Current Log: Volume 36, Issue 1, Fall 2022

Are you finding it harder to excite and inspire your students or the public you interact with as an educator these days? I’ve seen this pop up on social media here and there in recent months. Elementary and middle school teachers are talking about how the curriculum and activities that used to make students happy to be in class are not landing the same way anymore. I wonder if educators in higher education and at museums, nature centers, and other informal learning places have seen a similar trend. I don’t think this is happening everywhere, or to the same degree, but I would not be at all surprised if pandemic burnout has impacted educational experiences. Maybe kids in school are “quiet quitting” just like their parents at work, pulling back from engagement and doing only the bare minimum to get by. I can imagine we have all lost some of our bandwidth for learning.

While there is no silver bullet for this problem, I do feel certain that connecting with nature is an antidote. Learning about the ocean and the natural world provides respite from societal woes and helps us imagine the world beyond the day-to-day worries and frustrations we all face. I hope you will take inspiration from the articles in this issue and have your learners compare plants on land to seaweed underwater as the kindergartners did in “How Do Seaweeds Meet Their Needs? A Kindergarten Investigation.” Or you can guide students through learning about a marine topic through a language arts lens by gathering knowledge at several stations, like the elementary students did in “Creating Integrated Science and Language Arts Centers: Considering Ocean Literacy and the 5E Instructional Model.” In the article “Sharks and Rays 101: A Virtual Program Connecting Families with Estuary Research” you will read about a program developed by an aquarium in Georgia that reached kids and adults plus the authors’ tips for virtual education.

This issue also includes an article (“Weathering the Storm: Unexpected Benefits of a Professional Learning Community”) about a support system that provided a lifeline for informal educators who faced resuming their work after a devastating hurricane followed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Plus, you will find reviews of a children’s book on coral reef conservation with accompanying educational materials (“‘Keepers of the Reef’ Helps Children Explore Coral Reef Ecosystems”) and an ocean science curriculum available in an online platform (“Surfing the Wave to Online Learning with the Sea Earth Atmosphere Curriculum”).

The Current editorial board welcomes your feedback on the journal and its content. To contact us, please send an email to current@marine-ed.org. To submit a paper for an upcoming issue, visit current-journal.com and click on the Start Submission button.

Just keep swimming,

Claire Atkinson
Editor