“Percorsi nel Blu” (“Blue Paths”): a long-lasting project to integrate Ocean Literacy and Marine Citizen Science into school curricula
Published:
Apr 1, 2022
Keywords:
Ocean Literacy Marine Citizen Science Blue School global citizenship interdisciplinary skills environmental education STEM 2030 Agenda.
Abstract
The “Percorsi nel Blu” project is a revolutionary “Blue School” model of well-integrated Ocean Literacy (OL) and Marine Citizen Science (MCS), promoted by a science teacher and independent researcher of the ISA2 secondary school institute of La Spezia, Italy. Since 2011 the Project has been setting up a network among schools, institutions, citizens, and a partnership with research centers for data collection activities within coastal sites located in the “Pelagos” Mammals’ Sanctuary, in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Seas. The project focuses on the key points of OL and MCS, promoting a gradual implementation of scientific literacy in marine biology and coastal monitoring techniques in school curricula during a period of vertical and incremental long-lasting training, from kindergarten up to university. “Percorsi nel Blu” harmonizes the existing educational plans with the last recommendations of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda in order to improve the teaching of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM disciplines). The OL process follows the whole educational path, involving students more and more actively in the recognition of marine flora and fauna during research activities on the beach and scuba surveys in research campaigns. The great impact on the community, the remarkable number of participants, and the relevant scientific results of the first records of alien and native species increase students’ interest in STEM disciplines and marine science and encourage them to disseminate their experiences, thus creating the awareness of global citizenship which includes the whole community, both inside and outside school.
Article Details
- How to Cite
-
MIONI, E. (2022). “Percorsi nel Blu” (“Blue Paths”): a long-lasting project to integrate Ocean Literacy and Marine Citizen Science into school curricula. Mediterranean Marine Science, 23(2), 405–416. https://doi.org/10.12681/mms.27152
- Section
- Special Issue Ocean Literacy
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g. post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (preferably in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Blue Schools, 2019. http://www.blue-schools.eu/en/the-blueschools- concept/ (Accessed 16 September 2021) Castoldi, M., 2013. Curricolo per competenze: percorsi e strumenti. Carocci, Roma, 276 pp.
Cava, F., Schoedinger, S., Strang, C., Tuddenham, C., 2005. Science content and standards for ocean literacy: a report on ocean literacy. http://www.coexploration.org/oceanliteracy/ documents/OLit200405_Final_Report.pdf. (Accessed 26 September 2021)
Cerrano, C., Di Camillo, C.G., Milanese, M., Previati, M., Rossi, G. et al., 2012. Education through participation: The role of citizen science in marine habitat conservation. In: PIXEL New Perspectives in Science Education International Conference, 1st edition, Florence, Italy, March 8-9. Simonelli Ed., University Press. https://conference.pixel-online.net/conferences/science/common/download/Paper_pdf/204- SEP14-FP-Cerrano-NPSE2012.pdf (Accessed 15 October 2021)
Collins, J., 2004. Education techniques for lifelong learning. RadioGraphics, 24 (5), 1483-1489. Copejans, E., Crouch, F., Fauville, G., 2012. The European marine science educators association (EMSEA): towards a more ocean literate Europe. The Journal of Marine Education, 28 (2), 43-46.
Cortellini, G., Mazzoni, A., 2001. L’insegnamento delle Scienze verso un Curricolo verticale. Un approccio costruttivista nella scuola di base. I fenomeni biologici. Istituto Regionale Sperimentazione ed Aggiornamento Educativi -IRSAE Abruzzo. Editoriale Eco srl, S. Gabriele (TE), 2, 233 pp.
Costa, R.L., Mata, B., Silva, F., Conceição, P., Guimarães, L., 2021. Fostering ocean-literate generations: the Portuguese Blue School. p. 241-273. In: Ocean Literacy: understanding the Ocean. Koutsopoulos, K.C., Stel, J.H. (Eds). Key Challenges in Geography (EUROGEO Book Series). Springer, Cham. Damasio, A.R., 1994. Descartes’ error: emotion, reason and the human brain. Grosset / Putnam, New York, NY, 331 pp.
Davies, L., Harber, C., Yamashita, L., 2004. The needs of teachers and learners in global citizenship. University of Birmingham, Centre for Educational Research, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK, Report of DFID funded project, 189 pp.
Dupont, S., Fauville, G., 2017. Ocean literacy as a key toward sustainable development and ocean governance. p. 519- 537. In: Handbook on the Economics and Management of Sustainable Oceans. Nunes, P., Svensson, L.E., Markandya, A. (Eds). Edward Elgar Publishers & UNEP, Cheltenham, UK.
EMSEA, 2021. European Marine Science Educators Association. http://www.emsea.eu/ (Accessed 2 May 2021)
Escola Azul, 2021. Blue School. Ministério do Mar. Lisboa, Portugal. https://escolaazul.pt/en (Accessed 2 May 2021)
European Commission, 2021a. EU4 Ocean Coalition, European Union. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/maritimeforum/en/ frontpage/1482 (Accessed 1 October 2021)
European Commission, 2021b. Network of European Blue Schools. https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/maritimeforum/en/ frontpage/1485 (Accessed 1 October 2021)
European Commission, 2021c. The EU Blue Economy Report. Publications Office of the European Union. Luxembourg, 178 pp. https://ec.europa.eu/oceans-and-fisheries/system/ files/2021-05/the-eu-blue-economy-report-2021_en.pdf (Accessed 3 October 2021) Fauville, G., Copejans, E., Crouch, F., 2013.
European marine educators, unite! Europe’s quest for a more ocean-oriented society and economy. The Marine Biologist, 1, 30-31. Fauville, G., 2017. Digital technologies as support for learning about the marine environment: Steps toward ocean literacy. Doctoral Thesis. University of Gothenburg, Sweden, 167 pp.
