Module 2

Activities	OHTs
Resources	Readings

'Best Practice' in Coastal
and Marine Studies

Introduction	Objectives
Workshop Outline	Materials Required
Further Reading

Introduction

This module builds upon the understanding of the nature, scope and objectives of coastal and marine studies developed in Module 1. It combines these understandings with participants' previous experiences as teachers or students to help identify principles of 'best practice' for teaching in this area. These principles relate to forms of curriculum organisation, content selection, teaching and learning methods, selection of resources, links with the community, preservice teacher education and continuing professional development. As such, the module presents an introduction to the themes of later modules in this series.

Objectives

The objectives of this workshop are:

to develop an understanding of the concept of 'best practice' in education;
to identify principles of 'best practice' in teaching coastal and marine studies and to organise them into a coherent, pedagogical framework;
to recognise the critical importance of incorporating indigenous perspectives in a 'best practice' framework; and
to evaluate examples of teaching coastal and marine studies against this framework.

Workshop Outline

There are five activities in this workshop:

Introduction
This activity is an icebreaker where participants share their ideas about 'best practice' in education and, in particular, in coastal and marine studies. The objectives of the workshop are also introduced here.
Defining 'Best Practice'
Participants develop a Best Practice Framework for coastal and marine studies in this activity and compare it to a sample framework developed from research in fourteen schools across Australia.
Guidelines for Including Aboriginality in Environmental Education
This activity encourages the involvement of Aboriginal community members, educators and/or resource managers in ensuring that Aboriginal perspectives are incorporated into 'best practice' in coastal and marine studies.
Windows on Classrooms and Schools
Two options are provided for this activity. In the first option, six lessons on coastal and marine studies themes are evaluated against the Best Practice Framework developed in previous activities. Where time is available for extensive reading in the workshop, the second option uses the Best Practice Framework to analyse three school programmes in coastal and marine studies .
Conclusion
The workshop ends with participants making a personal inventory of their skills in implementing a Best Practice Framework for coastal and marine studies.

Materials Required

A. Provided

Overhead Transparencies
OHT 1	Overview of Workshop
OHT 2	Sharing Ideas on ''Best Practice'
OHT 3	Sample Best Practice Framework
OHT 4	Guidelines for Including Aboriginal Perspectives
OHT 5	Analysing Coastal and Marine Studies, Activities and Programmes
Resources
Resource 1	Some Aims, Characteristics and Objectives of 'Best Practice'
Resource 2	Windows on Coastal and Marine Studies Lessons
Resource 3	Windows on Coastal and Marine Studies Programmes
Readings
Reading 1	Guidelines for Including Aboriginality in Environmental Education

B. To be obtained

Activity 2	One photocopy of Resource 1 for each group of 3-4 participants (cut up into slips and placed into an envelope); one sheet of chart paper per group; pens; glue.
Activity 3	Invite Aboriginal participation in the workshop, especially for this activity, e.g. members of a local Aboriginal community, Aboriginal educational advisers, or Aboriginal officers in natural resource management agencies (see Reading 1).
Activity 4	A video excerpt of an example of 'best practice' in coastal and marine studies might be shown as an alternative to one of the six 'windows' or to introduce the activity. One good example is Freshwater, available from Streamwatch, Corporate Communications Unit, Water Board, 115-123 Bathurst Street, Sydney, NSW.

Module 2

'Best Practice' in Coastal and Marine Studies

Introduction

Objectives

Workshop Outline

Materials Required

A. Provided

Overhead Transparencies

Resources

Readings

B. To be obtained

Further Reading

'Best Practice' in Coastal
and Marine Studies