AGU 2011 Fall Meeting, PA33C-04 7 December 2011, San Francisco

Ocean Science Communication in Japan

Hiroshi ICHIKAWA

Research Institute for Global Change (RIGC),Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology

(JAMSTEC)

Chair, the Ocean Literacy and Education Panel (OLEP),Oceanographic Society of Japan (JOS)

E-mail: ichikawah@jamstec.go.jp

Contents

1. Activities of Ocean Literacy and Education Panel (OLEP/JOS)

2. My experience of science communication with non-professionals

3. Conclusion

Session title: Earth Science Communication in aChanging Media Landscape

1. Activities of Ocean Literacy and Education Panel (OLEP) of Oceanographic Society of Japan (JOS)

JOS is established in January1941 for advancement and spreading of Oceanographic research in Japan (about 1900 members as of April 2011), and one of academic society members of Japan Geosciences Union (JpGU) since 2005, the year of its establishment.

OLEP is established in April 2003 for sharing the ocean literacy with the public and promoting the ocean science education in schools and colleges (39 volunteer members as of April 2011).

JOS Website: http://www.kaiyo-gakkai.jp/main/ OLEP Website: http://coast14.ees.hokudai.ac.jp/osj/

Reasons why OLEP is established.

While ocean science is holistic, its education in Japan is not.

In primary school, education specified on the ocean science has not been authorizedin nationwide official education system.

A part of ocean science education is conducted only by a few very active school teachers with many efforts.

Science education in junior-high and high schools in Japan is divided into four courses on Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geosciences.

Ocean science education is done as a part of Geosciences education, with close connection only with atmospheric science and physics educations, but not with chemistry and biology educations.

For correcting this wrong situation, not only OLEP/JOS, but also some other ocean-related organizations such as Ocean Policy Research Foundation, and Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers, are working.

Another problem is that Geosciences education is losing its position in high-school science education, i.e., number of students learning Geosciences are decreasing.

Examples in actions of OLEP/JOS

• Publishing reference hard books• Publishing materials on website for primary school teachers and students

• Supporting seminars on board of research vessel for high-school teachers and students.

• Supporting Oceanographer's talks at sea sidefor primary school students

• Operating 'Ocean Science Cafe' for the public,

“Learn on the Ocean” (April 2003) for high school students, primary and junior-high school teachers, and parents.

“Trivia of Oceans” Vol.1 (June 2005)“Trivia of Oceans” Vol.2 (Sept. 2006) for primary school teachers, and parents.

“Ocean is going around, Sciences on the Ocean supporting the society and livings” (in press) for freshmen in universities and colleges.

Learning Material on the Web： “Let’s learn on the Ocean”URL： http://coast14.ees.hokudai.ac.jp/osj/umi_o_manabou/

“Let’ learn on the Ocean on board of a research vessel”Participants: 60 students + 20 teaches in nation-wide high schools 5 or 7 days in August of five years, 2006—2010.

Ocean Observations on the sea

Analysis in laboratory on land

presentations

Place and date: Manazuru Town at Izu, on 2 days in July of 2009, 2010, and 2011

Participants: 40 primary school students (2 classes, 9 years old) with teachers in each year

Works: Sampling planktons at a wharf, and watching planktons by microscope.

Leaning at the sea side

Plankton sampling  Microscope watching

September 2009, Kyoto

March 2008, Tokyo

March 2010, Tokyo

Ocean Science Cafétwice a year since 2008

2. My Experience of science communication with non-professionals

1) One-way science communication using old media (books, articles, lecture, etc.)

2) Mutual Science Communication using new mediaa. Blog b. Social Networking Service

3) New style Face-to-face Science Communicationa. Science Café b. panel discussion

The science communication by scientists should not be one-way but really two-way with strong wish to understand well what people wish to know and have difficulties to understand, and where they stop learning. I believe that the new media can help it.

2) Mutual Science Communication using new mediaa. Blog in Japanese from January 2007

about 180 articles in 5 years (3 articles per month), about 200 PV a day by Google Analytic,

Main topics of articles: • basic knowledge on the ocean, • additional explanations to scientific topics in mass media,

• opinions on the science literacy, STEM education, science and technology policy, science and society etc.

By Blog, if comments, replies, and track backs work well, scientists can make well mutual communication with non-professionals.

2) Mutual Science Communication using new mediab. Social Networking Service

Facebook from April 2009 (not active for a long time), Twitter from December 2009 (about 400 followers, and about one tweet a day).

Main Topics of my tweets:• announcements of meetings• new scientific findings in Journals, and Media

Twitter may work well in limited information exchange with other people, but not enough in complicated discussions with non-professionals.

3) New style Face-to-face communicationa. ‘Ocean Science Café’ twice a year since 2008.

Sponsored by OLEP/JOS. Gathering less than 25 persons (age:16-70) in a small coffee shop.

The first 20 minutes: A talk by a young speaker using only printed material (without screen and microphone)

Next 80 minutes: Discussion in small groups with 3-5 people and 1-2 JOS members.

Last 20 minutes: Discussion with all other participants.

Ocean Science Café changes young speakers and other supporting JOS members.

3) New Style Face-to-face communicationb. A panel discussion on “Spreading and influence of the

ocean contamination after the Great East Japan Earthquake” during the Science Agora 2011 (Japanese Science Festival held in Tokyo in this November), sponsored by “JOS Working Group for responding to Great East Japan Earthquake”.

New approach: two of six panelists were non-professionals (female science communicators)

It was very successful in making the discussionunderstandable for the public, especially mothers,because of the new approach.

ConclusionOne-way communication is just one-way,i.e., there is no way for the public to tell to the scientists what they want to know on the scientists and the science.

Among various kinds of mutual communication, face-to-face communicationmay be the best and new media such as Blog, Twitter, Facebook, and others is its supplementary.

ConclusionThe science communication by scientists should not be one-way but really two-way with strong wish to understand well what people wish to knowand have difficulties to understand, and where they stop learning.

I believe that the new media can help it with some improvements.

It is necessary to develop learning materials not for remembering the body of knowledge, but for helping “Inquiry-based Ocean science education”