OPIHI recruiting teachers on Hawaii Island

Our Project in Hawaii’s Intertidal, or OPIHI, is continuing to recruit science, technology, engineering and mathematics teachers in grades 6–12 on the Big Island for citizen science professional development opportunities.

OPIHI is a citizen science program where secondary school students monitor local, rocky intertidal areas in Hawaii. Students learn about marine ecology conservation and are trained in field methodology, species identification and sampling techniques.

On Hawaii Island, the training sessions will be March 22 and 23 with a follow-up session April 9 in Hilo. Additional sessions will be conducted online to allow teachers to collaborate across Hawaii.

OPIHI is an aquatic-focused program, but teachers in all STEM subjects successfully can integrate OPIHI into their curriculum. Teachers in the OPIHI program will learn from scientists and work with their students to monitor the intertidal areas, and the data collected will contribute to authentic scientific research.

Ten years ago, OPIHI student data resulted in the first description of community-level patterns at intertidal sites across Hawaii. This effort will help to determine if and how the organisms in the intertidal community have changed over the past 10 years.

The teachers will receive a stipend and classroom supplies, and Hawaii Department of Education teachers also will earn three professional development credits.

For additional information and a link to the application, visit http://tinyurl.com/OPIHI2015Flyer. For questions, contact Joanna Philippoff at philippo@hawaii.edu.

OPIHI is an NOAA B-WET-funded collaboration between the University of Hawaii’s Curriculum Research and Development Group and the University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program.

The University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program is part of the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s prestigious School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. It supports an innovative program of research, education and extension services directed to the improved understanding and stewardship of coastal and marine resources of the state, region and nation.