Course Description
See Reviews of Instructor Dr. Karen Joseph
This live online marine science class for elementary and middle school students is a 7-week mini-course.
Planet Earth is a vast and beautiful world, and we know a lot about the land. But the surface of our planet is mostly water, and most people don’t really know very much about it. Almost all of the water on Earth is salt water that is found in the oceans. In this 7-week mini-course, we will start where the land meets the sea and learn about the structures and living things that make up communities on the coasts. Then we will move to the open sea and swim around there for a while, before taking a deep dive to the bottom of the ocean. While we are in all these areas, we will learn about their landscapes, and the water and the living things that inhabit them. We will learn about the importance of the oceans to our climate, our food supply, and the stability of our planet.
Do you wonder what mysteries lay beneath the surface of the water? If so, this class is for you.
(Note to parents: Although we will touch on environmental issues from time to time, this mini-course is primarily focused on ocean plants, animals, and structures.)
Course Structure
The live classes are usually game-based reviews of topics from the previous week and often an introduction to the coming week. Although it is always best if students attend the live classes, I will post the recording of the class so that students who can’t attend can watch later. Lessons will be posted Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays and will include an online lesson as well as activities. I use many audio and video recordings to help students learn the correct pronunciation of new terms as well as to reinforce content from the lesson.
Who should enroll?
Marine Science is for curious students in grades 4–8 who enjoy hands on learning about unique, cool, and sometimes creepy animals and plants. It is for students who want to know more about the way the living things in the oceans interact with their environments.
Technology Requirements
- High speed, broadband Internet
- Sound card and microphone (for live sessions)
- Streaming video capabilities to watch recorded lectures
Evaluation and Feedback
I use “learning checks” at the end of most lessons to assure both the student and the teacher that students understand the concepts presented in the lessons. Many of the learning checks are automatically graded by the computer. For the essay questions and projects, I generally grade every day, sending feedback to the students to help them understand questions they may have missed.
A final grade will be based on the scores from learning checks, participation in activities and experiments, and attendance and participation in live classes. A Certificate of Completion that includes the final grade will be given at the end of the course.
Communication
I welcome any and all communication from parents. I want to partner with you in your student’s education, so if at any time you have questions or concerns, my virtual door is open.
Amy (verified owner) –
My daughter LOVES this class. She loves it so much that even though she’s a young 4th grader, she does it all entirely on her own and only needs me for the hands-on activities. And even those she can do almost entirely on her own (but they’re fun, so I like to sit in on them). I wasn’t sure how she would do with an online class because she’s a very tactile, kinesthetic learner, but it’s going very well. I have a feeling she’s going to end up taking all of Dr. Joseph’s courses and her brother probably will as well.
Hilary S. –
My son really engaged with the class and activities. It was his first online class, so we weren’t sure how it would go. We appreciated that the activities used materials that were easily obtained, and that as a fifth-grader, my son could do most of the work on his own. Well designed course for the age group.
Katie F. –
Dr. Karen has gone above and beyond to connect with my child. I was anxious about my child’s ability to succeed in an online class but Dr. Karen helped her every step of the way.
Samantha L. –
Dr. Joseph is extremely engaging and makes the class a fun and enjoyable learning experience. I was pleased that the curriculum covered a wide range of topics about the ocean in addition to learning about marine life. We couldn’t have been happier with our son’s experience with Dr. Joseph. It was so great in fact, that we will definitely enroll him in another course taught by her.