Oceanography | Vol.30, No.4
In connection with The Oceanography Society’s thirtieth anni-
versary in mid- November, TOS sent members an email request-
ing that they complete a short survey to enable us to under-
stand how they have used Oceanography magazine to support
the Society mission to advance education in the ocean sciences.
The survey contained just three questions:
1. Have you ever assigned Oceanography articles in the class-
room as a basis for discussion?
2. Have you used graphics from Oceanography articles in your
lectures?
3. Tell us more about how you use Oceanography articles or spe-
cial issues in the classroom or for other educational purposes
such as informing policymakers or management. Please
name specific special issues or articles that you have found
most useful for classroom discussions.
We limited the survey to three questions to maximize the
number of respondents, and restricted the survey to TOS mem-
bers to keep things simple and ensure a rapid response. We were
rewarded. As of November 29, and within two weeks of its post-
ing, 200 TOS members had taken the survey.
Figures 1 and 2 show the responses to the simple multiple
choice questions. Figure 1 shows that nearly half of the survey
respondents have used one or more Oceanography articles in the
classroom during a semester, with most in the one-to-three arti-
cle range. Figure 2 shows that about 60% of respondents have
used Oceanography graphics in lectures, with a considerable
percentage—13.5%—using more than four graphics. These
numbers are very satisfying and demonstrate that Oceanography
is widely used for educational purposes. One note of caution
about these numbers, though: we know from the Question 3
responses that several student members completed the survey,
so the number of “never” responses may be artificially high.
After the two simple warm-up questions, the “essay question”—
Question 3—provided exactly the sort of specific information
we were seeking about how TOS members use Oceanography for
education and outreach purposes. Table 1 is a small selection of
several of the 143 responses we received to Question 3, edited
to fit. In addition to the classroom uses of Oceanography arti-
cles described in Table 1, one response said that they “display
Oceanography in our undergraduate office where we meet pro-
spective students and their parents. It is a wonderful conversa-
tion starter.” Another said: “I use it as an advising tool to ori-
ent students interested in careers in marine science.” Another
member wrote: “Occasionally use graphics to support new
program briefs to management.” Yet another member wrote:
“Provide issues from time to time to US Congressperson from
my Congressional District, US Senators from my state and Staff
(mainly for the staff).” All of the responses will be very useful in
helping TOS articulate the broader impacts of Oceanography to
current and future sponsors. The answers also provided some
ideas about how we may improve the usefulness of articles and
graphics—for example, by providing individual graphics that are
easily downloaded for classroom use.
Using Oceanography in the Classroom—
Insight from a Survey of TOS Members
QUARTERDECK
FIGURE 1. Responses from TOS members to Question 1 (n = 200).
FIGURE 2. Responses from TOS members to Question 2 (n = 200).
QUESTION 2. Have you used graphics from
Oceanography articles in your lectures?
Never
One to three graphics
in one semester
More than four graphics
in one semester
39.0%
47.5%
13.5%
QUESTION 1. Have you ever assigned Oceanography
articles in the classroom as a basis for discussion?
Never
One to three articles
in one semester
More than four articles
in one semester
52.5%
42.0%
5.5%