A group of students and their teacher search for debris on a sandy beach.

Learning Objectives and Standards Alignment for Making a Marine Debris “MAP”

The NOAA Marine Debris Program created Making a Marine Debris “MAP”: A Guide to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project for Educators (Guide) as a resource for educators who are interested in implementing Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project (MDMAP) surveys with their students. MDMAP is a NOAA community science initiative that volunteers around the world use to survey and record the amount and types of marine debris on shorelines.This Guide provides instructions and tips for participating in MDMAP and planning, conducting, and following up on monitoring surveys with student groups. 

Cross-Curricular Learning Objectives and Standards Alignment

The activities included in this Guide address a number of three-dimensional science learning standards, as well as cross-curricular standards in math, social studies, and language arts. We have summarized standards alignment and learning objectives here, and provided in-depth Next Generation Science Standards alignment below. 

MDMAP Activity or Concept
Associated Standards and Learning Objectives
Throughout the process
  • Planning and Carrying Out Investigations: Conducting MDMAP surveys can meet this standard through the inquiry, planning, and organization of the surveys, particularly if students select survey sites in order to answer specific questions about their environment.
  • Problem Solving: During the MDMAP survey process, students will be faced with a number of pressing environmental issues and presented with opportunities to create authentic solutions to those problems. 
  • Human Impacts on the Environment: MDMAP surveys are designed to measure the presence and prevalence of human-made items in shoreline environments. 
  • English Language Development: The multimedia resources provided and field work meet English Language Development standards, improving students’ collaborative, interpretive, and productive English language proficiency. 
Marine debris introductory concepts
  • Earth Science: Some examples of earth sciences ideas covered by marine debris lessons could include human impacts on earth systems, how consumption and population dynamics impact marine debris, watersheds and ocean currents, and others. 
  • Life Science:  Some examples of life sciences ideas covered by marine debris lessons could include debris ingestion and bioaccumulation of plastics through the food web, impacts of debris on sensitive habitats like coral reefs, potential non-native species transport by large oceanic debris, and others.
  • Physical Science: Some examples of physical sciences ideas covered by marine debris lessons could include characterizing structure and function of materials like plastic, metal, or rubber that become marine debris, including how these materials are impacted by the marine environment. 
Selecting a site (Before the Survey)
  • Place-Based Learning, Earth Science, and Social Studies: Students can discuss or research physical characteristics of the area, like currents, wind, or geology; biological characteristics like local species; or community characteristics like relevant work of local organizations, and indigenous land stewardship. Shorelines are also excellent locations to analyze Earth changes, geological processes, and other Earth Science concepts. 
  • Social Studies (Map Skills): Incorporating maps into your decision-making process can help students practice reading coordinates, understanding maps and legends, and exercising digital thinking skills in a targeted environment.
  • Social Studies (History): Consider cultural and historic relevance in site selection. Incorporate land acknowledgements and research into Native American heritage and history around your area as you choose your site. 
  • Socio-Emotional Learning Skills: Committees or groups are another way to increase student ownership and engagement. Student groups can be responsible for supplies, site selection, transportation, safety, etc. This will balance the workload between students and educators, provide students with opportunities to practice leadership and responsibility, and encourage buy-in across the classroom.
Preparing for surveys (Before the Survey)
  • Science (Scientific Methods): After watching the tutorial videos, students can also write their own protocol procedures and test them in the classroom or on campus.
  • Science (Engineering): Students can design and create their own survey materials, including measuring tools, transect markers, and more.  
Selecting transects (Before the Survey)
  • Math / Science (Data Literacy): While planning surveys and selecting transects, students will have an opportunity to discuss: 
    • Mean, median, mode, and other statistical analysis strategies
    • Random numbers and the importance of randomness in science
Measuring sites, transects, and more (Before the Survey and During the Survey)
  • Math: All MDMAP survey measurements are conducted in metric units, providing opportunities for proficiency using metric units and/or conversion practice. You can also use calculations around measuring your site distance (including using paces) to create math problems in the classroom or in the field. 
Surveying your site (During the Survey)
  • Science (Scientific Methods): Students can create hypotheses and discuss variables that may impact the amount of debris at your survey site, the amount of debris each team can find, and more. 
  • Life Science: Exploring the area around your site and identifying the species encountered there is a great opportunity to engage students in real-world Life Science experiences. 
Categorizing debris (During the Survey and After the Survey)
  • English Language Learning: The format and real-world applicability of the Item Categorization Guide can be a resource for English language proficiency. 
  • Physical Science: While identifying and discussing the material types of debris you collect, students can explore how different materials types (plastic, metal, rubber, etc.) impact how items behave in the environment. Experimenting with these materials before the survey can help students more easily identify material types during the survey as well. 
Disposing of your debris (After the Survey)
  • Physical Science: Discuss the waste stream, including recycling, with students. How do different materials change throughout the product life cycle? 
  • Math / Science (Data Literacy): Assessment of the debris you are disposing, including weighing, can help build students’ data literacy
Preparing, entering, analyzing, and using data (After the Survey)
  • Math / Science (Data Literacy): Students can practice a number of math and science skills using MDMAP data, including graphing, conversion, pattern recognition, trend analysis, and more. 
Taking Action (After the Survey)
  • English / Language Arts: Extensions using MDMAP data, debris, or concepts can integrate writing, reading, and speaking/listening skills through presentations, Public Service Announcements, and other communication-based action projects.
  • Social Studies: Extensions studying the impact of policy changes on marine debris prevalence or researching policy proposals to solve marine debris issues. 
  • Art: Students can use recovered debris or other media to raise awareness and communicate information about their survey results.
  • Science (Scientific Methods): Students can design their own experiments to understand different types, sources, impacts, or solutions to marine debris.  
  • Science (Engineering): Researching, designing, and testing possible solutions to marine debris issues, including interrupting the flow of debris into the environment, engineering trash capture or cleanup devices, and more. 

