Design a Monitoring Study

Unit 5 – Marine Management

Activity 3 – Design a Monitoring Study

Materials & Setup

In Advance Student Assignment

• As homework, assign the Student Page “Design Your Own Monitoring Study” (pp. 48-52). You may want to give students several days to complete this assignment, allowing students ample time to complete their study designs. If you want students to research and footnote any parts of their design proposals (such as the project background), let them know this in advance.

For each student
• Student Page “Design Your Own Monitoring Study” (pp. 48-52)

 

Instructions

1) Divide the class into four or five small groups. Have students describe their study designs to other students in their group. Each group should select the best study design from the ones presented.

2) Bring the whole class back together and have the students whose study designs were selected by the groups present them to the whole class. Lead a discussion about the similarities and differences in the designs and how this kind of monitoring information could affect how natural areas are managed.

3) Have the class vote on the best study design of those selected by the groups. The class will present that study design to the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) on Maui. Select a small committee of students to write a cover letter describing what the class has learned during this unit and offering the study design as a suggested way for DLNR to monitor ʻĀhihi-Kīnaʻu Natural Area Reserve.

Journal Ideas

• Describe one point of similarity and one point of difference between your study design and the one Brian Tissot and Leon Hallacher did on the Big Island.
• How important do you think scientific research should be to government policy makers deciding how to protect Hawaiian marine areas and marine life? What else should they consider in making these decisions?

Assessment Tools

• Design for monitoring study: Evaluate these on the basis of completeness using the list of elements in the Student Page “Design Your Own Monitoring Study,” scientific rigor, logic, and clarity of presentation.
• Journal entries

Media Resources

None.