1. Ocean Literacy in the USA
Craig Strang
Associate Director, Lawrence Hall of Science
The story of the USA Ocean Literacy Campaign is an extraordinary one about a process that hundreds of scientists and educators have been engaged in over the last 15 years to come to agreement about what we think all people in the United States should understand about the ocean. The process has in many ways galvanized and re-invigorated ocean sciences education, and led to some surprising changes in the mainstream K-12 science curriculum.

2. The Challenge in 2002 Ocean topics mostly ignored in US K-12 education
Ocean scientists not involved in education
No consensus on what should be taught K-12
American public largely ignorant of the importance of the ocean in their lives.
None of the 50 states in the US, which each have their own K-12 science standards, included much about the ocean, coasts, or watersheds. Consequently, ocean topics have been ignored in most K-12 classrooms. Even our science museums, except for aquariums, of course, chose to teach only the science that occurs on dry land. There were exceptions of course…but without a coherent framework of concepts and messages, ocean educators and ocean scientists began to realize that these topics would remain on the margins of teaching and learning about science. We frequently found ourselves complaining about the absence of ocean concepts in the curriculum, and we were just as frequently asked back, “Well, what about the ocean IS missing? What SHOULD be taught about the ocean.” There was no consensus about what the answer should be. So the absence of ocean sciences in schools resulted in a generation of Americans largely ignorant of the importance of the ocean.

3. The goal was Credibility not Credit!
The Response
12 Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence funded by NSF (Tier 1 research universities/large aquariums and museums)
National Marine Educators Association (small influential professional association, grass roots)
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (US government agency)
National Geographic Society (large NGO)
College of Exploration (trusted, democratic distance learning medium)
Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley (University/K-12/informal)
Ocean Literacy represents consensus, none owns it
The goal was Credibility not Credit!
So, a few of us began to collect together stakeholders to address this challenge. I think it is worth taking a moment here to describe who I’m talking about. We intentionally sought participation in this work by a broad range of institutions, government agencies and grass roots individuals. The Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence represent partnerships between major research universities such as Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and large informal science institutions such as New England Aquarium, Lawrence Hall of Science and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The National Marine Educators Association was our link to over 1,000 passionate individual teachers and others concerned with ocean education. National Geographic Society is among the most widely recognized and trusted NGOs in the US, and NOAA is the largest US government agency responsible for ocean research and ocean policy.
And there were two smaller organizations that brought leadership and played specialized roles in facilitating the process.. We all agreed that we would lend our logos and the endorsements of our institutions to the effort, but that no one organization would own the product of our work. Ocean Literacy needed to represent a community consensus and needed to avoid the perception that it was the agenda of a particular organization or agency. We agreed that our goal would CREDIBILITY NOT CREDIT!

4. The Definition
Ocean literacy is an understanding of the ocean’s influence on you and your influence on the ocean.
An ocean-literate person:
Understands the Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts about the ocean;
Can communicate about the ocean in a meaningful way; and
Is able to make informed and responsible decisions regarding the ocean and its resources.
Here is our definition of “Ocean Literacy:” Ocean literacy is an understanding of the ocean’s influence on you and your influence on the ocean. An Ocean literate person: Understands the Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts about the ocean; Can communicate about the ocean in a meaningful way; and Is able to make informed and responsible decisions regarding the ocean and its resources. We also developed (and this was the hard part) a short list of Essential Principles. Each Principle is supported by several Fundamental Concepts.

5. Seven Essential Principles of Ocean Literacy
I won’t read them all to you. But I will say that I am very proud of these 7 terse but powerful statements. It is notable that we consciously decided that the word “ocean” will always be used in the singular form, never plural. This uses the tremendous power of our every day language to emphasize and reinforce the critical importance of the first Principle. There is only one ocean, one interconnected body of water that all people, all living things share and depend on. There is only one, we won’t get another. This definition of Ocean Literacy was published in a small brochure, and while it may not seem like much, this became the most effective tool in our arsenal. Regardless of what meeting we were in or who we were meeting with, the message was short, clear and easy to understand: every child should understand these 7 ideas by the time they leave high school.

6. Ocean Literacy Scope & Sequence
Far more useful for practitioners

7. Ocean Literacy around the world
The story of the USA Ocean Literacy Campaign is an extraordinary one about a process that hundreds of scientists and educators have been engaged in over the last ten years to come to agreement about what we think all people in the United States should understand about the ocean. The process has in many ways galvanized and re-invigorated ocean sciences education, and led to some surprising changes in the mainstream K-12 science curriculum.

8. European Marine Science Educators Association
European marine education needs an effective transformation and stronger international connection in order for marine teachers and educators to feel more supported, engaged and equipped for the task to make European citizens more ocean literate.

9. EMSEA-Med

10. Asia Marine Educators Association

11. African Ocean Literacy Network
Started in December 2017
More than 70 people from 22 African countries

12. Other networks