Depending on your grade level and disciplinary subject (if any), you may be looking to fulfill additional standards. The processes of measurement, randomization, and assessment involved in conducting MDMAP surveys, as well as data analysis and visualization following the surveys, can meet various Common Core and state-level mathematics standards. Additional extensions focused on research, writing, and presentations can also meet Common Core and state-level literacy standards. The multimedia resources provided and field work meet English Language Development standards, improving students’ collaborative, interpretive, and productive English language proficiency.

Next Generation Science Standards Alignment

  • Disciplinary Core Ideas

    • Life Science 
      • While MDMAP surveys do not directly address core ideas in this discipline, any associated marine debris learning before or after surveys will likely touch on some of these standards. Some examples of life sciences ideas covered by marine debris lessons could include debris ingestion and bioaccumulation of plastics through the food web, impacts of debris on sensitive habitats like coral reefs, potential non-native species transport by large oceanic debris, and others. At the survey site, include time to identify, analyze, and discuss species observed. For example, one teacher participant in MDMAP shared that, during one of their surveys their class group witnessed a stranding of Velella velella organisms, inspiring a number of students to ask questions and explore their world.
    • ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes
      • MDMAP surveys do not directly address this core idea, but associated marine debris learning before or after surveys will likely meet this standard through discussion currents, gyres, and transport of marine debris. 
    • ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems
      • Conducting MDMAP surveys can meet this standard by exploring and analyzing questions around the incidence of marine debris in your survey site, including potential discussions around the sources of debris and how personal or societal practices can contribute to debris. 
    • PS1.A: Structure and Properties of Matter
      • Conducting MDMAP surveys can meet this standard by differentiating between natural and man-made debris, as well as by identifying material types and associated characteristics and impacts for collected debris.
    • ETS1.A, B, and C: Defining and Delimiting an Engineering Problem, Developing Possible Solutions, and Optimizing the Design Solution
      • While MDMAP surveys do not directly address these ideas, any extension projects focused on prevention or removal of marine debris through engineering designs would likely meet these standards. 

  • Science and Engineering Practices

    •  Planning and carrying out investigations
      • Conducting MDMAP surveys can meet this standard through the inquiry, planning, and organization of the surveys, particularly if students select survey sites in order to answer specific questions about their environment.  
    • Analyzing and Interpreting Data
      • Conducting MDMAP surveys can meet this standard through extended exploration of survey data after entering it into the MDMAP database, including potential comparisons to other data in the database to answer broader questions about debris.  
    • Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
      • Conducting MDMAP surveys can meet this standard through the documenting, sharing, and entering MDMAP data in collaboration with a community of professional and volunteer scientists.
      • Additionally, follow-up activities or action projects can communicate data collected during surveys to make a change in student communities. 

  • Cross-Cutting Concepts

    • Patterns
      • Graphs, charts, and images can be used to identify patterns in marine debris data at your survey site as well as across the MDMAP database.
    • Cause and Effect
      • Students can identify and analyze potential connections between the incidence of marine debris at their survey site and the human use patterns, personal practices, and societal trends that may be related to that specific area.
    • Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
      • MDMAP data can be viewed on various scales (including from one transect to the 100-meter site), allowing students to compare data from their survey to other surveys and information around the world. 
 

For citation purposes, unless otherwise noted, this article was authored by the NOAA Marine Debris Program.

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