued her interest in environmental engineering during her high school years. The CCRI honors project gave her a substantive feel for conducting research and what she might expect from a career in the field.

“Dr. Rieger taught me how to use the lab equipment, but, more importantly, he guided me in writing my first college level scientific report,” O’Connor says. “I was able to experience a hands-on example of what I was learning in class, which made the topic really come to life for me, and allowed me to develop a deeper understanding of the concepts.

“I really gained a larger appreciation of ocean science and lab work, one that I feel has benefitted my education in an invaluable way.”

O’Connor will graduate this spring from CCRI and plans to transfer to a four-year institution. She says she wants to pursue a double major in environmental engineering and music engineering technology. For the long term, she is eyeing a master’s degree and, possibly, a Ph.D., and a research-related career.

For O’Connor and his other students, Rieger says the lab work allows them to actually perform science rather than learning solely from a textbook.

“Even though the majority of students are taking the course as a requirement, this is an opportunity for them to explore,” Rieger says. “This experiment on the effects of ocean acidification gets them investigating the world immediately around us and how our actions make an impact on it.”

White says exposing students to oceanography and related issues is critical. Some students tell him they don’t like science, and he responds that they live on the planet and should know how it works.

“The students don’t know if climate change is real,” he says. “One thing we hope they come away with is a bit more awareness.”

Story by Amy Dunkle | RI NSF EPSCoR