Fauville, G., 2019. Ocean literacy in the twenty-first century. p. 3-11. In: Exemplary practices in marine science education. a resource for practitioners and researchers. Fauville G., Payne, D., Marrero, M., Lantz-Andersson, A., Crouch, F. (Eds). Springer, Cham.
Garcia-Soto, C., van der Meeren, G.I., Busch, J.A., Delany, J., Domegan, C. et al., 2017. Advancing Citizen Science for Coastal and Ocean Research. Position Paper 23. French, V., Kellett, P., Delany, J., McDonough, N., (Eds). European Marine Board, European Science Foundation, Ostend, Belgium. 112 pp.
Lin, Y.-L., Wu, L.-Y., Tsai, L.-T., Chang, C.-C., 2020. The beginning of marine sustainability: preliminary results of measuring students’ marine knowledge and ocean literacy. Sustainability, MDPI, 12 (17), 1-18.
MATTM, Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare, 2015. Linee guida per l’Educazione ambientale. https://www.minambiente.it/sites/default/files/archivio/ allegati/LINEE_GUIDA.pdf (Accessed 2 May 2021).
Merlino, S., Locritani, M., Mioni, E., Vignali, L., 2019. Shortening the distance between students and ocean challenges. The Journal of Ocean Technology, 14 (2), 43-56.
Mioni, E., Merlino, S., Giovacchini, A., 2016. Engaging way to help students develop skills, interest and methodological research approaches in marine and environmental science. p. 400-408. In: Advances in higher education. de la Poza, E., Domènech, J., Lloret, J., Vincent-Vela, M.C., Zuriaga, E. (Eds). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València, València.
Mioni, E., Stroobant, M., Locritani, M., Merlino, S., Traverso, R., 2017. Blue Paths: 5 years motivating the participation of citizens in research activities for coastal monitoring of the Benthos. p. 64. In: First Citizen Science Conference, Rome, 23-25 November 2017. Italy.
Mioni, E., Mannino, A.M., Merlino, S., 2018. First record of Aplysia dactylomela (Rang, 1828) (Heterobranchia, Aplysiidae) from the island of Pianosa (Alto Tirreno). p. 224. In: Conference of the Italian Society of Marine Biology SIBM, Cesenatico, 4-8 June 2018. Italy.
Mioni, E., Merlino, S., Balistreri, P., Mannino, A.M., 2020. First record of the invasive crab Percnon gibbesi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) at Pianosa Island: the second goal reached by the innovative Marine Citizen Science Literacy Project “PERCORSI NEL BLU” (“BLUE PATHS”). p. 150. In: 11th International Conference on Biological Invasions, Vodice, 15-18 September 2020. Croatia.
Mioni, E., Furfaro, G., Merlino, S., Mannino, A.M., 2021. Project “Percorsi nel Blu”: Ocean Literacy & Citizen Science as a valid tool to monitor Marine Heterobranchia. the case study of the first records of the alien species Favorinus ghanensis and the Mediterranean Okenia cf. longiductis, as updating records for the Italian coast. In: EMSEA Virtual Conference 2021, Gdynia, 7-8 October 2021. Poland.
MIUR, Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca, 2012. Indicazioni nazionali per il curriculo della scuola dell’infanzia e del primo ciclo d’istruzione, Annali della Pubblica Istruzione, Numero Speciale. Anno LXXXVIII. Le Monnier, Firenze, 97 pp.http://www.indicazioninazionali. it/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Indicazioni_Annali_Definitivo. pdf (Accessed 17 September 2021)
MIUR, Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca, 2018. Percorsi per le Competenze Trasversali e per l’Orientamento (PCTO). Linee Guida. https://www. miur.gov.it/documents/20182/1306025/Linee+guida+PCTO+ con+allegati.pdf (Accessed 5 March 2021)
MIUR, Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca, 2019. Linee guida per l’Educazione civica. https://www. miur.gov.it/documents/20182/0/ALL.+Linee_guida_educazione_ civica_dopoCSPI.pdf/8ed02589-e25e-1aed-1afb- 291ce7cd119e?t=1592916355306 (Accessed 2 May 2021)
Myers, J.P., 2006. Rethinking the social studies curriculum in the context of globalization: education for global citizenship in the U.S. Theory and Research in Social Education, 34 (93), 370-394. Ocean Literacy, 2005. The Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts of Ocean Sciences for Learners of All Ages. https://www.coexploration.org/oceanliteracy/documents/ OceanLitChart.pdf (Accessed 5 May 2021)
Piano S & T MIUR, 2021. https://www.miur.gov.it/piano-s-t (Accessed 1 April 2021)
Pola, M., Paz-Sedano, S., Macali, A., Minchin, D., Marchini, A. et al., 2019. What is really out there? review of the genus Okenia Menke, 1830 (Nudibranchia: Goniodorididae) in the Mediterranean Sea with description of two new species. PLoS ONE, 14 (5): e0215037.
PON Homepage MIUR, 2021. https://www.istruzione.it/pon/ (Accessed 25 September 2021)
Squarcina, E., Pecorelli, V., 2017. Ocean citizenship. the time to adopt a useful concept for environmental teaching and citizenship is now. Journal of Research and Didactics in Geography (J-READING), 2, 45-53.
Sustainable Development Goals, 2021. https://www.un.org/ sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/ (Accessed 17 October 2021)
Wang, H.H., Charoenmuang, M., Knobloch, N.A., Tormoehlen, R.L., 2020. Defining interdisciplinary collaboration based on high school teachers’ beliefs and practices of STEM integration using a complex designed system. IJ STEM Ed, 7 (3).
