The National Ocean Sciences Bowl: A mechanism to recruit high school students into the ocean science pipeline
Abstract
The National Ocean Sciences Bowl~ (NOSB~) is a nationally recognized high school academiccompetition that has been raising student interest in and awareness of ocean science for morethan 20 years. The NOSB prepares students for future ocean science occupations by engagingthem in a fast-paced academic competition that highlights ocean science topics of interest toacademia, industry, and the federal agencies, including the U.S. Navy, while also providingnumerous opportunities for hands-on learning and career exploration. Importantly, the NOSBfills a gap in public ocean science education and contributes to the development of a pipeline ofstudents into the field of ocean science and, supporting the workforce-related goals of the Navy~sTask Force Ocean.The NOSB is a timed competition in which student teams answer questions within multiplecategories related to the ocean. Each fall, participating high schools register and prepare theirteams for one of the 25 regional competitions held across the United States, with the winner fromeach region advancing to the National Finals Competition. In 2018, 357 teams (approximately1,755 students) from 32 states participated in the regional competitions, as well as roughly 1,500volunteers from the ocean science community. Since its inception, the program has encouragedmore than 30,000 students and teachers to pursue ocean sciences as an interdisciplinary field ofstudy and a potential future career path.Over the 22 years of the program, investment from Federal agencies and non-federal partners hasmade it possible for the NOSB to develop into a comprehensive ocean science learningcommunity and mechanism for recruiting high school students into the ocean workforce pipeline.The current program structure layers a rich array of year-round academic elements onto the basiccompetition framework and offers a range of program enhancements. These elements andenhancements include summer educational trips that provide hands-on research experience,scholarships to encourage NOSB alumni to continue their focus on STEM fields in college,teacher professional development seminars to help teachers stay current on ocean scienceresearch, and career mentoring events inform participants about the many interesting andexciting jobs they hold in the future in numerous, including the federal government. Thesecombined elements and enhancements work holistically to support student learning andengagement in line with the Navy~s goals to educate high school students about Navy-relevantocean science topics and career opportunities related to the U.S. Navy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 25, 2019
- Source ID
- N000141912259
Entities
People
- Kristen Yarincik
Organizations
- Consortium for Ocean Leadership
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy